Ok, I have what I think is a perfectly good Stanly #4 rib sole with Hoch iron. No trouble with it. Not the easiest to adjust but gets the job done.
Was teasing myself with maybe stepping up. That is if a step up is really a step up. Keep my Stanley for rough stuff, carpenter etc., and have the "premium" for cabinet work.
Doing a bit of searching, watching a bunch of videos, looking at catalogs.
It seems traditional English planes are either the Stanly/Bailey "Preston" with a toggle cap, or the Record thumbscrew cap. Difference? None really.
So, between a $20 HF POS to the $800 Bridge City, what do you actually get?
Obviously, fit and finish. No reason to start below the standard Stanly 12-904 for $51 ( Zoro) and spend $40 on a decent iron. Made in china and Probably as good as a worn out vintage one with a bit of a tune up. I can bet the castings have not sat in the yard a couple years to relax.
So that means to get serious, we are talking above $100.
Bridge City, $800. OK fine if they say so. I assume they work. Not on a retired civil servant pay scale.
Clifton looks like a polished up Stanly 904 with a cryo treated blade. $390. Bedrock frog though from of the 604, not the Stanley 904.
Bronze L-N is not available but iron is. $300 Again, the Bedrock frog.
Veritas $230 seems pretty nice.
Stanly Sweetheart for $150 might be nice if the iron is good. No idea on the frog design.
Then the all the clones of the Record or Stanley. Wood River, Bench Dog, Kuntz, Tray, etc. Nothing says they are any better than the basic 904 Stanley. Maybe they have better fit and finish, but none of the descriptions suggest any actual performance.
Am I missing anything in particular?
Was teasing myself with maybe stepping up. That is if a step up is really a step up. Keep my Stanley for rough stuff, carpenter etc., and have the "premium" for cabinet work.
Doing a bit of searching, watching a bunch of videos, looking at catalogs.
It seems traditional English planes are either the Stanly/Bailey "Preston" with a toggle cap, or the Record thumbscrew cap. Difference? None really.
So, between a $20 HF POS to the $800 Bridge City, what do you actually get?
Obviously, fit and finish. No reason to start below the standard Stanly 12-904 for $51 ( Zoro) and spend $40 on a decent iron. Made in china and Probably as good as a worn out vintage one with a bit of a tune up. I can bet the castings have not sat in the yard a couple years to relax.
So that means to get serious, we are talking above $100.
Bridge City, $800. OK fine if they say so. I assume they work. Not on a retired civil servant pay scale.
Clifton looks like a polished up Stanly 904 with a cryo treated blade. $390. Bedrock frog though from of the 604, not the Stanley 904.
Bronze L-N is not available but iron is. $300 Again, the Bedrock frog.
Veritas $230 seems pretty nice.
Stanly Sweetheart for $150 might be nice if the iron is good. No idea on the frog design.
Then the all the clones of the Record or Stanley. Wood River, Bench Dog, Kuntz, Tray, etc. Nothing says they are any better than the basic 904 Stanley. Maybe they have better fit and finish, but none of the descriptions suggest any actual performance.
Am I missing anything in particular?