Reply To: Buying Woodworking Tools is Becoming Stupid
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@pjgeorge — excellent point. If you factor the time spent finding the “bargain” on a used router plane, it quickly becomes economically questionable when compared to the value of a new (i.e.) Veritas or LN router plane. As said, if you enjoy shopping as much as or more than woodworking, then it’s a different story, but if you’re a woodworker first, the logic goes something like this:
140 US gets you a brand new, flawless LN router plane that is superior to anything Stanley ever produced. Not knocking Stanley, but the precise tolerances to which LN works were never those of Stanley, nor did Stanley have the consistent access to quality steel, nor 100+ years of perspective on the various designs. Factor in that if you spend only 1 hour finding a “bargain” on an old 71, and your time is only worth 20 dollars / hour, then you had better get a museum-perfect 71 for 140 – 20 = 120 dollars, and we all know the chances of that happening whatsoever, let alone in just 1 hour.
Very likely you’ll search on-and-off for weeks, then get something that requires you to spend still more time and money getting the tool into a reasonable state, after which you’ll have a tool that is still not the equal of the LN you could have bought for less. It’s not something you’ll often hear said about LN, but their router plane might be the most economical choice on the planet right now.