Pleasant discovery at Harbor Freight
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24 August 2015 at 8:47 pm #129709
I just wanted to share with all of you what I found at Harbor Freight this past weekend. They sell a set of three brass and hardwood mini planes for a little more than ten dollars. There’s a block plane, bullnose plane and a scraper plane. They seem to be pretty good so far. However, I did need to square the sole and sharpen the blades, but once that was done, they shave just like my Stanleys.
The only downside to them is that they are ground square on all sides, so the corners dig into your palm something fierce. I took care of that with my benchtop belt sander by easing the corners off and re-polishing them. Here are some pics of what I did after the tune-up was complete.
I wish I’d had these when I built that last box of mine. 🙂 Guess I’ll get to give them a better workout when I build the box to store them in.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass this along to anyone who may be interested. I know (at least in my opinion) Harbor Freight has about a 50/50 good stuff-bad stuff reputation with their tools, but these little planes seem to be pretty good in my book.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.24 August 2015 at 11:51 pm #129722My friend gave me a set of this for my birthday 🙂 I flattened the soles and sharpened the blade. I used the bullnose plane to chamfer the top edges of my dovetail drawer boxes. I noticed that the best position to hold this plane is at the heel, absolutely no pressure needed at the front.
Cheers,
Jake25 August 2015 at 3:35 am #129737That’s a great find George but I can see the tool makers blood pressure rise, China’s really out did itself on this one. While it’s great for the consumer it’s not so great for the tool makers, as expensive as they are I’d hate to see them go.
25 August 2015 at 4:35 am #129739I got the Lie Nielsen tools catalogue today and I had to lit a cigarette while going through the pages. They had unbelievable prices for the planes. It may seem expensive, but if you put all together—labour, bronze and other metals cost—it actually is a steal! Of course I don’t always have the budget to purchase these well made tools (I’m not single anymore) but time after time I purchase them regardless. I also noticed that the less expensive products we get from China do require lot of tuning. All things considered, I think if we all live well–we will support the quality toolmakers more often. My wish to all—be well!
1 September 2015 at 4:02 pm #129996I’m heading there this week to pick up 4 more clamps. I wonder if I can sneak these into the cart without my wife noticing 😀
6 September 2015 at 2:09 pm #130129I was recently considering converting one of my #4’s to a scrub plane. Instead, I noticed a small plane at harbor freight for 10 bucks, that I converted to a scrub. The mouth was already huge, so all I had to do was grind a camber on the iron. I’m pleasantly suprised at the quality of this plane (unfortunately). For a scrub, it will work quite well. I’m still enamored with the Lee Valley and Lie-Nielson planes though. I had the chance to try out a Lee Valley #4 on curly maple at a show recently…It pulled off a feat I’ve never done with my stanley’s…No tearout, and glassy smooth.
16 September 2015 at 9:06 pm #130559Thanks for the tip, they just opened up a mew Harbor Freight not to far from where I live. Will have to check them out. I bought ( 7 ) of their light weight aluminum clamps and tuned them up like Paul’s and have been very happy with them. they are a lot lighter than and easier to use then my Bessy K – Body’s.
Steve
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