Thread: Tool Evaluation

I am from Republic of Panama which is located in Central America. Our land boundaries are with Colombia and Costa Rica to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. My country is well known by its canal, were ships transits from one ocean to the other, tourism, banking service and world trade. Our currency is U.S. Dollar.

I have a small woodshop were we manufacture different kind of furniture’s including kitchens, entertainment centers, doors, vanities, and bookshelf’s, etc. We have been in business for almost 5 years. We purchase our hand & power tools from local stores and they come from US, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, England, etc. However, quality hand tools have to be order from out of the country.

I am planning to purchase for my personal use a set of good quality hand planes beginning with a #4 Smooth Plane, Low-Angle Block Plane and Bullnose Shoulder Plane and afterward, a Jack Plane from Lee Valley & Veritas. I have selected this manufacture because reading through your lines they have been appraised very well due to its workmanship and performance and also, to its price tag. LN has a higher price tag for my pocket and Stanley; on the other hand, are tools lacking end-quality and workmanship particularly for those planes made in Mexico. Don’t get me wrong, in my woodshop I have many Stanley’s planes: four #4, two #5, four Low-Angle Block, one jack, two shoulder and two spokeshaves which are used mainly for trimming and field work. I purchase them because they are cheap and disposable for example: a #5 Plane cost U.S Dollars $16.50 and #4 about $12.50 However, our main production process relays on machinery.

In the past couple of days I have been reading your postings and found them very educational. However, having such as large group of member I was wandering why there were very few tools evaluations made to hand and power tools. The only ones I read were at personal level back-up by other members. I price more the opinion of large group of professional woodworkers than an article from a magazine where one person evaluates a tool and most likely they tend to favor a given manufacturer. If possible, have a tool evaluation section in the future were the members can vote, base on their experiences to a particular tool which results can benefit all of us when making a tool selection on the other hand, we can make manufactures to pay moor attention to us, to enhance their products and lower their prices.

I will like to make the following recommendation:

<DIR><DIR>1. To make a comprehensive evaluation of hand tools starting with hand planes.

2. This evaluation should include at least 3 or more manufacturers at a time.

3. To select one similar model from each manufacturer example: a low-angle block plane from LN, Verita, Stanley, etc. all with similar performances.

4. Each member will vote base on his her knowledge base on tool performance, workmanship and price tag.

5. Each member may include his comments likes or dislikes at the end.

6. To maintain the evaluation dynamic the member can go back and change latter his/her evaluation when encounter with an issues not contemplated before.

7. Keep open one evaluation for each model example:

<DIR><DIR>a. Low-Angle Block Planes

b. Standard Block Plane

c. Nº 4 Smooth Planes

d. Bull nose Shoulder Plane

e. Low-Angle Smooth Plane

f. Low-Angle Jack-Plane

g. Spoke shaves

h. Chisels

i. Etc.

</DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR>Bobby