So after 25yrs graft I got an award from my company. A nice chunk of unfortunately vouchers, certainly not ungrateful but best I could get was Amazon. Luckily some communications with Axminster and they listed the item I wanted. It’s arrived,
New Toy - Clifton no 4
- Thread starter Fitzroy
- Start date
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johna.clements
Established Member
Boxes are useful.
Shroedinger's woodworking tool?
MARK.B.
Established Member
When my kids were younger they would play happily with empty cardboard boxes for hours on end, pretty sure you are past this point and this one has a shiny new toy of some description hidden inside , go on stop being such a tease and show us 
Mmm very yummy
Unpacked in workshop. Fantastic quality casting and finish. No two piece cap iron, didn’t know that when ordered but don’t think I’d know if it made any difference to performance.
Iron ground to 25degrees at about I guess 240grit, sharp out the box but with a burr in place. Sharpened to 2000grit on a secondary bevel and honed on leather with autosol. Not because I think that’s the best but because I wanted to and that’s how I like it. Iron was not hard to sharpen or polish the back of.
There was a small burr around the mouth that came off with a little 1200 grit wet and dry, other than that the body seems perfect.
Iron ground to 25degrees at about I guess 240grit, sharp out the box but with a burr in place. Sharpened to 2000grit on a secondary bevel and honed on leather with autosol. Not because I think that’s the best but because I wanted to and that’s how I like it. Iron was not hard to sharpen or polish the back of.
There was a small burr around the mouth that came off with a little 1200 grit wet and dry, other than that the body seems perfect.
Blade replaced and the plane set up. I like the extra weight in the no 4 over my old Stanley. The plane really seems to suck down to the wood and have a super positive feel when in use.
Testing on a piece of sycamore with a little reversing grain, nothing too tricky and I could tame it with my Stanley. The yoke and adjust knob are lovely with only a hint of back-lash, the lateral lever is a touch stiff and fine adjustments are not as easy as I would like, perhaps a drop of oil needed.
Outcome is a super fine shaving and an incredible surface finish
One thing I’ve had to adjust is that the screw on the front knob was slightly proud and the edges a touch sharp. As a result they caught on my hand whilst in use. I bored the hole deeper and now it’s recessed out the way.
Overall I have to say it feels and performs much better than my old Stanley. Very happy with my 25yr gift as I would never have sprung for one from my own pocket.
Fitzroy
Testing on a piece of sycamore with a little reversing grain, nothing too tricky and I could tame it with my Stanley. The yoke and adjust knob are lovely with only a hint of back-lash, the lateral lever is a touch stiff and fine adjustments are not as easy as I would like, perhaps a drop of oil needed.
Outcome is a super fine shaving and an incredible surface finish
One thing I’ve had to adjust is that the screw on the front knob was slightly proud and the edges a touch sharp. As a result they caught on my hand whilst in use. I bored the hole deeper and now it’s recessed out the way.
Overall I have to say it feels and performs much better than my old Stanley. Very happy with my 25yr gift as I would never have sprung for one from my own pocket.
Fitzroy
I have the No. 5 and it is also excellent. I bought it at a woodworking show over 15 years ago. Clifton (as was then) had a stand with various planes to try, so I had a go. The demonstrator very politely corrected my technique then he told me the price, but I simply couldn't afford it (I had 'agreed' a budget with my wife beforehand). He then disappeared into the stock room and produced a B spec No. 5. He showed me the fault, a single, tiny casting pit on the side that had a marker pen ring around it. The price was within budget and when I got it home it produced exactly the same super thin shavings. I would love a No. 4.
To find a premium casting with a pinhole and get money off is a gift. I suppose stanley would also have called a casting with a pinhole or a dot somewhere defective and culled it, but it speaks to what's important to the market vs. utility.
I recently got one of those too. The iron was ground a tiny bit off square on mine, although it was such a small amount it was well into OCD territory and effectively inconsequential TBH. I still had to regrind it though. Nice toy!
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I wonder how much that has to do with the flatness? I have a Record 5 1/2 that I had professionally flattened 30+ years ago (it was 15 years old then) and it has always felt better than anything else I've owned.
Can be due to flatness and also due to weight. It's hard to discern on something like a smoother shaving, but if you go heavier with a plane (like pre-final smoothing passes at double or triple final shaving thickness) a heavier plane can mask the feel of minor tearout.
For fine work, flatness is more important or at least not the wrong kind out of flatness - than it gets credit for here. I'm sure a heavier plane is also easier for most people to start at the near edge of a hardwood board.
out of curiosity, I looked to see who is carrying clifton here, as it used to be highland woodworking.
it's now woodcraft, which usually means woodcraft seeks an exclusive agreement. WC may also sell sister company stuff (saws, etc?), but it's kind of a no win situation.
Woodcraft has a lot of reach, but they prevent sales by their pricing. No-vat price in the UK converts to $289 right now (we would pay sales tax on top of that).
Woodcraft's price is $389 plus tax for a clifton 4. An iron LN 4 is $340.
Fitzroy - if you eventually use the chipbreaker to control tearout, you're better off with a one-piece chipbreaker.
it's now woodcraft, which usually means woodcraft seeks an exclusive agreement. WC may also sell sister company stuff (saws, etc?), but it's kind of a no win situation.
Woodcraft has a lot of reach, but they prevent sales by their pricing. No-vat price in the UK converts to $289 right now (we would pay sales tax on top of that).
Woodcraft's price is $389 plus tax for a clifton 4. An iron LN 4 is $340.
Fitzroy - if you eventually use the chipbreaker to control tearout, you're better off with a one-piece chipbreaker.
MARK.B.
Established Member
Given the circumstances for keeping us waiting you are forgiven , it tis truly a very very nice shiny toy,alas beyond my price range but would you send me the empty box so at least i can pretend i own one
That must be one hell of a plane if it is delivered with a police escort.
When you look at something like that Clifton plane it speaks quality and looks refined, that is a benchmark for quality. Considering the cost now it is hard to think that not that long ago they were found in many a chippys canvas tool bag, I wonder if the rise of MDF and UPVC windows had anything to do with this.
