qs block planes

[lurcher]

hi lads do any of you own a qs block plane or had the chance to use 1
i am in need of a new 1 and would like to hear your views please
i have been making a pair of oak paneled doors for my son and my old block plane has about died on me
tough on tools is oak but does look nice

 

[AndyT]

There's a review of the rebating version here https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38266

Unfortunately Wizer's images have disappeared since he stopped posting on this forum.

 

[Grahamshed]

I have one from WH and am very pleased with it but I have never had anything else to compare it to.

 

[MIGNAL]

I have one. It's the one that is the equivalent of the Stanley 9 1/2. It's very well made, no doubt about it. The blade is very good. The only minor gripe is the weight, it's heavy! That is either an advantage or disadvantage, depending on how you view these things. In terms of cutting or rather planing wood? Well, get the blade seriously sharp and I fail to see how it's performance can be improved upon. The sole is flat, the bed is flat, the blade is very good and the mouth is adjustable.

 

[mqbernardo]

no complaints about mine either. i have two QS block and two bench planes. all came _almost_ flat (better than some more expensive ones) and the blade steel is indeed very nice. Holds a nice edge... does anyone know which steel it is?

 

[Berncarpenter]

I have the rebate version , sadly i bought from Rutlands who dont supply the best quality QS .I think they are sellings seconds as the first one they sent had a hairline crack in the casting . This was replaced with an out of square one that also had a curved sole.
They are nice planes if you get a good one , the only thing that bugs me is that the brass wheel for tightening the iron is tucked away a little too far under the cap and is difficult to get at. The Veritas that i have is a much better plane but it was a lot more expensive. My advise if you are going to get one stay away from Rutlands. Have heard only good news from the Wood heaven ones

Cheers Bern

 

[MIGNAL]

I think I bought mine from Rutlands. . . or maybe it was Axminster. In any case I can't see a lot wrong with mine. Neither do I see any difference between the QS and my Veritas, at least in terms of performance. If anything the QS has the better blade but then again I don't think my particular Veritas blade is the best example.

 

[Berncarpenter]

I think I bought mine from Rutlands. . . or maybe it was Axminster. In any case I can't see a lot wrong with mine. Neither do I see any difference between the QS and my Veritas, at least in terms of performance. If anything the QS has the better blade but then again I don't think my particular Veritas blade is the best example.

Maybe I have been unlucky to have two bad ones. To me my Veritas just feels more refined and is easier to use and adjust.

Cheers Bern

 

[MickCheese]

I bought mine from WH and like it a lot. I also have a Lie Nielsen low angle one to compare it against. There's not a lot between them other than the price. The LN is just a little more refined but not a lot.

If I had to buy again I would probably go for the QS for both of them.

Mick

 

[GLFaria]

I have one, under the trade name Juuma, which I believe comes from the same manufacturer. I bought it from Dieter Schmid. It is my favorite plane (mind you, I don't have that many, just one #3, one #4 and one #78, besides the Juuma). 3mm thick iron. The iron sharpens well, and keeps an edge. I feel weight is actually an advantage.
Only two gripes: 1. the depth adjustment is rather coarse - adjustment must be made by (very small) fractions of a turn; 2. the cap-iron covers too much of the tightening screw - I had to grind it a bit on the left side so I could comfortably work the screw with the thumb (see pic). I would also prefer a slightly tighter fit of the sides of the iron to the inside of the body, as in hard end grain the iron may be displaced if the cap-iron is not tightened hard.

 

[Berncarpenter]

I have one, under the trade name Juuma, which I believe comes from the same manufacturer. I bought it from Dieter Schmid. It is my favorite plane (mind you, I don't have that many, just one #3, one #4 and one #78, besides the Juuma). 3mm thick iron. The iron sharpens well, and keeps an edge. I feel weight is actually an advantage.
Only two gripes: 1. the depth adjustment is rather coarse - adjustment must be made by (very small) fractions of a turn; 2. the cap-iron covers too much of the tightening screw - I had to grind it a bit on the left side so I could comfortably work the screw with the thumb (see pic). I would also prefer a slightly tighter fit of the sides of the iron to the inside of the body, as in hard end grain the iron may be displaced if the cap-iron is not tightened hard.

Thanks for the photos , off to the workshop to get the grinder on the QS cap-iron. :twisted:

Cheers Bern

 

[Grahamshed]

With QS planes, as with anything else, where you buy can be as important as what you buy, and ultimately more important than how much you pay.
My two QS planes ( the block and a 5 jack ) were my first ever planes and as I said to Matt 'Not only have I never sharpened a plane, I have no idea how sharp is sharp enough'

So he sharpened one for me as a demo.
Great service.

 

[carlb40]

I also have the LA block plane purchased from WSH. It is a good plane for the money. I think it could be improved slightly to make it easier to use. I need to use it a bit more and then follow up with a review to go with my review of the 62.

 

[Sawyer]

hii have been making a pair of oak paneled doors for my son and my old block plane has about died on me
tough on tools is oak but does look nice

Unless it's a really cheap and nasty one or has suffered some mishap like a broken casting, likely a bit of TLC would get it back into order again?

 

[Berncarpenter]

Well ive done it ground a bit off both sides of the cap and to my surprise its brass under the chrome plating. Cleaned up with a couple of files
and used a polishing mop to smooth out the sharp edges . Thanks for the tip GLFaria it has made a big difference and now is a much easier to adjust. . I have taken some photos and if anyone would like to see them i will post tonight when i have more time, got to get back to work
now

Cheers Bern

 

[GLFaria]

Well ive done it ground a bit off both sides of the cap and to my surprise its brass under the chrome plating. Cleaned up with a couple of files
and used a polishing mop to smooth out the sharp edges . Thanks for the tip GLFaria it has made a big difference and now is a much easier to adjust. . I have taken some photos and if anyone would like to see them i will post tonight when i have more time, got to get back to work
now

Cheers Bern

You're welcome.
The cap on mine is brass all along, no chrome plating (to be honest, I rather prefer brass...). On the picture "before" it looks like it was chromed, but it is just an effect of lighting, and of the cap being highly polished at the time. I decided to grind it right when I started using the plane - depth adjustment it was a bit hard on my fingers...

 

[Selwyn]

In the beginning rutlands were doing quangy block planes for £30. Lots of people were a bit sniffy about them but mine was so good I bought a 4,5 and 6 soon after for bargain prices from Rutlands. And they are really good.

Not too expensive too worry about a bit of rust etc. but nice quality to make it a pleasure.

 

[Berncarpenter]

Here are a few photos of the QS with some Veritas and a Lienielson
With the Veritas you can see the brass wheel follows the out line of the cap easy to get at. the QS is tucked underneath and difficult to get at.

This is the problem cant get my fingers under the cap

Before

After

Thats one problem fixed now all i have to do is get the sole flat and square the sides.

Cheers Bern

 

[GLFaria]

"...now all i have to do is get the sole flat and square the sides."

Ah?! The sole on mine is flat and the sides are square to the sole; I may have been lucky, but judging from the overall quality of the plane I would take it as a "normal" feature of this brand. The only work I had to do on it before using it for the first time was honing the iron, of course, and lighly sanding the sole with P400 wet sandpaper (or did I go down to P600? Can't remember...) on a glass plate - not really necessary, as the sole was perfectly usable as it came from the manufacturer.

 

[Berncarpenter]

"...now all i have to do is get the sole flat and square the sides."

Ah?! The sole on mine is flat and the sides are square to the sole; I may have been lucky, but judging from the overall quality of the plane I would take it as a "normal" feature of this brand. The only work I had to do on it before using it for the first time was honing the iron, of course, and lighly sanding the sole with P400 wet sandpaper (or did I go down to P600? Can't remember...) on a glass plate - not really necessary, as the sole was perfectly usable as it came from the manufacturer.

Maybe ive just been unlucky as most people have only good things to say about these planes but ''once bittern twice shy''. Rutlands wont get another order from me and if i buy a new plane i dont want to do too much to it so its back to the brands that i trust.

Cheers Bern