kenneth cooke
Established Member
It goes without saying that one can dramatically improve the performance of a bench plane by replacing the existing iron with a new modern version of which there are many available and if I may I will share my own findings. On my Stanley 604c Bedrock Plane c1914 I fitted a Holtey iron which required that I open the mouth slightly to accommodate the extra thickness of the iron. Having done the the plane now performs very very well. On my Record No7 c1940 I fitted a Ray Illes iron, again, opening the mouth to take the extra thickness. This plane is now really superb.
The other planes in question are from LN in the USA and are fitted as standard with LN irons. The first is a No 5-1/2 Jack plane and the other is a 4- 1/2 smoothing plane fitted with a high angle York pitch frog. Finally a LN No 9 Mitre plane fitted with a standard LN iron bevel up.
My findings are that although the LN planes are quite superb they are no better than the old Stanley and Record planes with replacement irons and I would strongly recommend anyone looking at the, not inconsiderable outlay, in buying LN planes to consider, first trying old planes which are readily available from various sites (I can strongly recommend Ray Illes). This can be a huge saving they will give performance equal to new LN plane it just requires that the buyer does a little fettling but someone like Ray with flatten the sole and fit one of his irons into any plane you purchase for a nominal fee. He bought a sole grinding machine from Record when Parkway Works closed in Sheffield. I would suggest the buyer goes for old Record planes unless they can run to the expense of Stanley Bedrock Planes. But a Stanley Bedrock Plane will cost considerably less than a new LN plane and the buyer would be buying into tool folklore and possibly make a good inflation proof investment into the bargain.
And guess what you normally get Brazilian Rosewood handle and tote as standard on Bedrocks far better than the miserable American Cherry ones fitted on LN. I know you can pay extra for Rosewood but it is farmed Indonesian no Brazilian
The other planes in question are from LN in the USA and are fitted as standard with LN irons. The first is a No 5-1/2 Jack plane and the other is a 4- 1/2 smoothing plane fitted with a high angle York pitch frog. Finally a LN No 9 Mitre plane fitted with a standard LN iron bevel up.
My findings are that although the LN planes are quite superb they are no better than the old Stanley and Record planes with replacement irons and I would strongly recommend anyone looking at the, not inconsiderable outlay, in buying LN planes to consider, first trying old planes which are readily available from various sites (I can strongly recommend Ray Illes). This can be a huge saving they will give performance equal to new LN plane it just requires that the buyer does a little fettling but someone like Ray with flatten the sole and fit one of his irons into any plane you purchase for a nominal fee. He bought a sole grinding machine from Record when Parkway Works closed in Sheffield. I would suggest the buyer goes for old Record planes unless they can run to the expense of Stanley Bedrock Planes. But a Stanley Bedrock Plane will cost considerably less than a new LN plane and the buyer would be buying into tool folklore and possibly make a good inflation proof investment into the bargain.
And guess what you normally get Brazilian Rosewood handle and tote as standard on Bedrocks far better than the miserable American Cherry ones fitted on LN. I know you can pay extra for Rosewood but it is farmed Indonesian no Brazilian
