"- Colonel -" wrote in message
news:2006012106533550878-nobody@verizonnet...
On 2006-01-20 15:53:50 -0500, said:
I guess I am asking if a cheapo Buck Bros. plane from Home Depot will
cut as good as an old Stanley if both were equipped with a Hock blade?
Once, in my younger and stupider days, I bought a Buck Bros. plane at Home
Depot before putting a straight-edge on it. When I got home, I did. Not
even close. That plane went back to HD the next day.
Sometimes I have to wonder about the economies of scale. How much extra per
plane the customers keep is added to the cost because of the planes
customers return because they're trashy (the planes are trashy, not the
customers)? Would we pay an extra two bucks, or however much, per plane to
reduce the crappiness? It is obvious SOME of us will pay considerably more,
as evidenced by Veritas and Lie-Nielsen planes, where economies of scale
must be much less.
But, then, the handplane market seems to have pretty well petered out,
except for true enthusiasts, so the overall chances of increasing sales at a
better quality point and a very few bucks more are probably not worth the
bean counters' time.