On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 12:13:50 -0600, "Mike H."
wrote:


But the Stanley planes *look* descent enough, and are about half the price
of a Veritas. And I have seen photos of Stanleys in professional wood
workers' "favorite hand tool" selections. So I was wondering if anyone out
there might have first hand experience in providing a side-by-side
comparison of the Stanley vs. Veritas hand planes (in particular smooth
planes).

Sure. Some OLD Stanley's work very well. Most will need at least
some work. A Hock iron will hold an edge better than any original.
I've purchased a few Stanley's, tuned them, added good irons and chip
breakers, and ended up spending nearly what a Veritas planes costs.

Veritas planes come close to ready to go, except for a bit of
Cosmolene that needs to be cleaned off, and maybe a very quick touch
up of the edge. The bottoms are flat, the sides are square, the irons
have flat backs, etc...

Veritas planes also are designed with really nice adjusting
mechanisms, adjustable throat openings and a frog that supports the
high quality blade better than a typical Stanley. Lee Valley also has
satisfaction guarantee. I doubt they get many planes back.

Amazon had a nasty review for the #4 Stanley, but the fellow
didn't say why it was such a horrible hand plane.

Plastic knobs, sides that aren't square, a sole that isn't flat, and a
blade that won't hold an edge. What more could you want in a hand
plane? G

I don't use standard bench planes as much as some folks might, as I
use machines for grunt work. My Veritas low angle block and medium
shoulder planes are constantly in use. I have some pre-1950 Stanley
#5's and a #4 with Hock irons. I put a ton of time into them to get
them working well, but they still don't have the mechanism or
adjustable mouth of the Veritas versions.

FWIW, once you use a good shoulder plane, you'll be amazed at how much
time can be saved cutting tenons a scootch oversize and custom
trimming them during the dry fit. A swipe or two, and a perfect fit
is yours!

Trust me, a good plane is poetry in motion, a new Stanley is a
doorstop.

Barry