Hot New Tool Review WoodRiver Exclusive Planes Tester: Craig Bentzley

fter reading some heated Internet Athreads about the WoodRiver planes, I’ll admit that I had some misgivings about putting myself in the crossfire. Then, I thought about the guy looking to buy his first block or bench plane on a limited budget. Price is important, especially today. (I had been woodworking for 15 years before I could afford my first Bed Rock.) That said, no tool is a bargain if it doesn’t work properly. So, out of pure curiosity, I accepted the assignment to examine and test the first editions of the WoodRiver block and bench planes. First, the facts. The bench planes where I checked them for flatness and perfect until I checked them during this (Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6) are modeled after the side-to-sole perpendicularity and then test. The sides measured out of square by Stanley “Bed Rock,” which went out of subjected them to a general inspection. an average of about .5°, about the same production in 1943. These new planes In total, I spent about 45 minutes on each as my vintage planes. The castings are feature a solid, machined frog (see photo, bench plane before it was ready to use. heavier than my Bed Rocks, and tougher below) designed to reduce blade chatter, Not bad considering some vintage planes too. One of the shortcomings of the old and a three-screw adjustment system that need over four hours of fettling and often planes was the tendency of the cast iron allows for throat adjustments without require a blade and chipbreaker upgrade. body to break when dropped. You’ll find removing the blade. (Similar planes exist, The soles tested flat from front to many of the old Baileys that suffered this but not at this price.) rear but show a bit of concavity side to fate. To test their durability, I dropped I spent about 15 minutes per plane, side. The concavity was less than .001"— the #3 from the bench. It is also notable disassembling and cleaning each, before comparable to some of my higher-end that they taking them to a granite surface plate, planes, which I had assumed were survived several

Blade and Chipbreaker Frog

Frog pins

Plane body Lever cap

Nicely machined surfaces help prevent chatter by solidly The three-screw mechanism enables you to adjust the size mating the frog to the bottom casting. of the throat without removing the blade.

10 woodcraft magazine A p r i l /M a y 2 0 0 9 honing. The thickness of chipbreakers slop. There is no lateral adjustment comes close to that of the blade—a real for the blade, and not much play side- plus; however the lip on the leading to-side, meaning the bevel needs to be edge causes the blade to deflect. This can perpendicular to the sides of the blade. cause the blade to chatter when planing (It wasn’t on the plane that I received, harder woods. I solved the problem by but that was easily corrected with the reducing the lip on a diamond stone initial sharpening.) until it projected about .020". Also, the To wrap things up, the new WoodRiver leading edges of two of the chipbreakers planes may lack the prestige of a vintage were not perpendicular to the sides. To tool or the out-of-the-box planability of Thicker blades and chipbreakers fix this, I honed the bevel with a guide the pricier competition. However, given a reduce vibration and chatter for until it was square and smooth. little tune-up and sharpening time, they smoother cuts. WoodRiver’s stock The knobs and totes are made from can handle everything from pine to oak blade and chipbreaker are about twice a light-colored variety of rosewood and to curly maple just as sweetly. If you’re as thick as a vintage Stanley Bailey. have a minimal finish and comfortable ready to step into the world of hand tool shapes. My biggest gripe is the stamped- woodworking, and your tool-buying ceiling to floor drops and even a few metal lateral adjusting levers. Considering money tree has fewer leaves, consider these whacks with a 6 lb. blacksmith’s hammer, the forces that this lever is subjected to, I tools as a worthy investment. with relatively minor dings and dents. have to wonder how it will hold up. #149381 Block Plane $69.99 The blades, made from high-carbon The block plane was my personal Bench Planes: steel (in the Rc hardness 60-64 range) favorite. The polished cap iron was #149382 No. 3, $99.99; and measuring between .118" and .122" comfortable in the hand, and the #149383 No. 4, $109.99; thick, are not “ready-to-go” out of the adjustable shoe moved smoothly. The #149384 No. 5, $119.99; box. They require minor lapping and blade advancement screw had very little #149385 No. 6, $129.99

w w w . W o o d c r a f t M a g a z i n e . c o m woodcraft magazine 11 Hot New Tools & Accessories

Helical head for the small shop Steel City Tool Works 13" Portable Planer So-called “insert” tooling is one of the latest and greatest solutions for machining tough and figured wood. Compared to straight-bladed cutterheads, the small, easy-to-replace knives cause less tear-out and are noticeably quieter. But with the exception of some large machinery and aftermarket cutterheads costing $400 (installation not included), this technology has proved slow to reach small-shop woodworkers. Enter Steel City with its 13" lunchbox planer having a 26-cutter helical head, and a price tag that’s less than some of its straight-bladed competition. Each cutter has four cutting edges; when one becomes dull, simply loosen a screw and rotate it to reveal a fresh edge. Some would prefer carbide, but according to the manufacturer, you can expect to run about 10,000 linear feet of lumber through the machine before the cutters need replacement. Our quickie test produced smooth, gouge-free surfaces on cherry and quilted maple, with minimal snipe. And the dust collection proved effective as well. One nice detail that deserves special mention is the repeat cut feature. Set the stop screw, and the step-stopped thickness settings ensure that stock is automatically thicknessed from 13/4" down to 1/8" in 1/8" increments. #842713 $599.99 Woodcraft Tester: Joe Hurst-Wajszczuk 26-cutter helical head

12 woodcraft magazine A p r i l /M a y 2 0 0 9 Smaller tools for tiny turnings Pinnacle Cryogenic Pen Set When it comes to turning pens and other small-scale projects, I want a tool that feels more like a pocket knife than a long-handled turning tool. The compact tools in the Pinnacle Cryogenic Pen Set are just the right size for turning pens, bottle stoppers, and tops on my mini-lathe. (It’s worth pointing out that the three-piece set costs about as much as one of the larger turning tools.) As with the full-sized tools, the cryogenically treated steel stays sharp two to three times longer DeDICateD to all than high-speed steel, the perFeCtIonIsts which means more Who ContInue to turning between sharpenings. InsIst on DoIng #149546 $89.99 thIngs rIght. Woodcraft Tester: Kent Harpool © 2009 Gorilla Glue Company W1HD1_09 Company Glue Gorilla 2009 ©

For the toughest jobs on planet earth.® 1-800-966-3458 gorillatough.com Made in U.S.A.

w w w . W o o d c r a f t M a g a z i n e . c o m woodcraft magazine 13 Hot New Tools & Accessories

Say “bye-bye” to baby food jars Highpoint XT Flat Head Screw Assortment Kit If you’ve ever made a late-night dash to the hardware store, you already know why you need this kit. The 800-piece set of unplated square drive screws should be more than enough to complete almost any workshop project. The carrying case contains two #1 × 2" and two #2 × 2" driver bits, hand drivers, and 50 each of the following: #6 × 1/2", 3/4" and 11/4"; #8 × 3/4", 1", 11/4", 11/2", 13/4", 2", 21/2", and 3"; and #10 × 11/2", 2", 21/2", and 3". #619169 $49.99 Woodcraft Tester: Darin Lawrence

An instant glue for just about everything Titebond Instant Bond CA Adhesives The first adhesive choice for pen turners and finish carpenters, cyanoacrylate (CA) glues are suitable for attaching almost anything to anything else, in just a few minutes. Titebond manufacturer, Franklin International, now offers a line of CAs that works with other materials but is specially formulated for wood. The glues have a two-year shelf life (unopened), a 4000 psi tensile strength, and a service temperature range from -65°F to +200°F. Titebond CA comes in four viscosities, from watery thin (for assembling and finishing pens), to gel (for mitered returns). Give the joint a spritz of the activator for an instantaneous bond. #149430 (Thin, 2 oz.), #149433 (Medium, 2 oz.), and #149436 (Thick, 2 oz.)— each $9.99; #149439 (Gel, 2 oz.), $12.99; #149442 (Activator, 2 oz.), $ 7.99 Woodcraft Tester: Kent Harpool

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Woodworking for the 21st Century

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w w w . W o o d c r a f t M a g a z i n e . c o m woodcraft magazine 15

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