I have a Wood River #5 plane and like it very much. Wood River is sold by Woodcraft. I am not a hand plane person but I have found I use it more than I thought. I also have a block plane. It's a 60 1/2 Stanley. While Wood River doesn't make the best planes I think they are a bargain for the money.

 

Yeah the Woodcraft is like 127.00 so not to much. Still looking though

 

I have the Stanley Sweetheart #92 and love it. IIRC it was around $60.

 

http://www.routerforums.com/tools-woodworking/85386-hand-planes-so-hard-find.html#post1019873

stay away from the Sweetheart..

Router Forums - View Single Post - Hand Planes so hard to find!

 

The Cadillac's and Lincoln`s of hand planes are made by Veritas and Lee Neilson but they charge Cadillac and Lincoln prices for them too.

 

Yeah I know. About 50+ more for those instead of the Woodcraft version.

Still debating lol

 

an alternative???
Buy HOCK Shoulder Plane Kit at Woodcraft.com

WoodRiver Shoulder Plane Review with Jerill Vance

 

Hmmm.....I read the scathing reviews that Stick posted. I must've gotten lucky. My Sweetheart doesn't suffer from the maladies described.

 

but after extend use it does tenderize the heel of your hand...

 

Thanks. I do like the Woodcraft WoodRriver plane. Need to get it before it goes off sale haha

 

I own both LN and WoodRiver planes. I think the WR are an excellent value. Not the exact precision of LN but pretty close and with some initial set up steps they work just as well as the LN. I would not hesitate to tell a friend to buy one. If you do buy one take the offer for 3 months of free Rob Cosman videos. He uses the WR product because he helped Woodcraft develop the plane. He has a series of videos on how to set up a WR plane

 

I think I will go with the WR one from woodcraft. They are out of stk online. Looks like they have one at a local store about 45 min from here. But Id want the videos you spoke of. Ill make a call

 

Take along a very good square and a straight edge to ascertain the body and sole are at 90 degrees and the sole flat. In the past, I examined some of the Wood River planes and was not impressed.

Wood River has gone through several manufacturing versions. The last time I looked, I believe the version 4 was out, version 3 on sale. Pay attention to what you are looking at and ask questions if in doubt.

From what the clerk told me, the blade is not a premium blade or a Rob Crossman/Pinnacle. A Hoch or similar blade is another US$50.00 + depending the plane. Some people think that a premium blade comes with the plane.

I periodically work with a shoulder plane. My experience: weight helps, flatten the back of the blade prior to sharpening, razor sharp is essential.

 

Wood River has gone through several manufacturing versions. The last time I looked, I believe the version 4 was out, version 3 on sale. Pay attention to what you are looking at and ask questions if in doubt.

WR V1 and V@ were the clunkers...
V3 is a vast improvement over the earlier versions...

 

I have two Wood River planes, V3 versions and they are very good. Working with planes that are correctly sharpened is a real pleasure. I just bought a Veritas router plane and am looking forward to being able to use it for lap joints and to flatten some hollowed out areas. Watching Paul Sellers work kind of gets your plane appetite worked up.