STANLEY Hand Planer, Black (12-220)

When it comes to this Stanley hand plane I have no complaints I've had it for 2 years now and it was sharp out of the box I use it almost every day for the money for somebody on a budget starting out woodworking it is your best block plane that you can buy out of the box it's Sharp you can work with it right off the bat and know that you won't have to sharpen it right away good quality blades flattened right out of the box it is the best hand plane you can buy when you're on a budget even for somebody like me that doing woodworking for 27 years now and haven't used hand tools much but need a new block plane and it's the best one I ever bought

I'm fairly new to woodworking, been slowly moving from dimensional pine and cedar lumber to more hardwood custom pieces. Decided I was tired of going through loads of sand paper and it was time to get a planer. Now, I am not near ready to spend $100+ on a small block planer.. that just seems insane. I did a LOT of research and I know Stanley has a good name in the business and this seemed a decent entry level model. I knew I was going to have to do some fine tuning of the plane once I got it, but I was surprised by how much work I actually had to do to get this thing working smoothly.I watched a lot of videos and how to's on tuning up a plane. Most recommend using a flat surface like a pane of glass and various grits of sand paper, I specifically bought a $2 marble tile for this, flat as can be. To start with flattening the sole (bottom) of the plane and removing machining marks they recommend using ~120 grit. I went at it with 100grit back and forth for about an hour and still was not getting the nose or heel of the plane. After about 3 sheets I moved it up to 60 grit. Another 30mins and man I still hadn't touched the toe or heel of this thing, it must have looked like a banana from the factory. I finally gave up put it in a vice, made sure it was level, and got out the orbital sander with 180grit. Using consistent back and forth movement I was still not hitting the low spots. I bumped it up to 60grit and was finally able to get the whole sole a nice matte after another 20 or so minutes. Took it out of the vice, then went back to doing it by hand back to 100 grit, 140, 180, and finished at 320. Luckily this is pretty much only a 1 time tuning, but I was not really prepared for how much work it took. Put some paste wax on the sole to prevent rust and took a break.BTW..do this outside and wear a mask and gloves. The aluminum dust gets everywhere and can't be good for you.With the sole flat and smooth, i moved to the actual blade. This was easier but still took a fair amount or work. You will need a angle guide, you can find them for ~$25 on Amazon here. People say you can do it by feel.. but just get a guide it will save you a lot of headache.Once that was done and sharpened up to 800 grit (highest I have, people do much higher usually though and strop it) I re-assembled it and cut nice shavings. Then I used it to remove glue from a joint and level the matting surfaces. Took only a couple passes. Then used it to level out some misaligned end grain, which is where block planes shine. I had a bit of tear out on the pine, but that was my fault for not sandwiching the piece.So I'm sure the more expensive planes have their reasons for being more expensive like an adjustable mouth (hole that the blade protrudes from makes it so you can adjust how thick the shaving is somewhat) but this thing works for the basics. It just took a lot of elbow grease initially to grind it into shape.

Good product. They make better but if you don’t need it a ton it’s perfect.

This little guy is an excellent value. It was smaller than I expected, but gets the job done. The only disadvantage is that because of the small size, my hands start to get sore after a half hour or so. But the blade was nice and sharp right out of the box and the factory adjustment was pretty good--took a nice clean ribbon off a pine 1x6. I was pleasantly surprised when it did the same with 5/4 cherry. I've had a little trouble in areas where the grain isn't clean, but that might be more a case of deficient operator skill. The blade held its edge through three weeks of moderate use, and was easy to re-sharpen (with the Scary Sharp method). I was so impressed with the re-sharpened blade that I ended up shaving all the hair off my left forearm. Had to wear long sleeves for a couple weeks. But I digress...excellent little plane, especially for the money.

The main picture shown on the site is of another plane. The one you get has slightly different features. All the parts are there and work. The blade is not sharp enough to cut pine. It will have to be sharpened before use. The base of my plane is rough from the machining which was surprising, they usually are not perfectly flat but I've never seen one rough with machining marks. Mine also has a twist in the base which will take lots of work to flatten. Its not a fine woodworking plane but will work for a finish carpenter to toss in their tools bags for use on the job site. I bought it to use for that very purpose. Buy a Woodriver plane if you need a woodworking plane. Best bang for the buck.

This low angle block plane is fantastic. I've used it for all sorts of projects, even the ones i didn't plan on using it in the first place. The blade i received with it was in great shape and ready to use, sharp out of the box...but it's a blade, and will require sharpening as all wood working tools do. The casting is in good shape too, smooth edges, etc. The low angle is great for going in any direction, and it's easy to control. Fits in the palm of my hand. Easy depth of cut adjustment. I'm a happy customer!

This is a decent little plane out of the box. I did grid the sale with sheets of sandpaper on glass. It didnt take too long and the result was pretty good. I also lapped and sharpened the blade which also came out nice. I reccomend this plane.

I avoided a hand planer because they always seemed so overpriced for what they were. But this thing was way cheaper than the local options and performs fantastic! Time for me to sharpen the blade already so now I have to learn that skill…