I've got a recent Stanley 60 1/2. Boy, it took some fettling!
It works OK now, but the best bit by far is the iron (A2 if memory serves).
I had to:
Flatten the bottom and the throat plate.
Fettle the mouth and the 'frog' (where the iron bears down at the sharp end),
Similar flattening/ straightening on the cap iron at the thin end (need to revisit this).
Add a washer under the front knob, so it clamped properly.
Clean up the rebate for the throat-plate so it moved properly and fully.
It's still got nasty sharp-ish bits where the end of the throat-plate rebate meets the nose. If you've got the mouth set fine and you're clumsy, it's too easy to mark work if you slip (like driving two prongs into the wood).
It ought to be a nice plane, but frankly, get an old one and a modern iron. Don't waste the time I did on the modern junk. I'm used to it now and 'have the measure of it' but it's only average - it ought to be brilliant.
And the pouch it comes with is useless for actually keeping it in.
I quite agree though about weight. You use them one-handed a lot and mine is borderline too heavy. The bronze ones would be quite annoying after a while, I imagine.
E.
