more new planes hitting the market

[ali27]

It seems the QS plane is sold by:

1)workshopheaven.com



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2)dick-biz.



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3)fine-toolse.de



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4)toolman.co.uk



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5)Rutlands.co.uk cheapest



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Toolman.co.uk has a very pretty no1 for 102 euro.

-Toolman.co.uk is the most expensive.
-Rutlands the cheapest.
-Dick biz is the second cheapest.
-Both the Rutlands and workshopheaven quangsheng are lacquered. Doesn´t look nice at all.
-The Juuma with the Toolman QS look the nicest IMO

I think the best choice is either the Dickbiz or Juuma QS.

Prices for the No4

Rutlands=72 euro
Dick=75euro
Workshopheaven=108 euro with free shipping
Juuma=109 euro, 106,xx euro with discount
Toolman=144 euro, looks exactly the same as the Juuma

I would guess the QS no4 is bought at about 30 euro or so
from QStools.

 

[big soft moose]

Sasdly i can't seem to be able to find a low angle block plane among the qs planes or their clones. Wonder why that is ? I would think a low angle block is a more versatile tool and a basic-kit plane than the standard angle one.

on one of the other threads mathew said there was a LA block in the works from QS - bout two weeks away i think

 

[Trizza]

-Both the Rutlands and workshopheaven quangsheng are lacquered. Doesn´t look nice at all.

I just received a Rutlands QS #6 yesterd - The handles don't seem to have shiny lacquer on them, they're quite satin in both look and feel. I'm actually very impressed with it! I cleaned it up, set the chipbreaker properly and set it up to take a fine cut and was taking wispy shavings in no time at all.

 

[ali27]

-Both the Rutlands and workshopheaven quangsheng are lacquered. Doesn´t look nice at all.

I just received a Rutlands QS #6 yesterd - The handles don't seem to have shiny lacquer on them, they're quite satin in both look and feel. I'm actually very impressed with it! I cleaned it up, set the chipbreaker properly and set it up to take a fine cut and was taking wispy shavings in no time at all.

Thanks for the info Trizza.

I don´t see any grain on the handles. They look quite
plain.

Could you upload a picture(s) of your plane?

Ali

 

[tim burr]

I've also got a No.4 and a No.5 from Rutlands and they've arrived with handles similar to the ones fitted to the fine tools plane and a satin/brushed style lever cap like the Dick-biz one.

I'm also very impressed, especially for £110 delivered for the pair

 

[Trizza]

I can't share any pictures right now, but as Tim said the handles look just like those from Dieter (plenty of grain visible) and the lever cap looks just like the one from Dick (non-bling, satin). I'm very happy with both the looks and the performance of the plane. I got it and a QS block plane - both are very impressive, especially value for money!

Both required some small tuning - the rear handle was very loose on the No.6, the frog was in a silly position, the chipbreaker wasn't even close to the edge, etc. That was no big deal since I disassembled it to clean the packing goo off and set it up correctly on reassembly. Otherwise they are great, and the irons needed only a bit of honing to fully eliminate tracks. They seem to take a very nice edge!

 

[ali27]

If you can please upload pictures. The rutlands
QS planes doesn´t look that nice when I check
their site.

I am interested in the look you describe Trizza
Tim Burr.

Ali

 

[big soft moose]

-Both the Rutlands and workshopheaven quangsheng are lacquered. Doesn´t look nice at all.

I just received a Rutlands QS #6 yesterd - The handles don't seem to have shiny lacquer on them, they're quite satin in both look and feel. I'm actually very impressed with it! I cleaned it up, set the chipbreaker properly and set it up to take a fine cut and was taking wispy shavings in no time at all.

yeah ive got a QS 6 from mathew and its not that shiny either - I think the shine in the picture is down to the lighting/camera flash

I'm in the "its a plane, you use it - who cares what the handles look like" school, but that said if I was in mathews shoes i'd look at getting some rosewood handles made and offering them as an after market option for those who do care about such things

 

[Einari Rystykaemmen]

Looks like another variation of QS to me.
Cheers
Philly

Yep, just like Juuma planes. These look almost identical.

Personally I have Juuma's version of this blockplane and I have to say I'm impressed (although these planes are pretty much copied from Lie Nielsen's models...). Well finished and dimensioned parts, straight bottom, smoothly operating adjustment knobs, good quality iron etc...

Another question is should we courage and support these Chinese "copiers", who let another companies make expensive R&D work, shamessly copy good models from them and sell it in 1/4 price... :roll:

 

[Karl]

Another question is should we courage and support these Chinese "copiers", who let another companies make expensive R&D work, shamessly copy good models from them and sell it in 1/4 price... :roll:

Where's the problem?

LN models are direct copies of Stanley originals as far as I can see. It's not as though they've innovated the models themselves (ala LV).

Cheers

Karl

 

[Trizza]

expensive R&D work

I'm not sure that LN's products really involve that much expensive R&D - they copy the Bedrock planes but use top notch materials and put in a lot of time milling & machining to make everthing fit & work perfectly. Very expensive work, sure, but thats tooling & manufacturing cost not R&D cost.

Now if these were copies of LV planes then it'd be a different matter..

 

[woodbloke]

Interesting to see the price comparisons on the planes. Whilst Matthew's QS's appear to be the most costly, what you will get is an impeccable, 24k gold plated after sales service. If you bought from any of the others, this may not be the case and you might find yourself neck deep in the sticky stuff without a paddle. No affiliation of course - Rob

 

[WellsWood]

.. Whilst Matthew's QS's appear to be the most costly, what you will get is an impeccable, 24k gold plated after sales service...- Rob

Couldn't agree more, Rob. worth it's weight in .... er, .....gold :wink:

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

...Now if these were copies of LV planes then it'd be a different matter..

According to FWW magazine, they are copies of LN planes. FWW did a comparison of the parts, per se, looking at thicknesses, design, etc. The Chinese planes were as close to ripping off the LN planes as dammit. Why do you think there was such a controversy on all the forums around the world .. except this one?

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item...lanes-from-lie-nielsen-wood-river-and-stanley

Why do you think LN pulled out of Woodcraft (who were responsible for bringing the Chinese factory into the plane manufacturing industry)?

Edit: Initially the controversy raged over the debilerate attempt to mimic the "look" of the LN planes. More recently it seems that the planes have undergone some changes to the design to avoid the accusation of mimicing LN. They appear (to my eye) now to have a softer look and sporting different paint. The latest block planes now present like Stanley Knucklehead block planes. Still, there are many of the original LN-copy planes out there. If you are going to buy one of these planes, get the new generation, not the LN copy.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[ali27]

The bedrock designs is Stanley´s, not LN´s.

If the QS plane looks like a LN, that is because
the LN is 99,9 percent a bedrock design with
some improvements like thicker blade and chipbreaker.

It´s really nonsense to say the QS is a LN copy unless
it has a bronze lever cap with cherry handles. Then it
is just copying the look and I would not buy it.

Again bedrock is Stanley´s design not LN. No need
to bring that up again.

Ok, that´s that.

Another thing is that I would like to see some improvements
for the bedrock design like a adjustable mouth and maybe
a norris adjuster with very little backlash.

Still interested in seeing the Rutlands QS plane. On their
site, they don´t look particularly nice looking. The green
japanning is like Clifton.

Ali

 

[Trizza]

...Now if these were copies of LV planes then it'd be a different matter..

According to FWW magazine, they are copies of LN planes.

LV, I wrote. There is a lot of original R&D involved in LV's products. Very little R&D in LN's planes - they're just effectively tuning and fettling the old Bedrock designs. Not that thats a bad thing - they make an awesome product and if I had the money I'd have a rack full of LN planes (or Holtey planes if I had even more money). It seems pretty hypocritical to me to criticize the Chinese for making a decent (and affordable, for those of us that aren't that well off) stab at doing the same thing that LN did! If it was an American or British company doing the exact same thing (similar product, not quite as high quality, but significantly lower cost) then everyone would say "Competition keeps everyone honest".

Why do you think there was such a controversy on all the forums around the world .. except this one?

The only forums where I've seen massive criticism (mind you, I don't read them all) have been American.

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item...lanes-from-lie-nielsen-wood-river-and-stanley

That shows a bunch of differences between the LN planes and the QS planes, just as there are between the LN planes and the Stanley planes, and says as much in the article. Whats the big deal? If YOU were making a new range of planes that you were basing off the Bedrock, you would be insane not to borrow improvements from the market leader - if they're not patented improvements, that is. They're both refined versions of Stanley originals - the only reason people are complaining is because the Americans did it before the Chinese did.

 

[Trizza]

Still interested in seeing the Rutlands QS plane. On their
site, they don´t look particularly nice looking. The green
japanning is like Clifton.

I'll put some pictures up as soon as I can. We're in the middle of some renovations at the moment so our camera is buried deep in a box somewhere! The japanning is not green, it is black, and looks much like that on the Juuma range.

 

[ali27]

Still interested in seeing the Rutlands QS plane. On their
site, they don´t look particularly nice looking. The green
japanning is like Clifton.

I'll put some pictures up as soon as I can. We're in the middle of some renovations at the moment so our camera is buried deep in a box somewhere! The japanning is not green, it is black, and looks much like that on the Juuma range.

Cool thanks.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

LV, I wrote.

You are right. I misread. It reflects my sensitivity to these products. I struggle to come to terms with the way that so many just accept a blatant infringement of rights. Obviously I am out of step with the forum in this regard.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Paul Chapman]

It seems pretty hypocritical to me to criticize the Chinese for making a decent (and affordable, for those of us that aren't that well off) stab at doing the same thing that LN did!

The Chinese are NOT doing what LN did. When LN started making planes, there weren't any decent new planes available. Stanley and Record had given up making decent planes long ago and their products were getting worse and worse every year. LN, Lee Valley and Clifton recognised that there was a market for well made and well designed planes and other hand tools and filled that need.

Without the initiative of LN, Lee Valley and Clifton, I doubt very much that the Chinese would have started making their current range of planes.

Personally, I'll stick with Clifton , LN and LV - they continue to offer the best products and the best customer service.

Cheers :wink:

Paul