Stanley sweetheart Planes

[SNight]

This is my first post on here, and was wondering if anyone had tried out the new stanley sweetheart planes and what there thoughts were on them? I could do with a low angle block plane and a smoother. They are currently on offer at Tilgear. How do they compare to a LN or Veritas? Thanks.

 

[bugbear]

They're been reviewed on various forums, when they came out.

Summary - they're "OK".

Try searching for detail.

BugBear

 

[woodbloke]

This is my first post on here, and was wondering if anyone had tried out the new stanley sweetheart planes and what there thoughts were on them? I could do with a low angle block plane and a smoother. They are currently on offer at Tilgear. How do they compare to a LN or Veritas? Thanks.

Half the price, roughly. You pays your money... - Rob

 

[clewlowm]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm not realy, i have the no 4 smoother sw model, also lie nielson and veritas planes. the new stanley are just as good. you just need to sharpen the blade and away you go.

 

[SNight]

Thanks for the replies. They are a lot cheaper I know, but would you think that with a little bit of work, maybe they would not be far off a LN or the like? What are the major differences materials wise? Am I right in saying they have the same A2 irons?

 

[Alf]

you just need to sharpen the blade and away you go.

If we're going to simplify things, arguably the same applies to a Groz, for instance.

I'd love to try one myself, but the price is a bit beyond the buy-it-to-try-it range for me unfortunately. Anyway welcome to the forum, SNight.

Cheers, Alf

 

[big soft moose]

I'm thinking about it as i really need a no.6 and cant afford LN?clifton/veritas - but that said i'm waiting to see what transpires with those chinese jobbies mathewwh is importing - they sound like they might do the business and be cheaper than sweetheart (and frankly i'd rather buy from mathew than from tilgear - the worlds least customer freindly eshop)

 

[WellsWood]

tilgear - the worlds least customer freindly eshop)

Hmmff!! :x If you think that about the eshop, just wait till you try the non-virtual one :roll:

 

[SNight]

Thanks for the replies. I am going the north of england woodwork show next weekend so might see if someone has any there to look at or try first. Thanks.

 

[Ironballs]

Well, following on from Alf's comment, I have a Groz No 4 and it does a pretty good job without a huge amount of fettling. You can tell the difference between it and the more expensive planes, but I tend to use my No4 for rougher work and the differences are not as apparent then

 

[katellwood]

having paid numerous visits to Tilgears Cheshunt shop over the years I have always found good and polite service

unfortunately the majority of the shop has now been turned over to warehouse space for their internet sales and as such there is nowhere near as much to see as in years gone by

Never brought from them over the net though

 

[Topaz]

This is a very interesting venture however the start is not good.
The US site (www.stanleytools.com) have photos of all (so far?) in the Premium range but virtually no technical details, not even the length. The UK site (www.stanleytools.co.uk, the blades come from the UK) has slightly more info (the ability to drop them without damage is highly touted but does not seem to stock the low-angle jack - IMO the most interesting in the range. If Stanley are serious, they should do better than this.
Here is a link to comments by Rob Lee (Lee Valley), scroll down:
http://norsewoodsmith.com/content/stanl ... handplanes

I tend to agree, give the common man a seriously better product, the ukws-type market is too small/not right for them.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I had a look at the new, premium #4 Stanley at the recent D&M show and, frankly, I wasn't impressed. I certainly wouldn't buy one.

I think Rob Lee's comments, referred to in the post above, are about right. Stanley simply don't have the right corporate culture to produce decent hand tools. That's certainly been my experience in recent years. I used to chat the the Stanley staff at shows but I don't bother any more. All you get is the corporate line.

How different it is when you deal with firms like Clifton, Lee Valley, Lie Nielsen and Wenzloff and can speak or correspond with the people who run the firms and design and make the tools. They really understand what customer service is all about - something that Stanley forgot years ago.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[andy king]

Thanks for the replies. I am going the north of england woodwork show next weekend so might see if someone has any there to look at or try first. Thanks.

Hi SNight,
I've reviewed the No4 and the 60.5 low angle. Of the two, the No4 isn't bad, only cosmetic stuff but there are issues that make the block planes less desirable. I had those on loan from Tilgear.
I've since been sent a 91/2 block directly from Stanley and that has similar iisues.
I'll be at Harrogate and if you want to come over to our stand i'll bring the 91/2 block along so I can show you where the problems are. I'll also have a sample of the new Veritas skew block with me if anyone is interested in looking at it in the flesh...

Hope this is of use.

cheers,
Andy

PS. forgot to add - I will only be there friday and saturday, I have to be back in the West Country for sunday

 

[SNight]

Thanks for the reply. I am going on saturday so will pop over to have a look. Thanks again.

 

[cutting42]

Hiya

I posted a review on the block plane here and I also have the No4 as well.

I am a bit more experienced than before having had 6 months experience of them. The number 4 I find excellent, very easy to set-up and the blade holds a great edge. The settings are fast and it keeps them well. I need a larger plane as well so have used it for general work as well as smoothing and it fulfils that role more than adequately. As a relative newbie it is way better than I am and does not cause me to get irritated with is as I did with my previous B&Q no4. It was also cheaper than the LN/LV stuff and meant I could get chisels and a Block plane in my budget.

The Block plane is not quite as nice, the adjustment has only one clamp for both side to side and depth so can be a bit fiddly to set accurately. The adjuster has quite a lot of slack in it when going from in to out movements but is quite fine. For the money I think they are a good buy, if you want to pay double I am not convinced you will get twice the performance. Form Andy King's comments I think my version was a bit better which may call into question the quality control.

Long and short is, they are not Heirloom quality tools but will perform the function of taking thin slices of wood off very nicely indeed. Do you want/need a Ford Focus or a BMW?

 

[Doug B]

Just back from Harrowgate & have seen the block plane Andy King has, to sum it up in one word would have to be pathetic.

It`s shocking, the only question i would ask is, why did they bother???

 

[cutting42]

Just back from Harrowgate & have seen the block plane Andy King has, to sum it up in one word would have to be pathetic.

It`s shocking, the only question i would ask is, why did they bother???

I am curious. I have the 60.5 what is wrong with the 9 1/2?

 

[Doug B]

The mouth is adjustable, but doesn`t close up tight enough, the brass lever that adjusts the mouth, my 12 year old son could have filed better & the thread on the front knob that holds the lever is so short it fell off as it was unscrewed.

The thread in the cap that the thumb wheel screws into was so poor & sloppy that the wheel was skewed at an angle when tighten.

The lateral adjuster is locked in position with a grub screw, what a PITA that would be to use, that is, if it lasted more than a few months before it chewed up its mating surface, if indeed it reached it`s mating surface, Andy informing me that the last one he had didn`t

The production quality was so poor, it was laughable, which is exactly what i did whilst viewing it. I wouldn`t have been laughing if i`d have paid for one.