Craigus":17dp5hh8 said:
However, ..... in Axminster tools today and looking at their own brand planes for around £25. Compared to the old Stanley I now have though, I couldn't tell the difference.
So what exactly is the reason that the old ones are better than these new ones?
That's part of the problem - the differences are not easily visible. They tend to become apparent only when you use the tool.
There's a great deal written about planes, probably more than about any other woodworking tool. A lot of what's written is (at least in part) personal prejudice on the part of the writer. Some people have their personal likes and dislikes, and (sometimes subconsciously) tend to plug them.
It's a bit of a myth that all older planes were superb. Some were not. However, the better ones (Stanley, Record, Marples and one or two rarer ones) did gain a good reputation amongst tradesmen and craftsmen, so they do tend to be more prevalent on the secondhand market than the outright duds. That said, just being secondhand doesn't guarantee excellence; some planes are very heavily worn, and some were mistreated. There are also some dodgy characters about selling planes made up from bags of bits; these may work fine, or they might not.
Some time in the latter part of the last century, the previously good makers started to trim their manufacturing costs by cutting corners a bit, and the quality of planes started to decline, and with the rise of power tools, the market started to shrink too. By the 1990s, things were pretty dire on the quality front, and the trend to off-shoring of manufacture to the far east also brought about another drop in quality in the previously trusted brands. About this time, a couple of niche makers saw an opportunity to make small numbers of high quality planes for the discerning amateur and the more demanding professional - Lie-Nielsen, Veritas and Clifton are the best known for bench and joinery planes, but there are a number of very high quality infill plane makers out there.
There are now a range of new planes available, some of very high quality (already mentioned), some very decent (Quangsheng, Wood River and Stanley Sweetheart for example) where the low manufacturing costs of the far east and other 'developing' countries are combined with good quality control, some of variable quality (sadly modern Stanley and Record must fall in this bracket), and some that are decidedly indifferent, though very cheap - the latter may make a reasonable plane if you're prepared to do a fair bit of fettling, and perhaps shell out for a good quality replacement blade and cap-iron.
What makes the difference? Attention to detail, really, and selection of materials of construction. One really important aspect that you can't easily see with a casual inspection is flatness of the sole; the better makers take some pains (and go to some expense) to make sure their castings are stable and well-finished. The cheaper ones just go for a shiny finish, and if it happens to be flat, that's a bonus. Then there's the fit of the various parts, quality of material and heat-treatment of blades, and general finish. Those add up to either a plane that is easy to adjust and use, giving a good finish to the wood, and capable of taking shavings from gossamer-thin to trouser-belt thick as the user requires, with an iron that takes a razor-sharp edge and holds it for a good while - or one that falls short.
Your father's old Stanley should be a pretty decent tool, and a good start on the general planing learning-curve. Once you can get a sharp edge on the iron, and set the plane up so that you can hog off material, or produce a super finished surface and very fine shavings, you'll be well on the way to knowing a bit about what makes a good plane. (The 'fine shavings' thing crops up a lot - it's not that you must produce fine shavings, just that in order to do so a plane sole must be flat, so it's a measure of a plane's fitness for duty.) That will give you a reference when expanding the plane arsenal.
And of course - any questions that arise, we'll do our best to answer! Good luck, and enjoy the learning!
