How many of the most magnificent ornate buildings around the world had their woodworking done with so called “inferior steel” ? It takes less effort time and skill to run a piece of timber over a jointer than to learn how to plane a piece of timber correctly. The Clifton Bench Planes are both highly attractive and functional tool that aim to give you an accurate and smooth finish. Ideal for the cabinet maker and discerning woodworker, both amateur and professional. These planes are ready to use from the box and do not need hours of flattening and fettling to make them fit for use (though we appreciate many woodworkers will prefer to hone the cutting iron themselves.) Assuming somebody else out there wants to use a similar cambered-blade setup, I think that the work required is worth the almost 50% cost savings (relative to my existing #5, which can support such a blade configuration out of the box), but only if you're comfortable with such mechanical modifications. The plane iron may also be ground slight differently in shape (as opposed to angle)... but yes, those are the largest differences. They do affect how the plane is used.

Most current and past hand-plane makers seem to follow the numbering system (and design details) popularized by Stanley (and invented by Leonard Bailey?). For more information on advanced sharpening we recommend David Charlesworth’s video Plane Sharpening, available in both DVD

The wooden wedge. It should be just perfect. It is fixing the iron all over the plane surface against another plane surface and if it is not really plane wedge (nice one 🙂 ) it will not homogeneously press on the iron. Or left side will be loose, or right one. Or nose of the iron, or tale.. If it is wedge with a rod/strange holder that wedge push against, you always have a big lever between real fixing point and cutting edge. Planed wood will “press and release on the iron”, it will bend (the big lever allows it) and jump, and if it is in resonance with the lever size and force applied, one will have a chatter. Chatter actually IS a resonance oscillation of the iron. Have you developed the confidence to land the plane to the wood at a level parallel to the surface? How many many magnificent ornate buildings around the world have their woodworking done with overly expensive Varitas or Lie Nielson planes?

I think the rabbet plane would work better for smaller work, and possibly with wood that is not as hard (my bench is out of ash).Peter Sefton, owner of Wood Workers Workshop, is very proud to have been part of the development team when the new cryogenically treated high carbon steel blades used in Clifton Planes were developed. His working knowledge and experience of sharpening and woodworking helped develop the improved plane blades that are presently in production and made entirely in Sheffield. I’m not talking about the artificial situation created at trade shows etc (which I’ve done my fair share). The Cap Iron is a one piece design giving rigid clamping and the Frog locating pins and screws are made from polished and ground stainless steel. The Lever Cap is made from grey polished Cast Iron with the Screws and Adjusting Wheel from polished brass. The Y Lever is a solid one-piece casting and the Adjusting Lever and most other components are made from polished stainless steel. My thinner, standard-fit cutting irons do not chatter and they never have chattered for any of the above reasons. Chatter is a very unique and isolated occurrence in planing with a plane on so rare an occasion, it might happen only once in five years. So, where is the confusion? Chatter is very difficult to produce, sometimes difficult to evaluate and is so fine it barely takes more than two rubs with fine abrasive paper to remove it. In my own life of woodworking daily for 56 years I have witnessed chatter only a half dozen times under my own plane and from beneath the planes of the 6,500 students I have trained over the past three decades. Doesn’t that tell you something? Look, you are having struggles planing. The questions you might not be asking of your bench plane are: To determine if something is truly better, then remove the legalised lies spewed out by the marketing departments and look at the actual results.

The WoodRiver plane's engineering and construction are FAR better. Good paint job, well machined parts, great case (wooden box). I do Like: The weight, balance, design, and feel of the tool. Despite the previous issues, I feel the tool is worth the price. The sole is more than flat enough for me, and square to the sides. Finished nicely... When tightened down, honed, and set up, the plane functions as expected. Iron tools are cast from Ductile Iron, a very strong alloy that will take a lot of abuse. These castings are fully stress relieved, a process that removes inherent stresses and ensures that the tool will remain flat and true. The only thing that makes this product inferior to the high-end planes is the frog adjustment is a bit fidgity (three screws and still somewhat sloppy. Still, it's far better than the standard Record design. And I'm not going to adjust the frog more than a few times. It's perfectly acceptable.

I haven't taken the time to sharpen the blade yet (had it two days only. Out of the box, this plane made whispy curls out of wavy hard (reversing grain and 1" knots) maple with no tearout. I was quite suprised and pleased. It'll be awesome once I properly sharpen the blade. If you do buy a 9" plane, it's seriously worth considering a low-angle plane (lower bedding angle, higher angle on the blade). Among other things, that gives you a wider range available if you need to grind blades to other angles when handling special cases. These do tend to be a bit more expensive, though, largely because this design is mostly offered by the higher-end manufacturers. Is the plane presented in such a way that it engages the grain with the ability for you to apply even pushing power? There are a bewildering number of different types of plane, but there seems to be a grouping of the general-purpose bench planes used in converting a roughly-hewn chunk of wood into a straight, flat, smooth, square piece of timber: Materials and workmanship are guaranteed for the life of your tool. Call for repairs or replacement parts. We are available for advice if you ever have a problem using your tool. Proposition 65 Notice: