Draper Expert 250mm Smoothing Beech Wood Plane | 50mm Blade Hand Tools | High Carbon Steel Manual Tool | Wooden Handle and Knob | 45241

Excellent quality, sharp & did the job

This plane is well made but I would not recommend it for beginners who don't know how to sharpen and adjust a plane. It is made of very good materials and mine came with a properly flat polished, smooth and level base and a reasonable setup out of the box. It also comes with a spare iron (the blade of this type of plane is known as an iron). The handles are wood, the brass adjustment knobs and screws are very solid and it feels like a first-class piece of equipment. In spite of the above there was some work to do before I could use this item. On the box it says "Fully adjustable high-carbon steel iron correctly hardened, tempered and ground". Nice if it were true, but the last part isn't for sure. The iron fitted needs careful work before use to put a proper edge on it and so does the spare. This isn't a problem for me but for many people who want something they can use immediately the result would be disappointment. Sharpening the iron isn't hard once you've done it a few times but some people find it hard to learn. YouTube might be your friend, take a look at a few tutorials on there before you decide if this is for you. If you have much doubt about your ability to do the sharpening, spend more money on a plane that has its iron already sharp. Because I have the stones and the oil and I know how to create an edge this is a real bargain for me, as a plane of this quality would cost quite a bit more if all that was already done. Just be aware that you're saving money but buying half an hour's work if you know what you're doing. If you haven't done the grinding before though, it may take you a couple of hours of study and work to get this plane ready for use.

Great value took a little time and YouTube videos of how to use, now works great

I’ve had this plane for just over two years. It’s a good starter plane for anyone new to woodworking, just be prepared to outgrow it. The blade will need some work to get the back flat and to take the hollow out of the bevel. If you have the right tools such as sharpening stones it’ll take no time at all. Once it’s flat and honed it will be razor sharp, and the plane works very well. The casting isn’t perfect and the plane is lighter than it’s higher quality competitors. You’re paying a fraction of the price though, and the light weight actually isn’t terrible for smoothing work. The sole of the plane is pretty flat and required very little work. Some bees wax or machine oil makes it fly along.

Superb piece of kit.

Pleased with the product, good quality plus you get a spare blade, would recommend it

Opened the box and discovered the blade locking plate was loose. May have been packed that way, the box lid illustration claims it has under gone stringent quality control. If so they should sack the person doing the quality control. The two blades in the box (One on the plane, one packed) where both very, very blunt and unusable without sharpening. The wooden handles are of such poor quality that I will be stripping them and sanding the surfaces as they are ridged and rough as they have been varnished by someone with a a pot of varnish and sand mix also the rear handle was very loose. The fore handle Knob had deep scratches and if I used this I would guess I would get blisters due to the rough textured surface (No it isn't for added grip. No its added grit to the varnish). I didn't expect the same quality as say a top end Stanley Bailey smoothing blade but the quality is really bad. I will strip and redo all the wood handles and sharpen the blade, the baily style mechanism seems to work so fingers crossed. If it wasn't such a mare I would send it back for a refund. I awarded 1 star and I may be able to salvage a suitable tool when I am finished redoing the plane. In hindsight I should have bought a second hand Stanley smoothing plane off Ebay and refurbished it and if required bought a new blade. If you area professional tradesman DO NOT buy this as you will curse the day it arrived. Moral of the story is Buy Cheap Buy twice and be out of pocket.

At first glance, a replica of a Stanley/Record No 4. Nicely made and finished, but not as efficient as the original makes. It tends to rattle a lot when in use, the blades seem too soft a steel as they sharpened within seconds, and the settings of iron and cap have to be spot on the have the blade projecting. Probably worth the money for doing odd jobs, or where the plane iron may get damaged, but not a serious contender for quality. The spare blade is useful since the steel is softer and a sharp spare saves the task of honing, as the first will blunt quickly.