Taytools 469614 Smoothing Bench Hand Plane #4, 9-3/4 Inch Sole, Ductile Cast Body, Lapped Sides and Bottom, Blade RHC 55-60, Sapele Handle and Tote

This is the second western-style hand plane I have used, and I think it is an amazing tool. The first one I bought was a cheap block plane, and it was useless. I simply could not get the bottom flat and eventually gave up. That was for a different purpose and not as necessary as the number 4, so I had gone on the cheap for it. This one was a lot more expensive, so I expected it to be better, and I was not disappointed. All I had to do was sharpen the blade and it was good to go. I was able to get very fine, full-blade-width shavings on ash and black walnut without having to do a thing to the sole, and I am a beginner, so that has to be down to it being a good tool. It also looks and feels wonderfully robust and expensive. With shipping and customs duties, I paid about $200 CDN for this tool, but I am still satisfied. I am amazed that some who posted comments got this for just $65 USD. Experienced, extremely picky woodworkers might find fault with this, but I cannot imagine getting the wood I've planed with it so far any smoother and flatter. Full marks to Tay Tools for this one.

The first plane I ordered was a quality disappointment. Excess casting on the underside of the frog that would not allow proper blade advancement, excess powder coating on frog surfaces that should have been unpainted, and sides out of square from dimensions in the product description. Amazon authorized a return and exchange. I had heard such a good review of this plane on YouTube that I wanted to see if I just got one that slipped through quality assurance. The first one was obviously one that slipped through quality control. The replacement plane is every bit as described and equal to the one I saw reviewed. Flat sole, sides square to the sole, powder coating only where it belongs, etc. All I needed to do was flatten the back of the blade and hone it. Beautiful results. For the price, this is a quality plane at a bargain price. Just make sure you get a good one.

Very solid plane. It will need to be set up properly before use.

The good stuff: Mine arrived well packaged with no rust or damage even though the outer box was a little wrinkled on one end. This tool just looked nice and is very well made and very well balanced. Although I know it's different for different people, the feel and angle of the handle, and knob for me is very comfortable and gives good feedback from the wood. The sole was as flat as I think anyone would need and the sides were right on 90 degrees. Not all of the cast surfaces are milled real pretty but, the critical ones are and they seem to be well done. The not as good stuff: The throat had a burr that I discovered by pushing the sole across a flat piece of wood and detected scratching. It was such that I may not have noticed it otherwise until I had put it to use. However, a few passes with a thin file took care of that. The real negative and the reason for the four stars was the cutting iron. It was very concave (cupped) on the back to the point where it would have made proper sharpening impossible. It actually took me just over 4 hours (I'm not exaggerating) of diamond stone lapping to get it flat across the back of the cutting edge and far enough back from that to assure good clamping. It was a LOT of work. Beyond that it just required the usual 'out of the box' sharpening and a little cleaning up. Comment: I saw one reviewer complaining about the slop in the iron advance/retract adjusting knob. They said it required a full turn to take up the backlash. Mine requires just under half a turn and I don't see that as a problem. Then again, I don't see a full turn as a problem as long as your last adjustment was toward the iron to help keep it from pushing back. After all, this isn't a $240.00 Vatitas or Lie-Nielson(SP?). It was 80 bucks. In summary: Except for the iron issue, this inexpensive tool is very well made and after some effort it worked surprisingly well. In fact I would buy it again even knowing the elbow grease required to make it a fine tool.

My TayTools #4 bench plane arrived in excellent condition. The plane worked right out of the box before I even sharpened the blade. Once I sharpened the blade it cut extremely well, and I was able to take shavings as thin as 0.0003 inches and as thick as 0.15 inches in consistent passes depending on how I adjusted it. It does have a little slop in the depth adjustment knob almost a full turn before it engages the blade in either direction, but that is far better than my last plane. The sole of the plane is mostly flat with a few minor imperfections that will come out with a little fine sanding. The tote was a little bit loose, but I fixed that with around 1/4 turn of the attachment bolt. The finish on the tote is a bit rough to the touch, but an application of wax will probably solve that.