Bailey Smoothing Plane No4 1-12-004 Stanley

Plastic made handle that broke after 10 uses, the blade is OK after setup, but for such a price you would expect a better quality build, disappointing

good

the blade is good, but the rear handle snapped off after its first use. There is also something off with the frog because I can't get it as fined tuned as it should be.

I've been reassembling my woodworking toolkit (don't ask!) and this little fellow will be the core of it. The Stanley #4 is THE classic plane. I'm planning on using it for some fine work, so I've done some tuning, as out of the box, while it's entirely usable, it responds well to having its sole flattening and a couple of other tiny tweaks. Hence the four stars for accuracy and for beginners. If you're willing to invest some effort and time into this gem, it'll be a tool for life.

Mémé si normalement il faut affuter la lame quand un rabot est neuf (et c'est marque dans le mode d'emploi), il a pas mal marche sans rien faire. Attention je compare ce magnifique rabot a ce que j’essaie d'utiliser avant, évidement très mouves. Je suis très content d'avoir dépense un peu plus, car maintenant je peux faire des ajustes bien fins sans probleme. Je ne suis pas de tout expert, mais pas besoin pour noter la grande différence.

Front knob and back handle are made of very cheap plastic, they were broken into two pieces when i received. These tools are legend for woodworking for centuries. How come Stanely: The inventor" of this tool shamed them with cheap mentality by putting cheap plastic knob and handle?

Seems ok

It's a Stanley, so it works, it's stable, it's reliable. Having spent 20GBP on a cheap "Pound Shop" own brand plane, ones sees where the extra money goes on a quality product from a quality manufacturer. And one does not regret it. My "cheap" plane is now wedging the workshop door open (it's about all it's any use for.) There's an old adage "buy cheap, buy twice" - at least when it comes to tools. Lesson learned. Hand plane obsessives and/or collectors will no doubt opine that the totes are plastic and not wood, and this and that are some micrometers too big/small, the quality of the cutting iron , etc. - but for an average "handyman" (or woman or non gendered specific individual,) this just gets the job done. Like all planes (and cutting tools generally,) even "new" it will benefit from a bit of "setting up" - e.g. lap the base, soften/bevel the edged, sharpen the iron, check everything is lubricated - I also like to sand down the mould seems on the totes for extra comfort - but once done it's a joy to use. For newbies, there's plenty of YouTube vids showing how to set up a plane.