# $8.00 HFT bench plane



## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

http://www.harborfreight.com/no-33-bench-plane-97544.html

It said 'made in india' on the box so I am guessing that some Chinese kids are working in India now. LOL! :yes:

Blade it came with:









Blade after 'fixing':









Making some shavings with it:


















It is sorta useable after fixing the blade but not so easy to adjust. The adjustments being such a pain were the biggest drawback for me.

Sole seemed to be fairly flat out of the box as was the back of the blade. Took less than a minute to flatten back of blade enough for use and the blade metal seemed to be fairly hard. 

Handle at back of plane is tiny. Might have to make a bigger one and see if that helps any. Handle seems almost 'kid size' to me and I got relatively small hands. 

:smile:


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## banjopicks (Jan 3, 2009)

Are those thumbwheels the only way of advancing the blade?


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

banjopicks said:


> Are those thumbwheels the only way of advancing the blade?


Yup.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

In the pictures, the blade is tipped to the left too much. Is that the adjustment problem? You can't get the blade to project evenly and make a full width cut?


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

Another quality tool from that fine establishment.......

I need to pay more attention to all you high end professionals :yes:


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

Hammer1 said:


> In the pictures, the blade is tipped to the left too much. Is that the adjustment problem? You can't get the blade to project evenly and make a full width cut?


Blade can be adjusted to project and cut evenly the full width. Picture was taken when still experimenting and first trying the thing out. 

The thumb screws advance smoothly (sorta) but are ruff as heck when dialing back. 

Mouth is not adjustable and that makes it suck even worse... :smile:


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

wericha said:


> Another quality tool from that fine establishment.......
> 
> I need to pay more attention to all you high end professionals :yes:


You are not one to be talking when your shop has to farm out such simple stuff as dovetails and simple pieces of trim... 

Seriously bro... You have been doing this since '75 and you STILL can't pull off a simple dovetail? :laughing:


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

OnealWoodworking said:


> You are not one to be talking when your shop has to farm out such simple stuff as dovetails and simple pieces of trim...
> 
> Seriously bro... You have been doing this since '75 and you STILL can't pull off a simple dovetail? :laughing:


:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: BWAHAHAHAHA.........

When did you decide I couldn't do a dovetail? We do custom work (including matching custom profiles) on a regular basis when the price point of the project warrants it, on lower priced projects we "farm out" some things to make it more cost effective for both us and the customer. If you had a clue about running a business you'd understand that simple concept :yes: :thumbsup: :yes:

Seriously "bro"...you one funny dude. Have another drink!:laughing:


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

wericha said:


> We "farm out" some things because we are a small time shop with very limited tools and very inexperienced carpenters. This is why I rarely EVER post pictures of the shop or our work.


Fixed it for you. :yes:


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## wericha (Apr 29, 2012)

LOL......too funny

So, the only response you can muster is too fabricate a lie?

Speaks volumes about your integrity, skippy :thumbsup:


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## Woodenhorse (May 24, 2011)

Boys!!!


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

With all that work to fix it, why not just get a better plane?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*I looked at one once*

I opened the box and examined the 2 knob system, thought twice and left the store without it. It's not the only plane with that type of adjustment, although I can't find one at this moment, and actually it eliminates the typical Stanley blade angle adjustment mechanism. 


FWIW, "fixing" a new plane blade is SOP with any new blade.


A Fine Woodworking article:
http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/hand-tools/10-harbor-freight-plane


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Both of my record spoke shaves use this style of blade adjustment. I've seen it on other lesser quality planes. I've found for most working conditions. The screws need to be "pressing" the blade after adjustment. Whereas. You raise the blade and then should turn the screws down until they turn through the backlash slop. I believe Woodriver makes a plane with this style.

Al


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

gideon said:


> With all that work to fix it, why not just get a better plane?


I have a small pile of others. Nothing anywhere near as nice as several of the members here have in any way. I have a very *long* way to go before I have a collection like most of you guys likely have. 

And a long way to go before I can USE them as good as some of you can. :yes:

I plan to play with this thing and see if it is 'worth' $8.00 now. 

I recently started buying sharpening tools as well and thought this might be a REALLY cheap way to experiment with blade angles / planes and such. 

If I make a mess of it - I am only out $8.00.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

woodnthings said:


> I opened the box and examined the 2 knob system, thought twice and left the store without it. It's not the only plane with that type of adjustment, although I can't find one at this moment, and actually it eliminates the typical Stanley blade angle adjustment mechanism.
> 
> 
> FWIW, "fixing" a new plane blade is SOP with any new blade.
> ...


 
When I was testing this thing and getting the pictures I also had this on the bench and got pics of it as well. Didn't post these pics before because the selection of planes I have is so damn pitiful... This plane is relatively cheap (the blades are NOT) and pretty much lives on or around my workbench area. 










The cheap Stanley whipped this things butt when it came to how easy it was to adjust blade angle and depth. :yes:

Appreciate You, Al, Gideon and everyone else here that was helping me learn. :smile:


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

here you go:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sta...438?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27f3b68056

This would be a good user. You'd have to do some tune up, as with any plane, but the metal is likely better quality.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Good, well tuned block planes are invaluable. I keep my 65 on hand all the time. Its an important tool to me. It touches every single thing I make.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

gideon said:


> here you go:
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sta...438?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27f3b68056
> 
> This would be a good user. You'd have to do some tune up, as with any plane, but the metal is likely better quality.


Asking because you obviously know more than I do here - Are there any big differences between the British made and USA made Stanley blades? Steel quality differences?

Thanks for the link above and all of your advice Sir. :yes:


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## Bleedinblue (Mar 4, 2014)

That HF plane was the first and is still the only plane I have. I just bought it last year and it's been fun learning to use it, it's come in handy on several projects. If it's that bad of a plane, I'm looking forward to a GOOD plane.


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## Fastback (Sep 2, 2012)

Now I don't have a lot of negative things to say about HF, but with good quality used planes out there why would you want to buy one of these? Yes, $8.00 is cheap, but for less than that I have picked up No. 4 and 5 Stanley, Bailey planes. After all any plane you buy will need to be tuned, so why not invest the time into something good?

Paul


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## BioNerd (Dec 7, 2014)

I got one and spent 3 hrs truing the sole and honing the iron. It was decent at the end.
I found a No.4 stanley from early 1900s in my neighbor's garbage pile!!! 
His dad was a hoarder and he was just throwing away tools. I restored it:








truth is that the stanley feels great and stays sharp longer. its way easier to set up too.


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