Review: Taylor Tools Block Plane (69.5)

Unboxing

I decided that I needed a block plane and bought one from Taylor Tools.

Actually, it looks like that link is to a #60 1/2. Mine is clearly labeled a #69 1/2.

I'm sure the difference matters

 

I'm not sure how much difference there might be between the two.

They packed it thoroughly in foam before they shipped it:

Still in the box

I basically bought this plane on faith because I have not been able to dredge up details about the product. But I trust the Taylor Tools brand (and, no, I don't have any sort of affiliate deal going with them).

Opinion

Construction

This is my first block plane. I don't really have anything else to compare it to, except a few wooden planes and an ancient Stanley #5.

In particular, I was mostly worried about the bed. I've run across a lot of horror stories about those, especially in cheaper planes (based on price, I think this one seems fairly middle-of-the road).

That brass screw is really important

They claim that it's milled to a tolerance of 0.001", but that doesn't really mean much to me.

Straight out of the box, that looked really rough.

The iron doesn't actually have a lot of contact points, which seems good to me.

One end sits on the shiny greasy part toward the left on that photo. It got shinier after I wiped away the travelling grease, but I don't have a picture handy.

The other, really, sits on the shiny part on the right. It fits into a notch on the blade and moves that forward and back.

The rest of it just looks like well-seasoned cast iron. Since nothing rides on it, I don't think it matters much.

Mechanisms

Just starting to experiment

There aren't a lot of moving parts. I appreciate that. That means there aren't a lot of things to break.

The brass wheel at the front locks and unlocks the pivot lever on which controls the throat opening.

I don't know why you'd open this wide, but you could

This plane has a few layers that seem like they're probably pretty standard for locking the blade into place. The blade sits on that bed I discussed above. You can wiggle it back and forth laterally to adjust for that blade being ground out of square. A lever cap sits on top of everything and uses that brass screw to tighten it all up.

After I pulled it all apart, it took me a few days (I don't get a lot of time to work on my hobby) to find a sweet spot for the tightness of that screw. Too loose, and you get chatter...along with a screaming vibration that's worse than a fork scraping across a chalkboard. Too tight, and it becomes very difficult to lock down.

For adjusting blade depth

I don't know whether this piece is something like a Norris screw (which you cannot adjust while the blade is under tension from the lever cap) or there's a "better," more complicated lever involved that makes it safe to adjust while the lever cap is snapped into place. So far, I'm playing it safe.

Sharpening

This is the part that worried me the most.

And, let's face it, the blade is a major part of what you're buying with a plane.

I was really afraid that I'd wind up with some thick A2 plane steel that would force me to buy some powered grinding wheel.

I was thrilled at how easily this sharpens and cambers (not that I'm going to use it to hog out massive chunks) using a couple of diamond stones.

Yes, that means I'll have to sharpen it more often. But I'd much rather do that than have sharpening be a chore. If I had to invest serious time and effort into it, I'd delay it as long as possible.

Usage

I've mostly been using it in my shooting board to flatten and square up end grain.

End grain cherry shavings

 

And smoothing out sharp corners.

And scraping off things like pencil marks and blood stains.

It's small and light enough that I feel comfortable just holding the work in one hand and taking quick swipes with this in the other. 

That's really stupid of me, since it's led to slicing off layers of fingernail.

Summary

It's a nice little plane. I'm quite happy with it. Maybe someday I'll try out an expensive alternative and discover that paying a lot more would have made my life a lot easier. But, right now, this one feels pretty darn luxurious.