Low angle block plane

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RickH

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Time to treat myself to a Low Angle block plan.
I have seen plenty of new ‘Faithfull 6012’ models around £23 price point, which is pretty cheap are they any good ?
or perhaps a RIDER NO. 60 1/2. But more than twice that price.
either of these better ?

Also see plenty of used Stanley’s 110’s but unsure if better.

Don’t mind buying off eBay or market place if I know what brands/model
 
The #60-1/2 is probably the best design of block plane that Stanley ever came up with, the "Rolls-Royce" of block plane designs - with a decent blade adjuster, adjustable mouth, and it fits in your apron pocket. If going second hand go for an older (pre- 2000s) one with a cast iron skate, (i.e the adjustable section of the sole at the front - the newer ones are mild steel). I carried one in my toolkit for more than 30 years before swapping to a Veritas (megabucks) and it was well used. I'm not sure how good the Faithful reproduction of this is, but probably reasonable based on other Faithful stuff I've seen, although doubtless it will require a bit of fettling to do its' best work. The one thing I dislike is the threaded knob to lock the blade as opposed to the cam/lever arrangement on the original Stanley - I findvit presses onto my palm and makes using the plane foe extended periods less comfortable than it should/could be (I had a Record for a while with this feature - a backward step IMHO). If anyone is interested, you can get a
higher quality blade to fit a (traditional) #60-1/2 plane made by Ray Iles. Record did do a version of this plane, the #060-1/2, but their version is wider and heavier so a lot less handy to use than the original narrow plane I find

The #110 is all very well, but it lacks the adjustable mouth and the blade adjuster of the #60-1/2. It is also NOT a low angle block plane. Unless you are an experienced wooden plane user that lack of blade adjuster can be a problem when it comes to setting the blade really finely. TBH you'd be better off looking for a second hand #60-1/2, or failing that a #9-1/2 (a standard angle block plane, but has a fine blade adjuster and adjustable mouth like a #60-1/2 although a slightly wider blade) or even a #220 (like a #110 - no mouth adjustment, but has a fine blade adjuster). There is also a #120 model - basically a #110 with a lever type blade adjuster, but I'd swerve those and go instead for a #220, as the blade adjuster on the #120 is pretty poor and they can be difficult to set finely

The Rider is probably an out of the box solution (i.e. ready fettled), as opposed to the Faithful which will require half an hour's work to fettle. Personally, given the choice I'd have the Faithful over the Rider, but I'd buy a Ray Iles O1 iron for it and do the fettling myself. At about £17.50 that blade may cost more than a second hand plane, but is a really good quality blade

When considering the above, please bear in mind that I'm (a) a working chippie and (b) I'm a self-confessed bit of a "tool tart"
 
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My workmate (general builder) has in his woodworking kit a Faithful copy which as J&K reports is a reasonable copy - But it does need fettling as it cuts OK on the diagonal but not on the square*.
Was going to replace my very old Stanley No.60-1/2 (Used so much the mouth was starting to split) with a new Stanley from my local tool shop, a Stanley dealers - when asking about the No.60-1/2 which they didn't have in stock, they imformed me they had reurned all the ones they held as there was a large quantity with problems since the manufacture had changed to a new location (not explained where but I guess it's somewhere in the far east). They didn't have any Faithful ones in stock either - the only 2 makes they stock, apparently also made in the far east.

If you do consider buying either new Stanley or Faithful one you need to make sure the sole is Flat - have a straight edge with you. Get the plane out of the packaging and hold the sole against the straight edge - both sides, middle and both diagonals.
*Workmates one the sole is not flat - holding the straight edge against the sole there was a good 2mm hollow in the sole. To date I've spent a good hour or more of Fettling trying to flatten the sole; that is blade out, coarse Emery paper affixed to a peice of plate glass or solid MDF, draw or cover the sole with permanent marker and work the plane body up and down the Emery paper until the all signs of the permanent marker have been ground away. But if you are not sure on doing that or you cannot find a good one then do as I did.

Looking on eBay there are a number of secondhand No.60-1/2 block planes for not to much money. Before you buy ask to see an image of the sole with the blade in and the holding screw tightened.

In the end I went for a Rider version. And yes, I did check the sole for flat before I left the shop.
 
The only alternatives to this littany of failure by modern manufacturing is to either buy second hand and old, or pay quite a lot more for something like a Quangsheng (from Workshop Heaven). The problem is that those are £83 odd quid, which for DIY work is quite a bit of an ask (although having in the past owned a similar, but slightly wider, Wood River #65, made on the same production line, they are pretty darned good - and this would be a once in a lifetime purchase).

The plane referred to is actually Chinese made and shows what the Chinese can do when they try (pity is they or their customers often can't be assed), although it is reputed that Workshop Heaven have also put quite a bit of work into this product so not all Quangsheng planes are equal
 
Is this Stanley a Low Angle plane? Anybody have one can tell by picture (on sale locally)
 

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Looks like a #220. Standard angle (21°), no adjustable mouth.

The #60-1/2 and #60-1/2A (13°, low angle) both have an adjustable mouth, so the metal front knob on them has an adjuster quadrant plate visible beneath it, and the front knob is metal, not plastic or wood. So if you want a low angle plane, you really need to be looking for a #60-1/2 (because after WWII it was the main low angle block plane Stanley sold in the UK). This is an earlier style #60-1/2:

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Note the little silver quadrant plate beneath the front knob. Even the latest models still have those. For completeness, this is a modern 60-1/2:

STA112060.jpeg.jpg
 
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