Rex Krueger
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The Tragedy of "Almost"
🕑 Added 2019-10-29 10:44:54 +0000 UTCThis happens a lot.
I get a new tool and I’m very excited. I take it out and it looks good. No obvious problems. Maybe it’s got a nice shine or feels smooth in the hand. Maybe the first few cuts are even good.
Then, problems.
Consider the Tay Tools Low-Angle, Bevel-Up Jack Plane. Right out of the package, it looks…nice. Crisp machining meets bright brass and invitingly oiled wood. The black powder-coat looks high-tech. The lever cap is chromed. Good.
But the moment I pick it up, problems. The handle looks really nice, but it’s obviously too small. It’s been cribbed from a smoothing plane and you can’t get all 4 fingers on it. There’s a screw holding the handle down. It sticks up way too much.
The lever cap is weird. It looks like a spoke-shave design and it’s too narrow. There’s so much room between it and the sides of the body that it’s always crooked. They did countersink the screw-hole. That’s a nice touch.
The adjuster just doesn’t move. I crack it open and find a tried-and-true block plane mechanism. A screw with a wide lip engages a semi-circular notch in the bottom of the iron. This design has been popular for decades. It works great…if it’s made right.
Of course, I start poking at it. I find metal shavings in the mechanism. A little waste left over from the factory? No problem. A little cleaning, a touch of oil, then grease. Reassemble. Test.
It moves, but there’s a grinding sensation. I pull it apart again. More metal shavings. I poke around some more. There’s a burr in the blade-slot and it’s shredding the brass adjuster with each spin.
Can I fix it? Maybe, but I shouldn’t have to. This is a $150 tool. That’s way too much money for me to perform surgery on the thing. I’ll get heroic with a $5 Stanley, but for this kind of money, I expect performance out of the box.
Oh, and the mouth doesn’t open far enough.
Like I said, this happens a lot. I see so many tools that are almost really good. Manufacturers routinely get it 85% right, but that’s not close enough. A mechanical tool needs pretty tight tolerances. You need to get it 95% right for the tool to even work.
What kills me is the amount of stuff they got right. The body, which is the hardest part, is very good. Everything is flat and straight. The bed is true. There are raised bosses for both the handles. The adjuster they’ve chosen doesn’t do lateral adjustment, but they’ve cast a pair of nibs into the body to hold the blade in position. You still have to nudge the blade a little, but that’s okay with me.
You can tell that they tried to get away with just swiping a tote from a smaller plane, but that won’t cut it here. There’s nowhere to rest your index finger, so you need enough real-estate for all four fingers. Soba is going to have to suck it up and design a new handle. And that “hand-rubbed oil finish” feels cheap in the hand. My editor Nate gripped the plane and said “Hm. It doesn’t feel very nice.” Nate’s not even really a tool guy.
Of course, the adjuster is the big thing. If it won’t move or it tears itself apart, then it won’t work. I know mine isn’t the only one. In the single review this plane has on Amazon India, the reviewer complains that their plane won’t adjust either. They still gave it 4 stars.
I don’t get that.
Here’s what the plane needs: deburring of the adjuster slot, a better handle, a new lever-cap, and longer throw on the mouth-plate. Maybe it needs set-screws tapped into the sides to help with lateral adjustment.
It’s a short list. Everything else is good.
And that’s what kills me. Soba must have spent a lot of time and money getting this thing to market. But they didn’t push it the last 10% and just make the damn thing work. I had the same problem with the Great Neck smoothing plane I reviewed a few months ago. It just didn’t work. So what’s the point?
I see a lot of tools like this. I hate to see the waste. Up against the Stanley Low Angle Jack, this thing will get clobbered on the American market. The Stanley might not look quite as nice but it has great features, like a blade that can be adjusted. The Soba will get returned in droves (like I’ll return mine). It will be bought by inexperienced woodworkers who will blame themselves for the tool’s shortcomings. It will get pushed to the side and gather dust. All the work of the designers and workers who made it will be for nothing.
Almost good is actually pretty bad.
Comments
William Allen
There is another brand I keep running into at sales, Samona. They look really good. As good as the post war Stanley. I have not purchased one yet because so far I’ve found Stanley or Record planes in the same heap. Have you seen any of those? I haven’t found any info online about them.
Rex Krueger
If one can buy the vintage Stanley/Record, then that's the path, for sure. For all the people who cannot find those old gems, I think Soba are a real alternative.
Rex Krueger
I sure am!
William Allen
I spent some time checking out Shobha Tools, the company that makes the Soba Planes. They have been around since 1976, making Stanley style planes. In about 2005 they started making Bailey style planes. In 2007 they introduced some shoulder planes. The low angle plane was introduced in late 2016. Their prices are pretty good, and now I'm wondering how much 3-4 hours of work getting one into shape is worth. For now, I'll keep my eyes open for Stanley and Record vintage planes in need of rescue.
Rex Krueger
I think the Cargo Cult metaphor is fascinating! In this case, Soba knows what its doing, but I think they rushed a beta version to market without proper testing.
Matthew Leigh
Are you getting a refund on that one?
Christoph Schmitz
I think this might be an instance of the Cargo Cult. Somebody imitates some established design by sort-of, kind-of copying shapes without actually knowing (or caring?) what it's all about. You see that a lot with stuff coming out of Asia that is not commonly used there.
Rex Krueger
Okay, I got it to work and we're going to call that a lost in translation thing. They say the plane is made of copper; it clearly isn't. It seems like a standard body with wood infills shaped like a Krenov plane. Looks comfortable, but it's also jack plane size and for that, I want a handle. If one were cheap, I'd be happy to take it for a spin. I think the problem is that it has no clear purpose.
Rex Krueger
Can you write it in Dutch? I just want to see it.
A1BASE
I can’t imagine copper would be stiff enough. Copper plated maybe?
Rex Krueger
It's not easy. Quality really does cost money, so those of us on a budget either have to buy old and restore, buy inexpensive new and correct defects, or make from scratch. No free rides in this game.
Rex Krueger
It's nice to know that the Wood River works well. I'm out of money for buying these to test!
Rex Krueger
Very true!
Rex Krueger
I cannot get that link to work. Drag.
Frans van Ballegooijen
Here in The Netherlands (well, at least in my family, I don't know about the rest of us Dutchies) we like to say that "when you almost hit it, you totally missed it". Which means that when you do a job and only partially reach your goal, you had better not even attempted to do it in the first place...
Duncan
OK - a little off subject but Matthew comment and link got me curious to see what other planes were available on qstools.com. And I came across this "copper plane" http://www.qstools.com/Productsd.Asp?ID=417/Productsd.Asp?ID=417 I admit to not knowing much about woodworking tools. But I don't recall seeing a copper plane before. So why a copper plane? What's the deal? I'll bet it could look cool.
Alex Larson
Just like the Tortoise song: "Almost Always Is Never Enough"
William Allen
Well, perhaps I am being a bit harsh. But really, "they" make a lot of stuff that either just doesn't work, or fall apart or fails very quickly. It is very difficult to find good tools without spending a bundle. Unless you can get your hands on them. I'm certainly finding usable tools to be fraught. Still with your advice, and a few others, I'm making progress.
Alec Ralston
Nine months ago, I bought the Woodriver low angle jack...I looked at every available option and read every review before spending the $239 at my local Woodcraft. Nine months later, I'm still happy with my purchase. After honing the blade, my plane works and feels as good as my neighbor's Lie-Nielsen #62. It's not cheap, but I got exactly what I wanted without having to deal with any disappointment, returns or time consuming tuning to get one that works. I have a number of Record and Stanley planes, but with a few different irons, my Woodriver low angle jack is my go-to when I run into grain that gives my other planes trouble. The assorted irons are key to making it a real "jack" plane.
Rex Krueger
Well, you've got me and a whole community to ask when something does go wrong. Don't be shy!
Rex Krueger
It really isn't.
Rex Krueger
You know, it's not rubbish, but it works like rubbish. Very frustrating.
Rex Krueger
Hm, I often get frustrated about what is and isn't available in certain countries. Seems like a scam.
Greg Spiridonov
thanks for the review! as one of the aforementioned "inexperienced woodworkers" I'm happy you point out these things. Seeing what the issue is and describing how it fails helps, quite a bit.. even if it's just me doubting a tool, and it's actually how i use it.. or the other way around. i like hand tools, more for the need to know how trades work from the start than anything money or prestige related, but it can sometimes be hard to know where things go wrong. thanks!
A1BASE
Tool making is no different to woodworking. The last 20% you put into it is 80% of the final result. Details matter. Care matters. But those take a lot of time in the manufacturing process and so jack the price up. This one isn’t worth $100, let alone $150.
William Allen
Too right eh? I’ve seen hundreds of item that are almost good. The truth is of course that they are rubbish. Poor design accounts for part of it, but the heart of the issue is that companies have no skin in the game. They can make a piece of rubbish and sell millions of units before the negative reviews kill that item. Then 123 woodworkers tools ceases to exist and 234 Woodworking tools starts up selling exactly the product from exactly the same factory. They don’t care if it works, only that they can sell it.
Matthew Leigh
https://youtu.be/pg09MQPos7A to see it "in the hand"
Matthew Leigh
That's the manufacturers site, I can't find anywhere to buy on there. Woodriver has some kind of exclusivity deal apparently, so your best bet if you wanted to buy one might be to import from the UK. https://www.rutlands.co.uk/sp+hand-tools-hand-planes-qiangsheng-luban-hand-planes-qiangsheng-luban-no-62-low-angle-jack-hand-plane-rutlands+dk1340# They have it for US$150 plus shipping
Rex Krueger
You've hit it right on the nose! This tool is SO CLOSE. It's maddening!
Rex Krueger
By all means, get the Stanley. I was skeptical, but I'm very impressed by what they've done here.
Rex Krueger
You're totally right, but in this case, it only applies to the Tay (Soba). The Stanley was great out of the box and the Veritas needs no introduction.
Rex Krueger
That's a great site, but where are the prices and how do you order?
Yohann_M
One of the online reviews I read for this plane also mentioned how little the blade could be advanced before you ran out of threads on the adjuster knob. With a short blade, and only one notch in the back, that would make for a tool that was only good for light use before the blade couldn't be advanced far enough to cut. It's sad to see tools fail because of such minor design flaws.
The Poor Man
Damn I had hopes that it would at least be usable, why go through the trouble of building something if your not going to make sure it works? I've seen companies build something that looks like garbage, but it works- even if only the first time you use it. Guess I'm going to have to go the aluminum stock and wood route at least I know that will work and it wont cost me 150
Robert Bullock
Thanks for the update and detailed review. I especially appreciate the details as I will be looking for a low angle plane soon. This is one of the reasons that it does make sense to buy used and tune up yourself. You will end up doing the work anyway, why pay the price in dollars when you also will pay the price in time too. It also reminds me of the old saying: “Never ask anyone about their new car until they have had it a year, until then they are still justifying their decision to themselves.”
Matthew Leigh
http://www.qstools.com/Productsd.asp?ID=377 for the ultimate source
Matthew Leigh
It astonishes me that the Woodriver planes in the US are so expensive. They're identical to the Luban planes here (http://remisquotable.blogspot.com/2016/04/planemakers-in-china.html). We can buy them for US$205, but I can't find them cheaper than US$350 from an American store. Seems crazy to me
Rex Krueger
Glad you liked it. I do find the plane a bit mysterious. Perhaps a rush to market explains the problems.
Alan Smith
Good conclusion and analysis- almost is a shortfall marketing folks push to safe $$. But in the end it costs everyone. Thanks for the article.
