Hand Tool Reviews

I bought this plane simply for trimming edges to fit when I screwed up a cut. It does this fantastically...And much more than it was ever made to do.

I recently found a sawmill that sells rough white oak for $2 a boardfoot. Nifty price, big pain, as I have no large hand plane or electric planer. I picked up 50 bdft in widths of around 24".

I planed all 50 feet using this little plane. Took some time (about 30 hours with tons of sweat and some very sore hands), but with the proper edge on the blade, I didn't even need to sand the wood after building. It was all done. ;)

To get the perfect edge to make this tiny plane a perfect finishing machine (throw away your power sanders!), visit http://www.shavings.net/SCARY.HTM.

As for construction of this plane...It's solid. I've dropped it many times onto a concrete floor with no damage at all. It's a trooper of a plane.

Great little plane. For the price it's a charm. Just needed some fine tuning in the sharpening dept. and it has done a fantastic job in my shop. I even got rid of a large plane due to this little plane.

Every serious woodworker should have a block plane and a smooth plane. While the usual choice for a smooth plane is the #4, there are many good reasons to pick the smaller #3 instead. A smooth plane is used to remove the marks left by a planer, to quickly size a drawer side, to leave a clean smooth surface on a board and to bring various pieces down to size. The #3 works better in tighter spots and for work on a smaller scale such as jewelry boxes. The smaller size is also easier to carry around the shop in a pocket and not as tiring to use. Stanley is the only company making a #3 in this price and quality category. The only other choices I am aware of are the Lie-Nielsen and the Clifton, planes that sell for much higher prices. Stanley's #3 can't be used out of the box but most woodworkers are aware that new planes need to be tuned up. Besides flattening the sole and the blade, my #3 also needed to have the frog filed a bit to clean up the surface and allow the blade to be fully supported. I also had to file the lip of the cap iron to make full contact with the blade and the lever cap was a little tight (which a quick turn of the screw remedied). Of course the pricing of this item by Amazon is phenomenal. By replacing the blade and cap iron with Hock or Clifton blades the plane can be souped up tremendously and still not break the bank. So far I have been pleased with the blade supplied though I haven't used the plane on any highly-figured wood. All-in-all an excellent tool that should be in more woodworkers tool boxes.

I have a few of these now and find them small enough to have them when I need one. One in the truck, one with the fencing tools and one in the house. That way I'm not chasing around for a normal size saw or having it get banging up in transit. It does a great job of cutting and as a plus, it nevers binds (probably due to the shortness of the blade (less flexing))

For us guys that want that old familiar feeling of an old wood handled saw,this is the one you want. Compact, fits in a 24" toolbox, flatter than a Fat Max, fits against the back wall of my pack-it-to-the-job 26" box. I barely notice it's there. the handle only measures 3/4" more or less across. I've cut plastic pipe,drywall,foamboard,fiberglass and all sorts of wood with it and it just keeps going. Cuts on the push and the pull,so don't put anymore pressure against it than you have to. Let the saw do the work. My only gripe with this saw is the same with all wood handle saws, check the screws often, they will eventually loosen up. The PERFECT saw to finish a notch cut,like a crows foot on the bottom end of a rafter.

I sometimes take for granted how important good tools are. I recently attempted to use a cheap substitute for my Stanley chisel on a small project. The blade did not hold an edge like Stanley. It also rusted before I finished the project. My Stanley chisel was one of my dad's and I still use it and it is in great shape. This is a quality tool for small projects or for a professional craftsman.

I grew up using these saws,My Dad,My Grandad,All God's (carpenter) children had one of these,,,,well, Not one of these,,, exactly. I still have one that may be 30 years old. Grandad may have used it, I don't know, but I remember Dad using it. Dulls quickly. Hard to find anyone to sharpen it. So I bought one of these a few years ago, the packaging says it stays sharp longer and cuts more aggressively. And I found this to be very true. The aggressive cut could be considered by the old-timers to be a fault, it does leave a good deal of tear-out. But the majority of the time I'm not using this for trim. For trim I use the old quick dull,close tooth antique. Also a good buy, is the shorter version of this saw. It fits in most tool boxes and is very handy. Either saw is good for finishing a pocket cut or an intersecting cut,,or even hacking off the occasional 2x4. I've even used it as a rasp to knock the end off of a protuding top plate at wall intersections. Useful tool, if you have an electric circular saw, you need one of these. Make your Grandad proud. Meanwhile, I'm learning how to resharpen the old antique.

This is a short blade but a great little saw. Really sharp and does a excellent cutting. Idea for small jobs. Makes sawing a lot easier. This little saw is great to keep in the house for the ladies to do household jobs and for the handy man. I was very pleased with the purchase.

As something I use for home tasks and occasionally tote to a furniture store, I've never given much thought to tape measures. Mostly I've used freebies that came as a promotional item. Typically these had 1/4" blades, difficult to read markings and no locking mechanism.

On a whim one day I bought this 12' measure with a 3/4" blade, and the resulting improvement is tremendous. The wider blade is easier to extend for longer distances without it bending, and the markings are substantially easier to read. The lock is very useful for situations in which you can't apply both hands simultaneously. (I'm sure all of this is obvious to anyone who regularly uses tape measures, but to those who've just made do with whatever happened to be in the tool drawer, it's the sort of thing you wouldn't notice until you experienced the improvements.)

The Stanley is well crafted, with excellent tension for blade recall and a well-positioned locking switch. The removable belt-clip makes it especially easy to tote around.

Take one with you the next time you visit Ikea and see how many people ask to borrow it!

This is the best tape measure I've ever had the pleasure of using. After my old off brand went out I decided to go with Stanley 33-600 30' Contractor Grade MaxSteel Tape Rule. This tape has a nice blade recoil and a bumper for a longer hook life. I've only had this tape for awhile and I love it! So if you are looking for dependable tape go with the Stanley 33-600 30' Contractor Grade MaxSteel Tape Rule.