Woodriver Low Angle Block Plane With Adjustable Mouth

Definitely the best hand plane I’ve ever had. I’ve been a carpenter (mostly finish and cabinets) for 27 years. In the past I’ve had a few big box block planes. Once the sole was flattened and the blade sharpened and honed I thought, that’s good enough. However, this plane came out of the box very flat (not perfect but I’m not a machinist) and the 1/8” thick blade was sharp enough to test plane some 1x white oak I had. I looked at more expensive and less expensive planes, some of which seem like they are intended to be more of a decoration rather than a woodworking tool. This one meets the need with only a little chrome.. The plane does weight a lot (cast iron body compared to the pot metal that likely makes up the cheap ones I’ve had). The very best part for me is the quick release frog/chipbreaker. The blade advance is so easy compared to other planes. I read some reviews that it keeps popping up/loose. It did that to me a couple times so I gave the tension screw a quarter turn tightening and presto! I love this tool so much that I plan to use it for all the fillers and baseboards I need to fine tune the scribe with. I even made a nifty leather pouch so I can keep it on my belt at all times.

Love this plane. I have been using this plane for several months now. I did sharpen the blade, thanks to Rob Cosman's videos on how to sharpen blades. But I love smoothly taking edges off for a nicer finish.

After being a hobbyist woodworker for years I’ve been trying to learn and use more traditional hand tools. I’ve rehabbed half a dozen garage sale Stanley planes over the last few years, getting use to the tools before dipping my toes into the pricier options. I finally decided to step up to the Wood River low angle block plane to replace a much cheaper low end box store plane. I couldn’t be happier. I wanted to see how well this plane worked right out of the box with out spending the customary hour or two fine tuning blade and sole. I cleaned up the minimal amount of packing oil with mineral spirits, adjusted the blade and put it to work on some very well seasoned ash. Out of the box it’s producing great shavings on the long grain and trueing up the end grain without tear out. I guess you really do get what you pay for. As useful as a block plane is, I know this will be getting lots of work in the future…it’s pleasant to use a plane I’m not regularly fighting with. Fit and finish are spot on. Can’t wait to see how it’ll run fully tuned. I would definitely recommend this plane.

I really appreciate the feeling (comfort) of this plane. It's very easy to set your blade after sharpening or as required with different types of wood. This is much more refined than my earlier planes. Heavier, but that's because it's built right!

This is a well made piece, but not $130 worth. I hoped it would be perfect, because it's the most I've spent on a new one. Good flat sole, nice heavy blade. It's irritating I have to loosen the clamp to adjust blade depth, but doable. Fit and finish is good. HOWEVER, when using it, about one time out of 6 or 7, the pressure of my hand pops the knuckle cap open in the middle of operation. Not acceptable. Unfortunately it'[s too late to return or I surely wood. What an odd design.

My Wood River block plane just arrived yesterday. To honest, I was thoroughly unhappy with the plane out of the box! The adjustable mouth was "grabby" when making adjustments, or just didn't work. I seriously considered sending it back. It wouldn't even cut good shavings out of the box. It was supposed to be a replacement for the $15 HF block plane I was using. I spent a couple of hours easing sharp edges on sole, and flattened and sharpened the iron with 10000 grit sandpaper on a polished granite tile. The sole came flat with square sides. More square than all other planes I have. After de-burring machined surfaces, I was able to make the mouth adjusting mechanism move way more smoothly. I just cut 0.001" full width, see-through shavings off of a mahogany board and a red oak board. Nice!

Great plane for the money. This is a big upgrade over a stanley block plane. Buy once, cry once.

Machined incorrectly screw doesn’t lineup in the hole. Blade won’t go downward.