| Review by bobasaurus | posted 166 days ago | 2108 views | 0 times favorited | 12 comments |  |
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- WoodRiver V3 #6 Fore Plane
- Brand: WoodRiver | Category: Hand Planes
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I bought this WoodRiver #6 at a Rob Cosman hand planing / dovetailing seminar. He was able to take one of these new out of the box, hone the blade, and produce a shaving about 3/10000” thick according to his micrometer. Most of us attending were impressed enough to buy one ourselves (cost about $150 at the time, though the sale has ended now).
I try to follow his hand sharpening technique as well, and now I can get shavings from this plane almost as thin as he can. The first picture shows me planing pine with a freshly-honed blade, taking about the finest cut I can manage. The pine surface looked and felt like glass after. Another picture shows it setup on my shooting board, taking end grain shavings less than 1/1000” thick from some mahogany. I use Shapton water stones, and only the 1K and 15K are used for plane irons with Rob’s technique (along with a diamond plate for flattening them constantly).
After getting it tuned-up and taking shavings, I’ve really come to love this plane. At first I was a little put-off by the Chinese manufacturing and the relatively no-name brand, but after removing the 5 gallons of cosmoline from the metal and working with it I’ve become a believer. The castings are robust and heavy, the grinding consistent, flat, and polished. The frog is very sturdy and has a large supporting surface for the blade (see my picture). It adjusts via a Stanley Bedrock style mechanism, so you can leave the blade in while adjusting the mouth opening. The depth adjust knob is large, and is finely threaded. The blade and chipbreaker are very thick to dampen vibrations, and the A-2 steel holds an edge for quite a while. The sole is dead flat, though I did have to relieve the outer edges a hair to keep the sides from catching while sliding over smooth surfaces. All the adjustments are smooth and hold their position well in use.
The only downsides I could find are pretty superficial. The depth-adjust knob has a little more play in it than I like when switching directions. The lateral adjust lever has some resistance so it’s tricky to tell when you’ve actually engaged the blade or when you’re in the “dead zone” while changing sides. The back of the blade was slightly concave (though 30 seconds of lapping on my diamond stone fixed that). Finally, there was one tiny blemish in the finishing on the sole, though in an obscure spot and it still seemed completely flat. None of these things really detract from the plane in use, I’ve found.
Overall this is a great tool, especially so given the price. It’s become the second-most used plane in my shop, behind my Grandpa’s old Bailey #3 that I cleaned and fit with a Pinnacle blade.
A few more pictures here: http://imgur.com/a/DSwGQ
12 comments so far
lab7654
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184 posts in 412 days
#1 posted 166 days ago
Wow, those are some thin shavings. Good to see that WoodRiver maintains their quality.
-- Tristin King -- When in doubt, sand it.
Kreegan
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1295 posts in 312 days
#2 posted 165 days ago
Great review! I bought this same plane during the same sale and am really impressed with it. It needed very little tuneup out of the box before it was ready to take very nice shavings. My only complaint was the depth adjustment knob was kind of difficult to move initially, but some machine oil cleared that up. Overall a great plane.
Rich;)
-- Rich;) -"Dada make a big mess?" "Yes Dada made a big mess."
doordude
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862 posts in 1148 days
#3 posted 165 days ago
i’ve got a #7 and works fine. i’m sure you’ll get a lot of use from it
Wally331
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42 posts in 190 days
#4 posted 165 days ago
I have also recently bought the number 6, along with a number 4 and the low angle block plane, I couldn’t be happier with the performance of my planes. The iron sharpens up well, the castings are very thick and solidly built, and the frog and other parts seem well machined and square. I’ve had no problems getting feather thin shavings and with a razor sharp blade I can cut through most difficult grain.
a1Jim
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86927 posts in 1742 days
#5 posted 165 days ago
Thanks for the review.
-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/
2bigfeet
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64 posts in 845 days
#6 posted 165 days ago
Yep. Got the #3 last year and couldn’t be more pleased. Mine only has maybe a 1/4” turn more backlash than my Lie-Nielsen’s. Not even a issue with me. They’re so close its scary. Meant to get a #6 or a #7 during the sale. When I remembered, I missed it by a day. Guess I’ll wait ‘till it rolls around again.
Chris Wright
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519 posts in 1646 days
#7 posted 164 days ago
I love the V3 planes. I’ve had the opportunity to use most of them and can’t find any fault in them. I’m excited about the new No. 92 shoulder plane they are releasing this month. http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2021170/37661/WoodRiver-92-Medium-Shoulder-Plane.aspx
-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken
bobasaurus
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684 posts in 1349 days
#8 posted 164 days ago
That shoulder plane looks fantastic. If I didn’t already have one, I would be all over that.
CessnaPilotBarry
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598 posts in 275 days
#9 posted 163 days ago
The WR shoulder plane does look nice, but for an additional $30, I think I’d again spring for the Canadian-made Veritas Medium Shoulder. In addition to being made in a first world facility, the Veritas product also comes with Lee Valley’s fantastic support standing behind it.
-- It's all good, if it's wood...
bobasaurus
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684 posts in 1349 days
#10 posted 163 days ago
Yeah, I have the veritas medium shoulder plane now and it’s fantastic. I like this trend of bringing back the old stylized plane designs, though.
HorizontalMike
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4921 posts in 1079 days
#11 posted 162 days ago
Great review of this #6 WR plane! If I didn’t already have two old #6s and a #7, I would be all over this. I do have a WR #4 and know these are higher quality than some admit to.
-- HorizontalMike -- "Woodpeckers understand..."
Willeh
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161 posts in 504 days
#12 posted 158 days ago
I 100% agree with you on this. My Woodriver #6 is actually my go-to plane, I use it for almost everything, and it performs consistently. I’ve had mine for a little over a year and it has been a joy to use.
Here’s my review http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/2574
For your difficulty with the lateral adjuster, losen the main screw that holds the lever cap down a hair… you may find that solves your prob.
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