# Disadvantages of the bronze bodied planes?



## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

Just sitting here looking around, wondering if there are any disadvantages to the bronze bodied planes LN offers? The advantages I see quoted are the additional weight at the same size, reduced brittleness (may not crack if it falls on to a hard surface as would cast iron), and beauty.

Cost is one disadvantage. Are there others? I thought I saw one reference to them leaving black marks on the wood if they hadn't been used in a while, but I couldn't relocate that reference. What are the other downsides?

Briam


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

Personally, I don't see any dark sides or drawbacks to my bronze LN no. 4. Heavier is good. No worry about corrosion, like you have with regular planes. Nice thick plane iron, so chatter is only something on talk radio. Rub a little candle wax on the sole and it glides like a dream. I do tend to reach for my Veritas low angle no. 4 first, but it is closer to hand.


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## jmos (Nov 30, 2011)

Fine Woodworking recently had a conversation about this on their podcast (latest one I believe if you want to listen to it). Their takeaway was yes, it can leave some marks after not using it for a while, but they are minor and plane away easily. They had no reservations about bronze body planes. I don't personally have any, so I can't say.


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## oldnovice (Mar 7, 2009)

Actually I love bronze bodies!

*Oops* I didn't realize you were talking about planes.


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## RB61 (Nov 30, 2012)

Sometimes my bronze 4 sits for months without use. I have never had issues with black marks. My shop is in the house and I wonder if, like iron planes, the environment affects the speed at which bronze oxidizes.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Didn't the Iron Age end the Bronze Age? About 5000 years ago?


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## bbasiaga (Dec 8, 2012)

The iron age ended in the 20th century with the alloy age, and you could argue that the alloy age is being ended by the composite materials age now. Carbon nanotube planes anyone?

Brian


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Same thing would happen to unprotected cast iron so it's a wash if you ask me.


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## diverlloyd (Apr 25, 2013)

+ one on the carbon nanotube hand plane. I would like a free prototype sent to me for testing proposes. I don't have any bronze planes but that is my next thing to collect after the bedrock planes


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

And so begins. The age of…

Pokemon go.


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## jwmalone (Jun 23, 2016)

Bronze now that's what I call a grass roots movement, back to basics. I have a cousin who had some he never said anything about marks on the wood.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Over-priced, over-hyped, over-weight.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

I do like a bronze plane. It is a good material for hand planes.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

> Over-priced, over-hyped, over-weight.
> 
> - bandit571


I thought so until I used one. Now I have 4 and another on the way and a chisel set. Sold all my other Stanley planes.

I only had one Stanley that could come close say 9/10 score. A #4 out of set 3,4,4-1/2,5,5,5,6 and some others that I bought to refurb and sell.

Not even close. You pay for quality and you get what you pay for. Awesomeness.

Edit: their chisels are stupid awesome as well.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

I suppose..IF one has a fetish for yellow metal…...almost the same as those statues that turn green.

Quality is in HOW it is made, NOT what it is made of, nor based on how many car payments you have to skip to buy one….


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Well they oxidize same as an old cast iron plane.

How it's made is the reason they are so pricey. What it's made of counts because it adds weight to the smaller bodied planes (1-4 with a 4 being optional either way) and the ductility and resistance to oxidation.

I remember someone dropping a bedrock 4 recently and it snapped in half. Not gonna happen with newer planes of ductile iron and bronze.

How it is bought is each individual's own business. Personally. Only 350$ out of however much I have spent has been put on a credit card and not bought outright. I need to build my credit so I have to spend money on something.

To each his own.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

It is NOT about how much you pay for a tool….Bridge City,,anyone

Nor is about what material it is made out of…..diamonds, anyone

It IS about how the tool is made, to what tolerances used, to fit and finish.

Just because a tool costs $$$ and is made from some exotic …stuff, does NOT mean it is a quality-MADE tool. Anyone can cobble a tool together, and charge a bunch of cash to buy one, doesn't mean much more that a whale fart in a hurricane if it isn't quality made.

Go ahead and collect the toys of your choice…..come back in a few decades and let us know how they are still working…..


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Bandit, don't forget that the Stanley's of the 30's and 40s are the Lie-Nielsen's today. Just because you can't justify the cost of a tool doesn't mean it's not worth it to others.

Fact, materials are better engineered today than they were back then.
Fact, machines are more capable today than they were back then.
Fact, LN Planes are made to a higher tolerance than any old tool any of us have.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

They don't hold wax on the sole very long, that's all.

If you want the extra weight and can tolerate frequent
waxing, those are the only drawbacks.

Bronze planes are rather pretty, imo.

I suppose I've seen a bit of marking from the plane
but it sands right off with fine paper.


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

I guess I should look closer for marks from my bronze LN #4. I haven't noticed anything in the last few years.


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## JohnDon (Mar 14, 2015)

You want weight, you want no corrosion- I have one word: granite!

Forget the Iron and Bronze Ages- back to Stone!


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## Kirk650 (May 8, 2016)

Ok…I was just out in the shop and I saw the planes. Hmmm. So I grabbed a chunk of pine and went at it with the bronze LN 4. No marks that I could see. Then, one at a time I used most of my other planes on that helpless piece of pine. Yep, I like the Veritas low angle smoother the best. The LN was second best. Truth be told, they all worked fine, including my Grandfather's old No 4. The Marples Record No 5 still does a great job, and so does the relatively new Stanley No 4. All the non-Veritas or non-LN have nice thick Hock blades. I also found that I need to sharpen the Veritas low angle smoother.

So there…


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

In my opinion, this is all about personal preference. Buy what you like, they will all do the job, and some designs have been doing it for decades if not centuries.

To figure it out you'll like, you've just got to jump in and test the waters. Buying any decent hand plane isn't going to burn you. I'm not suggesting you'll always make money, but the possibilityof loosing anything but a small amount should you not like your chioce is unlikely if you buy reasonably smart.

And like Kirk, some us just like them all for different reasons and some of us wind up with more than we thought we ever would.


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