# Stanley Sweetheart 9 1/2



## RedShirt013

You should post the full body of your review on this site. Personally if I like your review here then I would have no issue of hopping over to your site to see what else you've to offer.


----------



## Timbo

I'm curious if the iron cap is made of aluminum.

After seeing the larger sweetheart planes at Woodcraft, I noticed wear around the screw and thought it looked like a weak point.


----------



## HighRockWoodworking

Good point Tim. That is something I need to look at, and that was the first place that I felt like would show signs of wear first. I will have to keep everyone posted as I use it for a while. I have another project that I am starting that I plan on using it quite a bit so we will see how it does.

Thanks for the comment.

Thanks for the opinion Ed.


----------



## ropedog

i tried the new 9 1/2 at school and was not impressed by it, the top cap is aluminum and not machines well around the screw, plus it took me over an hour to get the mouth straight, it came out of the box crooked. this new series of planes does not come close to there original sweet heart or the newer lie nelsons or veritas. i will stick with fixing up my old stanley planes.


----------



## KellyS

I have the same plane and yes, the cap is the weak link. It's made out of aluminum or pot metal and I've already worn the threads out in the first cap after about 1 year's infrequent use and started on a second. My brother owns a machine shop and I've thought about having him drill it out and add a thread insert. I must say that they were "Johnny on the spot" with getting me a replacement cap for it, but it was just like a scene out of the movie Idiocracy. I explained what I thought were the design flaws logically and with great clarity, but it was to no avail. I got the standard "Ignore the customers feedback and send them a new part right away to keep them happy" response. 
It is my opinion that the brass threads on the tension wheel are too short only engage a couple threads in the aluminum, so all the tension rides on a few poorly, loosely machined threads that are doomed to strip out after a few adjustments. I think if the brass screw were longer and engaged more threads, it will last much longer. They put it on the box "guaranteed for life" I plan on holding them to it, but it will end up like Husky Tools. I'm sure after a while they will have a disclaimer about requiring the receipt, Like I'm going to have a receipt for my Dad's 1/2" ratchet he bought 40 years ago.

I don't mean to bash it, but I really hate to see things like this happen because you see companies like Lie Nielsen and Veritas making real improvements to hand tools and cranking out high quality stuff (Not to say that Stanley didn't make improvements, they just didn't follow all the way through with them). Stanley has positioned themselves in the market with a legendary name that is meant to side track people away from LN and Veritas and take some of the market share away from them. It only hurts them. Just like Walmart they make it tough for the littler guys who aren't the 800 pound gorillas on the block, but are putting their best foot forward to provide an honest to goodness attempt at the best product available in the market. Don't let the tail wag the dog! Don't settle!

It is my opinion that you should forgo that Japanese Steak house dinner one weekend with the misses or hubby …take them to Dairy Queen for a Burger and a Shake and a kiss, take your savings along with that $100.00 you would have spent and go SUPPORT and REWARD the people who have stuck with it for all these years bettering their product and producing high quality

Sorry to rant!
Kelly


----------



## Rick_Boyett

I didn't even think about the cap iron in my review of this plane. The body was machined so poorly that I just gave up on it and took it back.

Now I've got a Veritas low angle block plane. I need to get off my butt and write a review of it but I can tell you now that it is pretty kick butt..


----------



## roman

I gave up on stanley block planes. Having bought a few of them in my life I find that they discontinue the plane and or redesign it and therefor parts and the blade/iron cant be replaced redering the block plane useless.


----------



## woodprof

I've bought a few LN planes, and always found them flawless, but I felt a little guilty about the amount I spent on them. I partially justified it to myself by saying I was supporting my local Woodcraft store, which has a couple of great owners, Bill & Heather Caillet.

Now, thanks to KellyS, I have another reason to feel good about buying them. *And* they're made in the USA!


----------



## HighRockWoodworking

I definitly agree with you Woodprof. You just can't go wrong with a LN!

Thanks for the reply.

Chris Adkins

http://highrockwoodworking.com

Follow me on Twitter!


----------



## velo_tom

Can't go wrong with Lee Valley and their Veritas tools either. I've bought several of their planes, just ordered another one today. I've always felt the tools I've received were as good a quality as I will ever need. I've never found it necessary to do any more than a quick honing of the blade and set it up for work, ie just a few minutes of light effort.

I ordered their router plane along with a some other things a few months ago. When the plane arrived they had not included the three blades that come with it. I thought, well this is an opportunity to see how they treat the customer after the sale. I sent them an email explaining the problem. I hit the send button, went to the kitchen and got a glass of water and returned to the computer. I was amazed to see I already had a reply, an apology and a promise to send the missing blades that day (and they did).

Between their great tools and fantastic customer service they have a very loyal customer in me.


----------



## PCM

I have not heard any good reviews on the sweetheart planes. I buy either new veritas or LN both of which are perfect out of the box or I buy inexpensive old stanleys and put in the work to true them. Thanks for the good review.


----------



## a1Jim

your better off with an old Stanley for the money


----------



## ShopCat

I broke down and bought the LN adjustable mouth low angle years ago. I use it practically every day. I have a couple more refurb older sweethearts and baileys including ones from their prime period early in the 20th century, but find they don't even come close to what LN is doing now. He charges a stiff price for his work, but he makes a product that's worth the price.


----------



## jbertelson

Sorry, but I am not taking the bait and going to your site to read a review posted as an LJ review…................

This was not an LJ review.


----------



## HighRockWoodworking

Jim it was not supposed to be a LJ review…. I believe the reviews are open for everyone to post…. But point taken when I posted this I did post a few post that linked back to my site for full post as I had saw others do but decided that I didn't think that was right so I have now been posting full post and if you want to come to my site then great but if not I still enjoy reading and responding you readers post or here as well.


----------



## HighRockWoodworking

By the way I did modify this so that the full post is on here and I do appreciate your opinion.


----------



## jbertelson

*Chris*

Thanks….......I appreciate that you posted the whole review. ........and you are not the first one I have picked on for this issue…............(-:

In some sense, *we are all in the business of attracting attention, everyone wants their posts to be read*. If you attract attention to your post, and then get them to read it, then you maximize your impact. That is, you satisfy yourself, and you satisfy your readers. A win/win situation.

So here is why I push for the whole post to be in one place, whether it is a review, blog, or whatever.

1) *READERS ARE CUSTOMERS*
Wouldn't you rather see the whole item here? It is simpler to read, allows for quick comparison with other reviews, etc. In other words, I am in some sense your customer. Always imagine yourself in the customer's place. It is an axiom of good service.

2) *KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS*.
I am not just reading, I am looking for interaction with fellow LJ's. I am pretty typical, I think. It is a significant part of my relaxed socializing each day. If your post takes me away from LJ's, then it interrupts what I came here for. In other words, I don't just want to read your post. I want to read the comments, because many of them will be my buddies and online friends. Then we strike up a conversation within the comments.

3) *COMPETITION*
I can only read a limited number of postings each day. I never bother to read posts dependent on links, it takes too much of my time and the post has a much reduced chance of being useful in the short and the long term (see below). In other words, in the competition for my time, link dependent posts are relegated to the bottom of my priorities, and are almost never read.

4) *DURABILITY*
Sometimes I run across reviews and blog items a couple of years old or so that I find useful, and additional comments may even be made by me and others. The older the post, the more likely that any link will be broken. If the link contains the substance of the post, then the post is lost. In other words, there is more mechanical integrity to the post if it does not depend on links.

5) *MAXIMIZE IMPACT*
What do LJ's pay attention to? It varies, but when posts are truly informative, well written, lots of pictures, and lots of comments, then they 'go viral'.

A well written post flows. *Links break up the flow.* You lose the train of the thought. When I find a link is integral to the post, I usually just move on to something else. There are a zillion posts on LJ's each day. If yours are going to be read, then they should read well.

6) *MAKE INTERACTION EASY AND INTUITIVE*
When the post is broken up by links, then *where do I make the comments?* Are most of the comments going to the linked site? In other words, you are almost guaranteeing that the content is fragmented and the impact is compromised if it depends on links.

7) *COMMENTS ENHANCE AND VALIDATE THE POST*
You will find when you have been here a while, that *some of the best information is contained in the interplay between the commenters*, as one comment brings to mind something in another commenters experience. And then the comments are subject to critical scrutiny by others making the comments. Some of the most important information on this site is in the threads that are generated by a post, which in and of itself, may not be as important.

8) *MARKETING*
Marketing is something we all do in some way, almost every day of our lives. But it is a large complex discipline. If you are on LJ's trying to generate business, you are probably competing with a couple of thousand woodworking businessman, I suspect. It takes a lot of work to stand out from the crowd.

You have to give us value, make your posts interesting, and you have to get us to trust you. I don't know if you really can generate business on this site, but there are some people here that I wouldn't hesitate to refer friends to. But they have earned that trust the hard way.

Sooooooooo…...........how are you going to get me to look at your site?...........(-:

PS…...after writing this I decided to make the essence of this post a blog item…..........

Alaska Jim


----------



## jbertelson

.......and re the review…....

I have seen others complaining about the slop in the adjustments in this line. It is all about quality control of their Asian producer. I find it hard to believe that would be such a big problem, but it obviously is.

By the way, have you heard anything about the lineup of Sears tools. Saw a bunch of new stuff on the shelves here in Anchorage. Both power and hand tools. British stuff in the hand tool realm. New band saws, bench mortiser, etc undoubtedly from Asia. I was really surprised when I went in there the other day looking for a particular file (which I didn't find there or anywhere else in town). Every once in a while Sears gets a decent product in, but I suspect it is a real crap shoot until someone tries it out. I am getting too old to take chances, will probably stay with the stuff I see well recommended up here…..............

Jim


----------



## HighRockWoodworking

Thanks Jim. When you look close the machining is just not that great and to much slack, but as I have said before I don't think the plane is a total waste. There are things I like about the plane and do use it. I just think if they want to come out with a premium line they should go all the way.

It is funny you mentioned Sears. My wife and I were up in North Carolina a few weeks ago and her father said the same thing, he had been in Sears a few days before and couldn't believe all the tools they had. I have not been into a store in a long time but I did just pulled them up on line…..and I just don't know. I remember as a kid Craftsman had a great name but over time they just didn't keep up with companies like many of the big names now.

As for the hand tools they do seem to have a lot more variety and has some specialty planes that I would not expect them to have and a curious note was that there Footprint line looks exactly like Anant planes which are made in India. I have tried out the Anant planes and although they are not a plane I would probably buy the one I tried someone had taken the time to hone and set it up properly and it wasn't bad…but the is another subject.

Maybe Sears is trying to get back part of there name in the tool world… I just don't think I am ready try them out, but I would like to go in the store just to see for myself.

Chris


----------



## jbertelson

I have a 40 year old Sears radial arm saw, I bought it new in 1971, and I can't part with it. It is so great at crosscuts. I have put a new table on it, a first class blade, and a souped up fence, take a look here….....
the old RAS is doing OK

So like you say, maybe they are tryng a come back. There is no question they have had some good table saws with good fences, there are blogs and reviews here on LJ's. I was just flabbergasted to see a bench mortiser, now that is not a main stream tool. It would be great if we had another competitor that is local to most communties. Lowes and HD do not have this stuff.

But it comes down to quality. Don't know if they have that down. Sears is big enough to do it. Bet they could make a lot of money if they tried. Oh well, we peons don't have much influence. Just watch and see.

Thanks again for listening to my ranting and raving….....appreciate the review…......

Alaska Jim


----------

