# Stanley Sure form planes



## Willardz (Jan 28, 2012)

Has anybody tried these? Are they any good?


----------



## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Very good when needed. Mine is probabley 30 yrs old and still performs well when I need to ease edges and such quickly. It is for coarse work however and followed up with a rasp or the like. I never saw anyone ask about this, I thought I might be the only one that ever used one.


----------



## woodworker59 (May 16, 2012)

I just picked up the Millers Falls version of same, I have a similar one but not a stanley.. I agree with cabmaker they work great at what they do, never seem to need sharpening as near as I can tell but they are rough.. you will definitely need to follow up with a rasp or a bastard file to smooth it out.. they cut pretty quick so be careful the first time you try one.. have fun…


----------



## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

I used one of these on some Zebra wood and was amazed on the results. It seemed like all I needed was
a card scraper and it was ready for finish.

Yes, I think they are good and wouldn't get rid of mine.


----------



## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Absolutely the best tool on earth for shaping bondo.
Also works for shaping styrofoam.
I've even seen them used for pumpkin carving.
And, of course, they work on wood as well.
I've had one since I was in high school; I'm 62 now.

Stanley just never made more than 3 or 4 versions though.
The correct name is Surform, by the way.

I think there are some other brands out there now that use similar technology.
Like "Micro Chisel Rasps" are about the same principle of operation but are shaped like a rasp or file.


----------



## jeffl (May 3, 2009)

I saw Sam Maloof live one time. He used those to sculpt his chairs, said he heard they were going to stop manufacturing them so he bought up a bunch but he was still using the first one. That was the year before he passed away.


----------



## Willardz (Jan 28, 2012)

Thanks for the info! Should I look for older ones on Ebay, or are the ones at Home Depot just as good? I saw some when I was there the other day.


----------



## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

I have several versions, a couple of the block plane type pictured above, the full jack plane size with adjustable rear handle, round file, flat file, a sort of spokeshave type one hander..
At one point you could get a metal sandpaper "blade" for them as well.
They're great for agressive removal of stock wether you're shaping curves or chamfering.
They seem to show up in 2nd hand stores a lot. My jack is actualy an older wooden handled one, dumped the plastic handled one when I found it
;-)


----------



## Willardz (Jan 28, 2012)

I got the one pictured above by waho6o9. Worked great! helped me form the bottom of a leg I was making.


----------

