Import Tool Madness: $25 Jack Plane 

For a through handle plane, this body is a little on the thin side, meaning the distance from handle hole to sole is a little thin, even for Chinese to use. The body should be 1/4" thicker, so you get more knuckle clearance. There is anotehr style of Chinese plane that has handle on top of body. That handle is usually curved like a raised handle on spokeshave. It's place immediately after where blade exist the throat. This style of plane usually have thinner body because handle is above body providing enough knuckle clearance. Another factor about Chinese plane is related to work surface height. Our workbench, or plane bench is lower than typical wester style bench. You need to bend forward a little more. Similar posture when you plane on your low bench you build for $30. A lot of traditional Chinese plane bench is beween knee and hip height. In that posture, your 2nd section of fingers, or intermediate phalanx, is mostly parallel to the workpiece. There is a lower chance you knuckle is at the lowest spot. One reason for low workbench is that, for traditional Chinese frame saw, we step on the work piece which is on workbench to saw. That bench has to be low enough to step on confortably. It does not make sense to have 2 workbenches, a low one to step on workpiece to saw and a high one around waiste level to plane. Ref: henan.people.com.cn/NMediaFile/2020/0406/LOCAL202004061555000508974532288.jpg 5b0988e595225.cdn.sohucs.com/images/20171116/0466e302fcf64aa1aa69c2179a019f1a.jpeg

I really appreciate you making this series of "cheap tool" videos!

I came to your video after buying one of these in Hong Kong after doing a story (I'm a journalist) on the last ship's chandler in wood. For the photo shoot, we asked him to man his bench which was very akin - I found out later - to those short ancient Roman workbenches. The difference was that the the bench tilted downwards (one set of legs was shorter than that the other) and you basically sat on top of your work and planed downhill. I'm trying to build a workbench for my Hong Kong apartment and noticed that a rather gnarly piece of beech I was trying to plane with my newly purchased Hong Kong jack plane seemed to work a lot better if I was sitting down much like the 'sifu' (anyone who operates any kind of machinery in HK is called a 'sifu' or 'master') did in the chandlers workshop. The whole exercise has been tremendous fun. There's zero hand tool culture in Hong Kong. Last week I tried to buy a brace in hardware shop and was laughed out onto the street. I asked my girlfriend what 'bu dong' means in Cantonese. She said it means "antique".

I love finding these videos one and two years later. That plane now is about $40.

This brand of the plane (Mudingfang) in your video used a lower quality wood, the high end one like Mujingfang used ebony or rosewood or Indonesia rosewood. I own one of this plane from Mudingfang, the body stock was dye with paint, not a real rosewood. Another brand from Taiwan made by Mujinggang used very hard wood for the body and very affordable.

Thanks for mentioning John Zhu, I've been watching his videos for a couple of years now. He's very talented and entertaining.

Stan Walker was my school woodwork teacher. He died about half a century ago but his skills live on in the minds of his students. He saw many advantages in wooden planes, they were lighter than their cast iron counterparts and could often survive a fall from a high scaffold. Maintenance was minimal, just an occasional wipe over with a little boiled linseed oil to help prevent cracking and a little bees wax maybe thinned with turps and rubbed into the sole to reduce friction. Use of a hammer to remove the blade, cap-iron and wedge was forbidden, the preferred tool being a mallet. This was used to strike a wooden button (usually box wood) which was set into the upper side of the fore-end. A light tap is usually all that's needed to loosen even tightly stuck blades. Restoring a worn mouth was a frequent exam question. The procedure being to use a forstner bit and chisel to set a small piece of hardwood into the sole alongside the forward side of mouth.

You could make a handle behind the blade with pieces of copper plumbing pipe. Split the front end of the pipe for the front fixing to give a 3 point contact . I used a piece of copper pipe with a bend to hold those tiny violin making planes .It fits in the palm of my hand . Nice video .I just got my first big Chinese plane . The tiny ones are good too .

Bought a physically identical but differently branded version of this plane in late December 2021 through Amazon UK (c. $25). Early February 2022 I finally had it in my hand ... quick delivery is not a plus point! The sole had a slight hollow towards the heel but was flat 'end to end'. I decided to ignore this for the time being. I honed the blade minimally to achieve a 30 degree angle of attack (it arrived well honed to 25 degrees .. ready for sharpening). It took more hammering and tapping than I had hoped to set the blade up for the desired cut ... but, after set up, the plane performed astonishingly well. It shifts large quantities of wood very quickly but with minimal to non-existent tear out even on very difficult and highly figured hard woods. And, once set, it holds its set-up very well and the blade stays scary sharp. There has to be a catch. But, after a week using the plane every day, I haven't found it. I'm no expert wood worker ... but this is a very good plane. On reflection, I think the stand-out feature is the pure quality of the iron, the ease with it takes a shockingly sharp edge, and its ability to hold it.

You made my father in law, who is from Hong Kong, very happy with this video! Haha! An excellent review as always, keep up the good work.

I bought one a few months ago. Works as well as my Stanley

We recently lumbered a 36" maple, a 36" white ash, and a 32" pecan. After drying, we tried planing with a Rigid (Home Depot) 13" planer with 2 HSS knives ru-vid.comUgkxIzvvTi3_Qc8JnVdYYRJCvuoDC4QjTzeL . This job was clearly too much for that machine. The pecan was particularly difficult, due to heavy mineral deposits, and a sharp pair of HSS knives would be consumed by a mere 3 boards. We were also having lots of problems from chip bruising, due to poor dust collection. The shavings came off like straw and jammed in the 4" hose.We bought the DW735 simply to be able to run carbide blades, which worked brilliantly for the pecan. However, we found it to be a much, MUCH nicer machine. It was far more rigid than the "Rigid" planer, and far more accurate as well. But what I liked most about it was the dust feed. This machine has its own blower, which shreds the "straw" like shavings as they come off the cutting head and helps boost the shavings into the dust collection system. No more clogs! It's also nicely sealed so that the internals stay quite clean. This is just a well tempered machine that's a delight to use. It literally cut the labor in half. Just another example of getting what you pay for.

I found using the handle to pull was comfortable. I have big hands also. My 17 year old grandson said I have the hugest hands he's ever seen.

With that plane being $25.00 with shipping,and it doing what we just saw you do with it makes it worth the price. If for nothing else you're getting a blade an chip breaker along with a piece of wood for $25.00 When "some wood craft" shops charge you $30.00 to $50.00,or more just for a replacement blade that may,or may not come with a chip breaker. So Thanks Rex! For the video. I believe I'll check this out.

Thanks for this review! Believe it or not, mine just arrived for half the price. It has different branding, but it looks identical to yours. Thanks to your videos, now I know to flatten the sole, sharpen the blade and set it up properly. I think that for ~$12 it's gonna be just enough until I can get a proper metal plane.

Bought one, set it up and have been using it for a couple weeks now, and I am blown away. The sole was basically dead flat and square, i had it completely flat from toe to heel in literally 30 seconds, from 120 grit to 1500. The iron was the only thing with a rough fit and finish. It needed a little excessive grinding to get the tool marks out of, but it's hard as nails and does not blunt easily. I kinda stopped using my Bailey #4 and converted it into a scrub plane because I think this is a better smoother. And the handle works for my hands, I wear XL gloves but my fingers are pretty thin.

I ordered one and received it last week. I've only had a few spare moments but even out of the box it still functions. The points on the iron are indeed sharp and when I am allowed I'll pay some attention to it, and I'm going to slightly open the gap above the iron so the shavings can escape. For 25 bones I'm impressed.

I bought this place because you recommended it. It has worked great. I also have large hands and I hold like a chimp holds a banana. You can’t roll a fist around it. Just fold your fingers around it. In other words don’t palm the handle.

I have had that exact same plane for about three months now and so far I love it. All I did is hone the blade and put it to work. Great video as always!

I'm really happy that i found your channel, and this is probably gonna be my first plane. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and keep those video's coming

I think it’s great showing that you don’t always need high end, expensive tools, that you can take an inexpensive tool and make it work just as well.

My first functional plane, got it set up and making pine shavings in about 5 minutes. I really appreciate the "woodworking for Humans" series - I need to build myself lots of things, including a proper workbench. Rustic bench is first though. ;) Thanks, Rex!

As always you did a great job on your video. You message is straight as an arrow and quite to the point (pun intended). I too have challenges with the handles but the proof of the quality of the tool was in the edges and faces you cleaned up.

I just received mine yesterday and have only begun playing with it, but so far I like it. Thanks for the great videos Rex!

Decent plane. Especially for the $. I could see installing a knob or handle on the front end to get better control when pulling.

Great review Rex, as a newbie to the hobby I appreciate your insights, keep it up, and stay smiley

Another fine video Rex, thanks!

Pretty good score Rex I hadn’t known about this plane untill you video In my experience all planes ive ever owned have needed some type of fine tuning or “tweaking “ to make it work as i want it to perform even very expensive new ones

Just stumbled on your video - great job and thanks for sharing your findings.

Just got this as a Christmas present. Watched your video and followed your recommendations. It is now my new favorite plane. I love that I can try the pull stroke without having to invest tons of $$ in a Japanese plane. Thank you for this video. Very helpful. I'm having way too much fun with it.

awesome video! Thank you so much for taking the time, putting the links in!

just bought one from amazon, for about 30 euro, really excited to try it out, thanks for the tips

Rex you are amazing. I just picked up exactly the same plane for $15 from where i live, i too am damn impressed and will be using it as an addition to my stanley no 5. Thank you

Thank you for such a great video, I learned a ton. I bought a similar plane and really tried hard to get it to work. Didn't even know they were 'Chinese' plane, and I'm just a beginning woodworker. I think I know what to do now, at least it'll be better than what I've been doing.

Finally I can comment! I bought one of these planes and tuned it up as you describe. It's fantastic, Rex! This one didn't even need sharpening, just honing the back a bit. Wow! Thank you for this video!

Rex, another very helpful review. I just had viewed a video on Woodworking Masterclass where Steve Hay was showing how to use one of these planes with his shooting board. He tapped the handle flush with the side of the plane that rides on the horizontal surface of the shooting board and used the extended handle as an easy to hold push handle. Seemed a lot more comfortable than using a Bailey plane. After watching your review and his, I ordered the plane. Thanks as always.

I just got mine in, thanks for the tip! And it cut a decent shaving on oak right out of the box, no less. I'm going to go over it next week and fine tune it, but this is a dang fine plane.

I think this might be perfect as my first plane. Great video! :)

I was looking for this, Thank you for this video

much apreciated rex

I have that plane, and I've had pretty good results with it. I had to do a lot of flattening, and I had to trim down the handle to get it to fit, but other than that it has served me well. One tip I have is put a little wax on the bottom if you are getting a little more friction than you'd like.

Great video! Today I bought a similar plane in Chiang Mai. Actually in Thailand it is pretty hard to find any hand tools. Mine was Chinese 12" long plane for 12 USD with chip-breaker and similar handles. The manufacturing quality is terrible, there no right angle. But the blade is already sharp and I was impressed how it planed a log of teak right away with minimal setup! The sole and sides would like some sanding to square them, also some blade honing, fitting the handles and ergonomic edges. Also bought a 6" for 9 USD. Last two pieces! The small is very similar to father-in-law's old plane. For this price and a little effort not bad. At least I have the blades if I want to make a new body from local wood. In my impression in Thailand it's a paradise for wood material but short of on good tools and hand wood working crafts, except wood carving, which is impressive.

Got one for christmas. Love it. My issues are that I tend to have trouble with the iron protruding to the left, and the wedge tending to trap chips. Again on the left side. Working on getting things filed in and perfect and it makes shavings. Even really thin ones when I’m careful.

just discovered this channel and was pleased to see you demonstrating a plane I had and like better than any of my old ones. one point on the handle, I see you take it out to draw with the plane, I leave the handle in, draw with the right on the handle (finger tips only, not wrapped; thumb on top of plane) and point with the left to the nose of the plane and cant the angle about 4 degrees left, which seems to smooth out the cutting action and gives a lot of control. works that way on doug fir, pine, black walnut, and very old; very dry black cherry with far less effort than my old stanley jack plane or the box set from woodcraft, which honestly were hard to set up and not anywhere as good.

It's kind of obscene that you can get that quality of material and product for $25. Crazy good value.

Totally digging your vids. Just milled some slab hardwood and looking to get more into wood work. I Do blacksmith work at present and want to combine more wood. Anyhow just dropping a word of encouragement. You're doing great. Thorough, insightful and easy to listen to. You're onto something here. Keep it up.

Rex, you rock!

That looks really interesting, thankyou for sharing.

I am pleased to see that the end half inch of the blade on mine is hardened steel. I bought the lighter colored version that is made of laminated oak strips.

Dang you, Rex Krueger...just when I'm saving for vacation. Dang you.

I have glued some foam to my wooden plane behind the blade and can hold it conventionally with comfort. A front knob or cowhorn can be added.

This kind of an interesting plane for Japanese woodworking, I really can’t find Japanese planes that long easily. From what I’ve seen there like 100 or more for an old beater.

Good info... Thankyou... I recently bought one of these...By the looks of it... exact same one/manufacture ect.... Did the deburing on the back edges of the blade, as they were definately sharp to split your thumbs open pretty good... Did a test and got same decent results... Liked the easy setup and disassembly. Earlier bought a smaller one half the size(Always check the add descriptions of amazon) thinking it was this one... still going to keep it....same Idea. I went back and looked at this vid as I remembered you have made a vid on this and at least we know that with this particular plane... they all seem to be somewhat held in same tolerances... Good to know...

I have one like this, 16- inch. I removed the taper handle and use it the western way. It works great. It works well especially when the surface of wood is very rough right after the cut from chainsaw. You can get it smooth very easily. That's the advantage of this plane as it has a long front body.

Awesome news. I just ordered one to play with before finding your video. :)

i have the mujinfang brand high angle smoother, it did require a fair amount of tune up but i attribute it to the humidity change it must have gone through coming from china to canada. once tuned and sharpened its a wonderful tool that leaves a great finish and handles all sorts of difficult grain.

So 10k views equals $25. 110k views so you made $250 from this video. That's pretty dang good

Another great taste of your carpenter wisdom!

Hi Rex, thanks for all the tips and reviews, they are so helpful. I am forced to use people like Ali express, mainly because they deliver to Spain. Earlier on today I tried to buy a hand plane from America, only to be told SORRY, we do not ship to Spain. Now, whether this is because of tarrifs or theft, I don,t know, probably both, but at the moment I have 4 items which are taking an awful long time to come from China, but, as I live in the Canary Isles which are off the African coast it is even more difficult, ie More customs, More Post Offices More theft, so to see your review on the $25 Jack Plane, makes it a very easy decision as I do not own a hand plane as yet. Many thanks Keith Perry Patreon.

I also purchased this plane. My experience was that it is a damn fine plane. It functions extremely well. I'm particularly impressed by the thru plane handle that allows for two handed pushing of the plane and makes squaring up a board much easier. It's an excellent replacement for a Stanley #5 for roughing in a board. It's not wide enough or long enough to replace a 4 1/2 or 7 Stanley. But for the price it is one hell of a bargain.

Ok, I convinced. Looking it up right now...Well, as soon as I'm done typing this.

I bought this wood plane and I love it!

I'm impressed that YT only now suggested this video to me! At 4:25 I am not too familiar with Chinese planes specifically but they seem to have many similarities with the japanese ones. If they're anything like those, then the sole is not meant to be flat. A thin strip at the very end of the toe, another at the end of the heel and a third in the front of the mouth (the side towards the toe) are flat and coplanar. They are the only parts meant to touch the wood. The spaces between those parts is meant to have a very sly concave relief so they don't actually touch the wood (I've heard some people do slight variations on this too, but ignore them). This reduces friction and improves performance. I have a feeling the chinese ones do that too (the old man in John Zhu's source video doesn't mention it, but he seems to do it when scraping the bottom, he just seems to scrape more in those same areas areas).

I live in Russia, syberia part and i bought stanley no4 in bad condition for 70 dollars. Three days working with it, and works great. Steel don't stay sharp enought in his basic 25 degree angle. Made it 30 degrees, holds okay

Was having too much trouble with the japanese plane then I saw this video. Bought 1 for less than 10$ online. I'm really impressed with this Chinese plane. Very easy to adjust. Got the hang of it immediately and started shaving and getting great results.

Loving this plane.

After 4 years it’s still free shipping and only $32! I am amazed

Walmart sold a wood plane in store for less then a dollar immediately i knew it was junk but ur videos taught me to save what i could a make a better tool from it

When I went to the link, it said that the plane was not available at this time. It also said the body was made of synthetic wood. If that is synthetic wood, it is the most real looking synthetic I have ever seen! Thanks for the review. I may very well buy one just for giggles and see what it will do in my shop.

Frankly, Rex, I wish I knew you before my NDE accident of 10 years ago. At that time, I was full time as a union joineerman carpenter earning between $ 40- 60 per hour. Now disabled, my SSID check monthly at least covers my rent and some change. I build my own bee hives, but that is another story. Just gave to have woke up from my coma( only 2 month in it) but , boy! What a different world ! Hang in there Rex! I'm still kicking and took a licking, m name should have but Timex ! Aloha, Mark Baker

47k views! How about that? 😃 Great video, dude! If some day I can finally finish the freaking construction here at home (🙄) I want to become a patreon. 😊

Over here unless you go to a specialty distributor these are the inly planes you can get. Two big advantages though. You can get a full range of sizes almost up to a number 7 Stanley size ,albeit narrower and they are about a third of what yours cost..

Thanks!

$36 now on amazon. 4/9/2020 - Average price - $21, High $41 - Low $19 - Putting it in my wish list - will wait and try to catch it on sale.

Aloha Rex, Here in Hawaii, Since I'm not able to work full time anymore, I do pick up wooden bodied planes from Asia, sometimes for free. These have been neglected for a time and have fallen under the Jaws of Termites. In that case, I may rebuild the body with a easy to find type of wood , with a pallet wood called 'Juhun' or a Teak variant or local grown Mesquite called here Kiawe. These are hard as iron or steel and resist termites very good. Another thing , all these woods are cheap or free.

Just a couple tips to use the Chinese planes. What the traditional Chinese woodworkers do is dipping the whole plane into the motor oil for a few days before using it. That will keep the planer last much much longer and plane much smoother. Also if you don't want to damage the top of the blade, instead of tapping the blade for extending the blade out, you can tap the front of the plane.

Rex, I just got one of these planes, and put a moisture meter on it. It showed over 30% moisture so i would expect to see more movement and checking over time.

Try this I have done it a few times. Prepare the wooden plane soul as normal. Spray thin even coat of ca glue then activator. try it. I have done up to 3 lairs. then little sanding with fine paper. It makes the wood last longer and can be repeated as you wish.

The Asian planes are not supposed to be flat. They are intended to have a mild hollow in 2 places on the bottom. The allows one to have finer shavings than Western wood planes. Also, Asian wood planes are meant to be pulled, not pushed.

I have one and i'd call it so so compared to my stanley heavy 5 1/2 . I do love wooden planes but. My best one is an Emir coffin smoother.Makes a beaut job due to it's heavy blade.

Thanks.

Fabulous review Rex. Thank you! For 25 dollars it seems like it would be worth it for just the blade itself. If the sole of the plane didn't hold up then that blade and chip breaker could be repurposed.

Bravo!

Good video man, have you tried pulling with the handles, that's the way I use these planes with great results.

Anyone of the skill level to tune up a plane would have no trouble and fitting front and rear handles.

Interesting looking blade. Apart from the width and rough finish it looks a bit like the Marples blades in my wooden planes, that is much thicker at the business end though my blades are made of two grades of steel blacksmith welded together.

Just ordered a couple sizes from AliExpress to see how they compare to my handmade wooden planes of similar styles. Can't beat the prices.

I think the finger issue also has something to do with the style of Chinese woodwork. I am working in a traditional Chinese wooden architecture/timber framing studio, and they also have traditional furniture classes as well. I've rarely seen any big, wide boards used in furnitures but more often small strips jointed with grooves and aligned with dado, and narrow strips woulden't be that much an issue for big hands.

Just got it in the mail. I'm a plane newb, but seems like it makes nice shavings and is pretty easy to adjust and work with. Thanks for recommending it! Oh is there a certain direction to put the wedge in?

I love this video. I live in Indonesia and so have a collection of these of assorted lengths; my favorite one is 32-cm long x 6-cm wide x 4.5-cm tall, constructed from local Ebony (wedge and handle) and Mahogany body with the brass protector like yours. Excellent blade too. Cost me Indonesian Rupiah 105,000 (USD 7.25) :)

It's actually down to $20.55 currently so assuming production hasn't been lowered, even better deal

Best part of the video. The hammer becomes offended and runs away. LOL 9:40

I've looked at these quite a few times over the years as a possible alternative to the Stanley style planes. What is funny is I was looking at these last night and did not know you had uploaded this video. My thought was "I wonder what Rex would think about one of these?" Well... now I know :-). Would love to be a Patreon, but just can't afford it at this time, just like I couldn't afford to buy a plane either. Just window shopping. Maybe some day I can afford both. Keep up the great videos!

Just a heads up fill the area around the brass insert with C A glue or epoxy. I had an issues with the insert flexing away from the wood.

Yes! Yes ! Yes !

The handles can be used with a rope and a helper to pull....the master guides it.

After other recent videos. This iron seems like night and day. (Midnight/high noon)

You tube recommended your channel and being a metal machine shop guy I thought that strange. But I took a look see and liked what i saw so I subscribed. My passion is making tools and wood or metal a tool is a tool I like that you recommended the chinese plane. I purchased a lot of chinese tools to start with because it is what I could afford. I did not think of them as finished tools teady for use, but as a kit of parts that could be finished to make a usable tool.

Use the plain with the work piece at your knee level. The handles and finger position will give you leverage to plane through a whole section quickly.

According to the Amazon listing, the plane is made of rosewood. I looked up the janka hardness and it says only 1200 on the chart. What might be cool, would be to plane the sole down a quarter or 3/8 of an inch and glue on a harder wood like hickory or mesquite for contrast. You could pre cut the angles on your pieces so there would be less chiseling of the mouth to do. I think i might buy one of these just to try. Great video.