Thank you! When they were young, I made a demonstration for my sons: I made a razor sharp knife from an old file and then proceeded to shave my face with it. I explained to them: a man with skills can make a beautiful tool from junk; a man without skills can make junk out of a beautiful tool. Your demonstrations are a constant reminder that skill and understanding are the most valuable tools.
It's a complete ripoff of an old stanley though.... I am not surprised it's a decent tool. after a lot of tuning I agree, there are a lot of tool snobs out there, but most ppl wouldn't know how to fix this thing.
Yeah, we see the user selling their rusted broken destroyed tools each week at the second hand market. We know the reputation of woodworkers. They disrespect and destroy every tool they get their hands on. Then I pick them up for $5 if I can be bothered.
Sir. I've watched a few of your videos making infill planes, and stand in admiration of your skill. Most of us will never even have a workshop or the tools to be able to attempt anything similar. However, most of us usually have one of those small cheap block planes languishing in the bottom of the box, and as you've shown, they are that poor that usually they're used to knock panel pins in with. In this video, you've taught me, and I'm sure many others, a lesson. Some knowledge, some skill, some effort and patience are what separates the true craftsman from the rest of us. More than inspiring me to have a fresh look at the sad old plane in the bottom of the box, you've forced me to have another look at myself. You've finally crossed the hurdle in being one of the few that can actually teach an old dog new trick. I salute you.
Lubricant. Sorry but woodworkers have a terrible reputation for destroying everything they get their hands on as far as tools go. This video is no exception. LUBRICATE every surface and restore the scratches cause the designer know more than you do about their tools. You remove some friction by adding scratches and those scratches grab onto wax much better than a mirror finish.
I am impressed!! I'm very impressed!!! You truly are a master craftsman! You use the tools you have on hand. With determination, and knowledge. You create masterpieces in the shop! I would love to have you give step by step instructions on lapping and tools to use. Where to get them on the cheep. And verbally tell us what's going on. Be my teacher is what. I doubt I'm alone!!
I love taking something/anything and making it functional. Your videos are inspiring. I would like to thank you for sharing your talents with us. It is appreciated and it means a lot to me.
It's inspiring to see a man understand and improve the workings of a tool. It's becoming a rare thing in today's consumer society. Well done, much respect!
Very relaxing and satisfying to watch a job well done. Thank you. I think I will go give my planes some love this afternoon. My block plane is always in my pocket when I’m in the shop.
I came looking for answers because my cheap Stanley block plane is totally unusable and I spent an hour attempting to figure out how to adjust it before I gave up and invested in this video... which is brilliant! I love the absence of tawk! of course adding all the equipment and time needed to make it useable puts the price tag a lot higher... and now at least I understand why investing in a higher quality tool is WORTH it. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to make this!!
Add me to the list of people who have been inspired to look more closely at their cutting tools, to see what we can do to improve them. Thank you so much, I really enjoy your videos. Liked & subscribed.
I use my block plane on site almost daily. I love it. Thought I'd lost it a while back and was distraught, but had just misplaced it. Great little tool once you get them singing.
This is an inspirational video for me. I have a limited budget. So, it's nice to see that good performance can be achieved even if using an inexpensive, but decent, tool. It just takes some work to get it. I've started on mine and am already am getting better performance than before I started working on it. I don't have a belt sander. So flattening the bottom took time and effort. It took maybe a couple of hours of hand sanding with 100 grit sandpaper. That being said, I'm now able to get strips of wood when planing. They're thicker than in the video but I do still have more work to do. Thanks for making this video! It's much appreciated.
I bought a plane just like this recently, I worked on the sole and the blade and it's still rubbish so I was going to bin it! Now I realise how much more TLC it needs… thanks for this video!
Oh, so you’re the guy who’s been making all those THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF rusty broken tools each day being sold second hand. So, mysterious guy digs in your rubbish bin and gets them out and goes and sells them to cash converters.
First time I ever bought plane was this exact one from lowes. Dont know a thing about them and am so frustrated with it. This video really helps me understand why I am frustrated with it and that its not me but the cheap built tool. Thanks for the information and posting this video to teach us.
i got the same one as a gift and haven't used it much and haven't been frustrated with it! now after watching this i know what to look for and do to improve it! once i know how a tool is supposed to perform and seeing the fixes and understanding why, i can duplicate and remember :) excellent job btw!
Thank you for this video. I just bought the other plane from the same company. I knew it would need work and this video helps a lot since you used the same brand. Thank you!
Thank you Young Je for doing this video on. This cheap planer I have one similar therefore I have my work cut out.i look forward to challenge, again thank you
Just goes to show, if you look after your tools they will look after the wood. Spending time "upgrading" cheap tools they can work just as good as the more expensive ones. My toolbox has many cheapies and reconditioned tools. Great video 👍🏼😊
Thank you so much master. After fine tuning this "cheap" Kobalt is sharper, smoother and sadly far better than my Stanley block of the same size. They look very identical except for the coloring and the price. By the way I will probably have to do more tuning on mine. Inspiring video.
This is a very good job, I like it a lot because everybody could afford this kind of tool and now we know what to do to get the most for it. I will try it with my planes.
I'm using one of those, and I think they are not so bad, compare price to quality, of course they need some attention. And if you drop one of those or hit the nail there will be no tears. Thank you for another intresting video.
my520graj I think with the block plane being so short the tension issue is not significant. With a No. 4 and upwards,I think it would become more important.
I have bought and used a very cheap block plane. Also a not quite so cheap one. They are now ok, but the blades will never be good enough. Flattening the sole is the most important bit for me. The throat on one of them is ridiculously wide open, but it doesn’t make that much difference. I will buy a decent blade for one of them one day. Another great video.
Wrong! He improved 50% and destroyed the other 50%. And forgot lubricant. So, the tool is worse than before he started and it’s set up to get massive RUST and broken components and it will get sold next week at the second hand market. We all know this is true cause there at the second hand market ARE ALL THE WOODWORKERS TOOLS. YOU NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Who IS making all those BROKEN RUSTY TOOLS offered for sale EVERY DAY?
Did this with similar cheap plane. Took a few hours but now it works perfectly. In use I’d defy anyone to tell it in use from a plane costing ten times as much. Holds an edge well too
Very nice. I see from watching your video I still need to do more work on mine. Mine was so bad that the blade's cutting edge was not square to the side of the blade. It was way off. Once I trued the blade and sharpened it, my shavings were still thicker on one side than the other side. I used a micrometer to check my shavings. One side was .010" think and the other side was .016" of an inch. My board was only 3/4" wide. I had to take mine all apart and use a die grinder to actually grind down the planer's body where the blade rested. The best use for mine is to just cut away wood on some really bad spots that you can feel by hand that are high. I would never use this tool for build professional furniture. I'll have to go back and do even more work on it too see how much I can improve on it. Thanks for the informative video. Barry
Thanks for the video. I am going thru the same process. I think it's helpful to think of these planes as a "kit" of roughly made parts. The buyer has to complete it to get a nice working plane. For $15 it's kind of a steal.
I came across this video just passing time and actually have that same Kobalt plane and when I saw what you could actually do with it....well, there go my evening......I'll be heading down to my shop room to start my own work on tuning it up as close to what you did (hopefully) and if I get even in the ball park....that little blue hunk of import might just become my newest favorite toy in the shop.....
Great Job! You obviously understand the tool and it use. I have a similar (same manufacturer, different label) one, but didn't do quite as much as you. Thank You - I'm going to review it and make more changes like you have done.
Nice video and tool upgrade. For what its worth, I purchased several Stanley block planes (low and high angle) years ago and had to go through a similar process to shape them up. The initial tune-up effort was well worth it, and both planes have given me years of good service -- as I am sure your newly-upgraded Cobalt plane will, as well. I still love my Lie-Nielsen block planes, but I realize, too, that they can cost up to ten times as much (or more) as the Cobalt plane you have so nicely refitted. Well done! Best regards!
You too! I’ve NEVER SEEN rusty broken tools offered for sale, like, EVER! You guys know what you’re doing. The most used tool in your shop is THE OIL CAN. I know! You are f ing smart!
So much work to make it decent. I have had to spend many hours on my stanley plane too, though nothing compared to all the poor parts of this block plane. I just had a Groz block plane arrive for use in our school workshop, much the same junk as this one you worked on. I doubt I have the time to invest to make it half decent though. Thanks for sharing the video.
I bought an IDENTICAL "FOOTPRINT" brand (supossedly made in Mississauga Ontario, Canada); but that looks EXACTLY the same... and has EXACTLY ALL THE SAME, BAD FINISHED points you made us aware in your excellent video... Not a single difference at all! THANKS SO MUCH !. I am going to carefully follow all your steps as soon as I get the proper stones and a truly flat surface! Mine cost me about 35 US Dollars several years ago at a Sears store.
Just watched your video for the second time, I just wanted to note that someone's been paying attention either to lack of sales or some of these type reviews I bought one today and it only took me about 10 minutes to flatten the bottom and the lever cap using 120 then 500 by hand, it sure seems to me that either they tightened up the tolerances or mine was produced shortly after re calibrating the machinery, thanks for your tips savings purchasing this over a Lie Nielsen or such can go to materials or needed tools.
It turns to RUST and stuff BREAKS and you end up getting rid of it at the Sunday market. We know! We’ve all seen them every week! All you do is break tools and cause RUST ALL OVER THE tools.
Good work. I recently got a very cheap block plane, no adjustable mouth. All I've done so far is sharpen the iron. Still more work to do, but it has already been put to good use. At least when you buy a plane this cheap you can expect to have to work on it. If you had to do all that work on a plane costing 10 times this, you would not be happy!
