Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This plane is a quality product--especially for the price. Like other reviews have stated, you have to understand what to expect out of the plane fresh out of the box. When I took it out of the box it is immediately obvious that the machining is a bit rough--60 or so grit I am guessing. However, even though it was rough things looked relatively flat and was what I expected from the factory. I immediately began prepping the plane to bring it up to higher standards before making use of it in my wood working projects. The first thing I did was I flattened the sole and the sides. Using a 1x1ft granite tile I bought from Home Depot for $5 as a flat surface, I clamped sand paper to it in order to sand the sole and the sides dead flat. I started with 150 grit and for the last hour of sanding used 120 grit. I honestly would recommend going straight to 100 or 120. I have uploaded pictures of the bottom of the plane showing the sanding progress. One photo is after about 1 hour of sanding at 150 grit. You can see the bottom was cupped in the middle and to one side while the rest was hitting the sand paper. The next photo is of the plane all done with sanding and dead flat. It took about 5 hours of sanding in order to get the sole and both sides perfectly flat with no dimples in the surface. This is a bit overkill as you can have a minor amount of cupping without it really affecting your work--but after investing 3.5 hours of sanding I figured why not go all the way? After sanding (5 hours total) I was able to check for square with my Combination square and the results looked great and are included as an image in this review. Last but not least, like any plane iron, its got to be honed. I honed it using grades of sandpaper and eventually making it to my japanese water stones rated at 1000/6000 grit. The blade takes a good edge and seems to keep it as well. Paul Sellers, a well known master woodworker, has a youtube video that shows the process of restoring a plane which can be applied to any new plane as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYyV6IUpsYk After bringing the plane up to spec, you will need to set the plane based on what you would like to do with the plane. Personally I am using this plane as a shooting board plane. So I have mine set very shallow and the sharp blade is an absolute must. This plane performs wonderfully as a shooting plane. Paul sellers has great videos explaining how to set planes as well. The sole is about 2.5x9 inches. The sides, at their highest, are about 1.5 inches. Pros: *Awesome value. *Good machining when it comes to being square. *Works well as a shooting plane Cons: *A TON of work bring it up to spec (-1/2 star) Additional Considerations: Be aware of safety while sanding. You do not want to breath metal dust. Overall: 4.5/5 stars (>=.5 rounds up, <.5 rounds down) => 5 stars If you have any further questions regarding the product in my review please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.