Are Bedrock planes really better? // Affordable handtool woodworking.
Are Bedrock planes really better? // Affordable handtool woodworking.
Does the rare and expensive Bedrock plane offer the bang for its buck? Watch and see!
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Ah yes, a perfect demonstration of why i hate marketing: no need to make things any better when you can just lie and convince millions of people that the new version is better (justifying the price) without actually putting anything into making it better
I got my Bedrock no.604 for Ā£70, minus the lateral adjust. There are bargains to be found, if you’re happy with a user grade tool.
EDIT: a regular Bailey from the same period would have probably cost me the same!
I have two Bailey pattern no. 4’s. Paid next to nothing. …… Can you guess what I did with the
(2) (different) mouth sizes ….. the word ‘(different)’ is a clue.
Cool video as well, cured my bedrock envy.
I just have three Bailey’s. Set one coarse for scrubbing, two for dressing flush and three for fine smoothing. Three sharp irons last longer than one.
You can also adjust the frog on the Bailey pattern without dismantle tha plane. Paul Sellers has showed this. Loose just a little the two screws holding the frog and then you can ajdust it on the fly.
Part of it is that they just look cool and are were sold as premium tool. Their function is close enough. I have a great love for a Stanley 4 1/2, 5 1/2, a number 10 carriage plane, and a carriage rabbet block plane. Finding them is part of the experience that makes using them more special to me. I believe Bedrocks are a premium plane and why Iād spend on it. I think the price gap between a bedrock and normal Bailey is only getting smaller. Iād also reason that the price for a new Bedrock may have effected their place in the market but there were definitely enough tool snobs and professionals with the love for them to sell oceans of them. The number of Bedrocks out there may be small compared to all Stanley planes but itās not insignificant either. People did buy them despite the price and seeing through any marketing hype.
What is your opinion on the new baileys with plastic handles price is right for 53.00 at box store order only
Couldn’t you modify the frog by adding epoxy and "milling" or filing it to be precise or at least more precise? Just for more bearing surface therefore holding the blade sturdier and creating more stability
I just bought a box of junky planes and one of them turned out to be a Bed Rock 604! I’m going to follow Rex’s advice in his wire-wheel-on-bench-grinder vid to get it back on its feet again and then turn into a cork sniffing plane snob. I might have to retire my Footprint beater. Maybe I’ll pimp the ride and make a fancy handle (I’ll have to learn the wierd words for handle and such) and gold-plated something on it, like the springy blade hold down thingy!
This is going to rock. (Or maybe it’ll be sick – can’t recall what the youngsters say these days when they mean really good.)
Thanks, Rex!
Thanks so much for this, I’ve been really wondering.
Under normal circumstances you’d never find a value or reason for bedrock planes. However, if you’re cutting into highly figured wood you need to move the blade and frog closer to the front of the plane’s mouth. With a bedrock plane, this is fairly easy to do. Without the bedrock design, this can be a major pain in the ***. So what you are paying for is ease and greater control on the process. Alternatively you can buy extra planes with each one at different settings then you’d never need to move the frog, just grab the appropriate plane! So instead of one plane, you could buy 2 or 3 less expensive planes. I’ll let you figure out the math on that. You do a good job explaining things but sometimes you need find out the full reason for something before looking for its value. You missed it on this one.
I think most of the problems occur with people who dont know how to tune their planes. I thought my Bailey wasnt as good as my other planes but it was because i had no idea how to tune. I actually learned how with your videos.
lol corksniffers lol
For the cost of a single Bedrock, you could probably pick up a No.7, No.4, and a couple of No.5s (set one up as a scrub plane). You might even have enough leftover for a block plane too. That’s a very well rounded set of planes, and a single Bedrock is never going to be able to compete with that. I think I will just stick to my Baileys and leave the Bedrocks to the collectors.
Sorry,i was commenting on the Info add that preceded this video.!
Let’s be clear: there is no strength advantage with the greater bearing surface. It’s a hand tool for Pete’s sake, we are not applying hundreds of pounds of force on the blade of our planes. Also, if you’re not a professional, changing the mouth opening quickly is not important. If you like nice, beautiful tools, get a bedrock. Or get a bunch of nice bailey patterns or a Lie Neilsen.
yeah, how about 200 eur for a vintage Stanley #4 in Europe? Thanks, but I rather get a new Veritas instead.
Can we just stop to appreciate the irony of a master connoisseur of tools being named "Hack" ?
is it just a case of snobbery? I have stanley,whitworth,record, if they work use them
That’s funny. I just paid $180 for one
Just bought a bedrock 605 type 12 – found it with a vendor at my local antique market for $10 w/20% off š³š³ couldnāt buy it fast enough š
BUT – because itās a type 12 (wartime production) – thereās no brass on it, it has maple tote/knob – smaller 1-1/4ā steel wheel, and no nickel plating on the lever cap – it was RUSTED. Not enough to make me not buy it tho – the rust had gotten under the Japanning, so I had to basically strip it all off – and the blade/cap iron were nearly rusted together. I replaced with a Hock blade/cap iron, ended up cold-blueing the cast iron instead of japanning or lacquer, and brass-plated all of the steel hardware.
Is it worth the price difference? Probably not – but hands down this thing cuts like nothing Iāve ever used before – itās SEXY as all hell, and it is just an absolutely pleasure to hold and use and even to look at. Thereās really no need to buy one – but if you enjoy restoring and collecting and using vintage tools – get one. You wonāt be disappointed – I couldnāt be happier with mine āŗļø
I picked up a Bailey #4 at a swap meet (like you suggested) and restored it (based on your videos). I got that plane for $1. Just last week I saw a Bed Rock 604 for $75. Thanks to this video, I took a pass. Thanks for saving me money Rex!! I appreciate all the great information for us beginners. š
*HA!* My only need for a plane is to fly myself from A to B and unbridled enjoyment…oops sorry wrong work. š„°
*HA!* My only need for a plane is to fix my usual out of square sawing stuff ups. š¤¦āāļø
I think we look at if from todayās perspective. Itās because Bailey has a very wide range of quality of planes. Bedrocks are a clear choice because they were only made during the peak quality of the brand. You almost donāt have to think too hard about the quality and only look at condition
Tool porn…. LOL…. good job Rex.
Great video!
I’d like to see a comparison made on tougher woods like exotics.
I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a bedrock plane in person lol, all my planes are baileys
You pay more for the convenience of adjustment thatās all your paying for.
I think it’s that the Bedrock planes were the "usable out the box" planes of yesteryear, and you’re comparing it to a fully tuned up Bailey. I think once they’re both properly tuned up, it doesn’t matter which you pick, but back in the day before the ability or even knowledge of properly tuning a plane was as commonplace, it probably was a noticeable difference to everyone who’s not like us today who assumes that no matter what plane, it will need tuning up before it’s perfect. I’m just guessing here, but like, was sandpaper readily available to everyone and would they have known that properly flattening the sole is one of the easiest ways to make even a dull plane work well? This is info we gathered over the decades and slowly compiled and only now with the internet is it truly being distributed far and wide, aside from a couple books that most of us never read.
I love my type 6 NoĀ° 4 and would only have a ābedrockā if ever L-N gets production going again and I can buy one of theirs. But Iāll not buy an old bedrock unless a old 5-1/2 happens to fall into my lap. I still have never owned a NoĀ° 5 of any sort, because my LAJās have always filled that need. At the end of the day too, Iāve come across more than one bedrock toteing fella whoād love to have my pristine type 6 if given the chance. But youāll have to wait around until I croak to get that one š
I own and use both Baileys and Bedrocks. For me, this video was a test of your honesty in evaluation. You passed with flying co;ors. but I figured yo would. Also, as Paul Sellers points out, when you adjust the mouth on the Bedrock don’t forget to adjust the iron before the first cut to prevent surprises. The frog bed on the body of a Bedrock slopes. Baileys are flat. Thanks, Rex
āJoe Hopkinsā University??,..was he JOHNās brother?!!!! Ha
It is always good to have a tight mouth on your tool.
3:11 when he doesn’t understand what you mean.
Old Stanley catalogs have the Bedrock planes priced at ten percent more than Bailey planes. In the video that’s also your assessment of the difference in performance between the two. Current market prices are of course now driven by the cork sniffers.
Get two Stanley No 4 if you need a very narrow mouth and set on up as usual and one with the narrow mouth. Switching is even faster and you save money.
Rex I try to capture every book you mention. Do you have a list of must reads or just a list of the books that have helped you the most?
This isnt minecraft… I just wanted to make a plane
Beautiful video, thank you. I almost bought wood river 4 1/2, one of the reasons that had me considering it is 3.2mm thick blade. And now I am doubting myself, for the price if it I could get 2 really nice early records in excellent condition in 5 and 4 1/2 and have change left over for at least one brand new thicker blade. That no5 is also StaySet.
Anyway, what would be your first choice shooter?
Thank you.
Good morning Rex, do you have a video comparing the "Faithful " plane from England?
I recently got into tool restoring and a couple months ago I came across an older guy selling a small carpenters chest with some tools in it for $40. From the pictures I could see some good panel saws so I decided to check it out. Rock up to this guys garage, pop open the box… couple of rusty disstons, but one was a d-8 ripsaw with the thumb hole. Alright, cool. Little farther down, craftsman duplex fillister plane. Iām almost convinced to buy this box. Dig a bit deeper, lo and behold- a Bedrock 605. I kept on my best poker face and said: āSo you were thinking $40? Hmmm… yeah I think I can do that.ā
I use my Grandfatherās Craftsman Bailey #4. (Circa 1950) itās an excellent plane. I agree with the comment from Cad, if itās good enough for Paul Sellers, Iām in! Great video, Rex!
Never could figure out why the Bedrock was so much more. Now I know, the cork sniffers driving up the prices.
Truth be told, though, I think my Lie Nielsen and Veritas planes ARE worth six times the price of my Bailey. Thicker blade steel, less chattering, and Veritas has the PMV-11 steel option.
Leaving aside the obvious comparison to Fred Flintstone, I think the introduction of the Bedrock plane really had more to do with the fact that Bailey’s patent was approaching expiry and once that happened anybody else could copy the design and Stanley was about to lose its USP.
A third explanation might be the Great Depression.
thank you Rex
Bedrocks are better planes there Is no doubt, the issue is collectors that have priced them out of the price range of actual skilled crafts people
Thank you, Rex! Another great and informative video! "Cork Sniffers"! You crack me up! Hadn’t heard that one before! š I really appreciate your advice. Purely from a performance point, it doesn’t make sense to spend the extra cash — you’d be getting "corked" I suppose. I can understand those that appreciated finely crafted tools, but that price difference is too high. Your advice is excellent for someone just getting started with hand planes that otherwise would have no idea what they are paying for.Thanks again!
Also is there not a committed shooting plane? Like a 45Ā° handle or something you’re my go to guy for these questions