Spear & Jackson No. 4 Smoothing Plane Tool

4.54.5 out of 5 stars

11 product ratings

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10 reviews

by ajm6prw28 Apr, 2023Most favourable review

I’m impressed

Did I need this ? No, did I want this ? Yes. I’ve no idea why, I now have 12 number 4 Hand planes ranging from a very very cheap one used as a fore plane and scrub, to four 1950’s Stanley’s.
It took me about half an hour to get this up and running, ie, sole flattened to the Paul Sellers standard, the iron sharpened and frog set for gossamer thin shavings. I spent a lot longer to carefully file and sand the rear handle to fit my hand, it was only then that I took the corners of the edge of the flattened sole, polished the chip breaker and again took a file to the edges. I was pleasantly surprised to find the cap iron had been ground on the edge to ensure a good tight fit to the chip breaker, and that the chip breaker already had a clear rake angle on the edge, I gave it a 20 second grind just to ensure it was straight. All in all, I found the engineering of this plane a cut above many new planes I’ve bought in the past, I was so impressed, I placed an order for the number 3.
Even if yours takes longer to set up, once done, you’ll have an excellent tool that if maintained, it will last you the rest of your life. I’ve included 3 photo’s of this and yes I did go over the top on the rear handle, should have kept the plane near me while I was working, but now I can adjust the depth of cut without taking my hand away, the second picture shows the pre ground “lever” cap and the third with one has one of those shavings in the middle. Read full review

Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: last_6332

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by mersey120806 May, 2020Most critical review

okay for the money if you can set it up

nothing special, not the best, certainly not the worst...for the money, with a little effort, it does its job. needed flattening, and iron needed a lot of work...for a budget it is a good buy, a lot better than likes of silverline Read full review

Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: remi-tools-ltd

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by mx56229 Sep, 2021

Good plane for the money

This is my first plane so I'm no expert. I wanted a No. 4 plane and have seen that you can spend over £100 on them but for my basic DIY needs I wasn't going to spend that much.

I was looking for a Stanley No.4 plane but this Spear and Jackson caught my eye as the price was very reasonable and it was available.

Delivered as promised, well wrapped. The plane was in a polyethene bag within it's box with plenty of oil over the plane. There are no instructions but it's fairly obvious how to adjust the plane. The adjustment of the depth of cut worked very well and after about 15 minutes of trial and error I was able to get really thin shavings - so the blade is sharp as well.

This plane might not suit experienced woodworkers but for me it is an excellent buy and I recommend it for basic, and perhaps intermeidate, DIY'ersRead full review

Verified purchase: Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: cherrytreetools

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by jamescooke3907 Apr, 2020