A Review & Comparison of Jorgensen Planes

Not long ago Jorgensen Pony introduced two hand planes, touting them as evolved versions of the iconic Stanley No. 4 smoothing plane and the Stanley No. 60-1/2 low-angle block plane. These are two of the most popular planes that Stanley ever made -- and the two most useful planes in my shop. I have often told novices that these are the two essential planes they should have. But what made these new tools most interesting was their price -- the new Jorgensens aren't any more expensive than some old Stanleys in need of restoration!

So I thought to do a straight-up comparison. Can the Jorgensen planes become the workhorses that the old Stanley's have always been? Do they work as well? Will they work straight out of the box, or do they require an extensive tune-up? The answers may surprise you -- pleasantly.

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And thank you so much for your time and interest!

[rueben]

I had a shop teacher in high school a lot like this, not teaching me how to do things, but teaching me why things are done a certain way with examples to back it up, and then letting me figure out how to do it knowing what I should expect at the end.

I wasn't very good at woodworking as it turns out, but the lessons translated well into pretty much any-and-everything else.

Anyway, thanks for the flashbacks!

[pumapunkudevelopment]

I just recently bought both of these planes and I can say that this review is right on point and accurate. The things that need to be tunned on the planes are exactly as he has stated. For the money they are as good as it gets. Don't waste your money on a Stanley like I did. The Stanley's of now a days are POS. So unless you are are 100 years old and were raised with a Stanley. Get this if you are new to the woodworking game.

[timmy]

I don't normally shop at Lowes but I went there last weekend specifically to pick up these two planes. So far I'm quite pleased.

[anonymityaddictsanonymous]

Thank you for the disclaimer at the beginning

[JakeRaytheRounder]

you're the best wood shop teacher

[brianmoore]

I almost bought the Jorgensen plane today! Guess I’ll be buying it tomorrow and givin it a shot

[carlson.douglas.w]

I can't help but feel like Nick is the American counterpart to Jim Klingshott.
Both have forgotten more valid woodworking than most will ever know, and share their knowledge and passion for the love of the game. And both have a style and personality that seems custom made for teaching.

[josedomingosteixeira]

I made beech handles to replace the plastic handles two of my Stanley hand planes and don't regret it. Love the feeling of beech and they haven't broken like some I have made of rosewood

[beeftimer]

Love the video. And I, personally, LIKE the orange! My step daughter is getting me this planer for Christmas. :)

[chagildoi]

Comment for algorithm. But I did buy the two planes using the links on your website. Appreciate all your shared wisdom!

[gregblake]

I recently bought the Jorgensen #4 handplane. After lapping the sole flat and sharpening the iron, I found the plane to work exceptionally well. It is as good as planes costing two to four times what I spent on the Jorgensen.

[jamespape]

That was a marvelous presentation on tuning up a worker plane; well done! I love my old Pony clamps (and I'm quite found of the bright orange color of their planes); however, there are other options not made in China (as all Jorgensen products are since the name & tool dies were resurrected. My dive into hand tools began decades ago in antique stores; where you can still easily find very nice old Stanley worker planes at very reasonable prices - I just saw a beautiful type 11 Stanley #5 (my favorite model) for $35 this weekend. Be Well!

[riddlewrong]

I will never use a wood plane in my entire life, but ADHD forced me to watch this video instead of doing my homework and I have zero regrets.

[bduplanty]

Amazon same day delivered the Jorgensen 60 1/2 as well as the mini block plane... Both came out of the box working and did a decent job. Will tune these up this weekend and put them into service. Thanks for the info and recommendation, these seem like nice entry level cost users.

[ALxx]

I am having difficulty with my no. 4 right now! Interestingly, my issue is advancing the iron. I did not have the same problem you mentioned with the low angle block plane, but something is off with the engagement of the blade on the no. 4.. the lever slips under the blade once it goes so far, no matter how finely I finagle with the screw cap and tension screw. I think it might be my faulty use of the screw cap in setup, but I am still troubleshooting. Regardless, this video gave me even more insight at the perfect time, so thank you for posting!

[vladimirlopez]

I bought the Jorgensen block plane after watching this and honestly out of the box it was better than my old Stanley block planes. I’m kind of surprised. The orange color sucks but it is a nice plane

[TheUncleRuckus]

The no.33 hand plane found at Harbor Freight actually makes a really good scrub plane if you're willing to put several hours of work into flattening the sole and resharpening the iron/blade. I put like 4 to 5 hours of work into the one I bought and it's one of my favorite planes now.

[billdirlam]

The Record 04 smoothing plane that was available around the late 1990s looks very similar to the new Jorgensen 04. I own the older version of the Record 04 and it's nearly identical to the Stanley 04 shown in the video. If I didn't already own the Record 04 and the Stanley 60-1/2 planes I'd definitely consider buying the Jorgensen versions. Good condition previously owned bench planes now cost way more than they did when new in the 1980s & 90s so it would appear today that the Jorgensen planes are a very good bargain.

[pantango]

I just bought the bench plane a month ago. Had some sharpening to do, not much. Stropped it real good and had no problems cutting. The shoe is not 100% square on the left side of the plane, the right side (side I lay down on my shooting board) was more acceptable fortunately. I bought the smaller block plane than you show for chamfering edges and that plane works great

[bobweiram]

The large milled frog seat puts them in the Bedrock league.