WaterPenny

I am a scientist by training. At one time I worked professionally in a wood shop making furniture. I learned about good and bad tools both in the wood shop and through experience. I inherited my father's hand tools and they do not work any better now than they did when I was a kid using them. They are cheap tools and no amount of tuning will bring them up to a quality standard. I assume they were US made at some time in the 1940's. I purchased a Stanley hand plane and it performs fine. I purchased a LN edge plane and found out how a fine tool works! I was asked to make screen doors for our ship (I am an aquatic scientist) and used my LN #2 to plane the trim pieces for the screen doors while traversing the Welland Canal. The plane did exactly what I needed done with only the effort required to do the work. The old tool I inherited would not have performed in this situation and would have produced an inferior worked piece.

Yes, the cost of the LN planes are high. I appreciate the quality built in the tool and is reflected in its use. As for the Woodcraft WR they are just trying to get reasonable tool into the hands of their customers. Only time and use will tell if the WR tools are worth the investment.

I am not limited in my acceptance or rejection of pieces of equipment based on where they are manufactured. My camera is Japanese, my microscope is German with an American made digital camera attached. I would rather have a quality 'tool' that will do the job I need (require). My work demands that my equipment not be the limiting factor rather my skill, either as a scientist or a wood worker. I like coffee but coffee does not grow in the US.