Stanley Bed Rock 603 (Smoother)
Bed Rock the night away. This is a great, all-original, well-preserved, earlier round-sided 603. Japanning about 90% and beautiful, intact rosewood. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the No. 3 is totally underrated as a user. And this one will make a kick-ass user.
On the underrated point, a quick story is in order (more a digression weighing in on an endless debate). At some point, just about every woodworker decides to learn handplaning and asks around about which bench planes they should buy first (block planes are a separate discussion). The typical recommendation is a No. 5 to start because it’s versatile and everybody knows its name (like Norm, from Cheers, except in this case, Jack). After some time working with Jack, the woodworker inevitably wants to branch out and get a dedicated smoother. At this point, the typical recommendation is No. 4 as the standard-sized smoother. So, our woodworker friend follows the herd and shells out for a No. 4 to join the No. 5. But now the woodworker has ended up with the literal middle-of-the-pack, sequential planes that excel at doing many things with mediocrity and no one thing especially well.
That’s why we humbly submit that the best pair of bench planes to have if you’re going to have two is the No. 3 and No. 6. Why? The No. 3 is narrow and short enough to ride the waves the No. 4 skims over, and we think the 3 is better suited to the scale of most hobby woodworking. The 6 can do what Jack does and is long enough to work well as a jointer, again on the scale of most hobby woodworking. Versatility and specialization at the same time. Yahtzee!
If you read this far, wow, thanks! But don’t you have better things to be doing?
This 603 ships to you carefully packed and insured.
Bed Rock the night away. This is a great, all-original, well-preserved, earlier round-sided 603. Japanning about 90% and beautiful, intact rosewood. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the No. 3 is totally underrated as a user. And this one will make a kick-ass user.
On the underrated point, a quick story is in order (more a digression weighing in on an endless debate). At some point, just about every woodworker decides to learn handplaning and asks around about which bench planes they should buy first (block planes are a separate discussion). The typical recommendation is a No. 5 to start because it’s versatile and everybody knows its name (like Norm, from Cheers, except in this case, Jack). After some time working with Jack, the woodworker inevitably wants to branch out and get a dedicated smoother. At this point, the typical recommendation is No. 4 as the standard-sized smoother. So, our woodworker friend follows the herd and shells out for a No. 4 to join the No. 5. But now the woodworker has ended up with the literal middle-of-the-pack, sequential planes that excel at doing many things with mediocrity and no one thing especially well.
That’s why we humbly submit that the best pair of bench planes to have if you’re going to have two is the No. 3 and No. 6. Why? The No. 3 is narrow and short enough to ride the waves the No. 4 skims over, and we think the 3 is better suited to the scale of most hobby woodworking. The 6 can do what Jack does and is long enough to work well as a jointer, again on the scale of most hobby woodworking. Versatility and specialization at the same time. Yahtzee!
If you read this far, wow, thanks! But don’t you have better things to be doing?
This 603 ships to you carefully packed and insured.