Hi Tom,

No offense intended; I was just trying to stir up some discussion. I was
expecting our British cousins to rise to the bait and tell us how much better
the high-end British infills are than a bog-standard coffin plane. Basically
looking for someone to tell me why it's okay to spend extra money on an infill
but not on a Bridge City tool.

I made a trip to England a few years ago and brought back two infill planes. One
was a heavy shoulder plane, gunmetal body and ebony stuffing and wedge. I love
it. The other is a smoother with a steel frame and rosewood stuffing. Unmarked,
but in the general style of a Spiers infill smoother. So far I haven't been
impressed by the way it performs. Maybe I just haven't learned how to
tune/adjust it properly.

For general use I reach for a Stanley 604 (purchased at an antique shop in
Canada for C$25). The iron is Stanley-made-in-Canada. When I need a little more
weight I reach for a Stanley 4-1/2 with a Hock iron (purchased at a PNTC meeting
back in the day from Bretton Wade). Hard for me to imagine anything working much
better than that combination. But then a bog-standard coffin plane with a
tapered cast steel iron also works a treat.

Cheers,
Chuck Taylor
north of Seattle


On Thursday, February 14, 2019, 11:48:57 PM PST, Thomas Conroy
 wrote:

Chuck Taylor wrote: "My theory is that the BCTO (Bridge City Tool Owners) clan
are cousins of the YBIFPO clan."

I object to that, having just joined the FOOYBIPO with two planes. But I'm not
jackass enough to fall for Bridge City's line of goods.
...