Your thoughts on these brand new hand planes?

They look near identical to the TayTools branded planes with the exception of a bronze lever cap. Everything else looks identical though.

Thanks, Sansoo! I’m just not familiar with brand-new anything, especially woodworking tools, so I don’t know what I’m looking at. My next question will be whether they look to be a good deal; the prices are in Canadian dollars, so multiply by .76 to see approximate USD for comparison. I’ll take a look at Tay Tools for comparison.

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!

A No. 7 jointer for $215 USD? It’s either the deal of the decade, or you get what you pay for, in other words, junk. Hard to say, but I have my suspicions.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

It looks exactly identical to the India made line that several others rebrand. Like Axminster’s “Rider” line:
https://www.axminstertools.com/rider-no-7-jointer-plane-107339
Among a few others, I think “Faithfull” is another rebrand. Groz, Anand, and Soba i think are some others.

No 7: $215+ USD vs $425 for a Lie-Nielsen.

Busy Bee 10.25 LBS
Lie-Nielsen 8.25 LBS

I know the LN is flat and square out of the box. If I were looking for a new No 7 and did not have the budget for the best, I would look at Wood River. Then again, now that I see It’s 9.5 LBS and $350, I’d save another $75 and get the best quality.

I bought a new cheap No 5 several years ago. The sole was not flat, the sides were not square to the sole, and the blade was not flat. Everyone cannot always buy the best of everything, but my theory in tool purchases is to make lifetime purchases. Otherwise I would be buying a $215 plane now and a $450-$500 plane later. THe resale value of the cheap stuff is minuscule and the re-sale value of the Lie-Nielsen is often higher that the cost of a new one. Just check out the recently closed auctions on eBay.

Looks like a nice plane with a thick iron and chipbreaker. Only in-person inspection would tell you if the grinding is good.

The grinding on L-N planes is nearly flawless. They’re also USA made so that contributes to their prices.

Saw these a while back, had intended to stop in at the store an check it out but ended up ordering on line from L.V. because of stock issues, Busy Bee very close to Lee Valley in Edmonton. Do not really need any more planes, do have an old #7 Stanley (made in Canada) but some thing new an shinny, maybe:)

-- Lifting one end of the plank.

For what it’s worth, I spoke to the customer service people at Busy Bee and they assured me that the new Busy Bee planes they sell will be quality checked and have a flat sole, flat frog, and sides 90 degrees to the sole—they assured me that the planes will meet the quality criteria described in the Steve Maxwell video (found on their website and on YouTube). All I’m saying is that this is what they told me. Is it true—I can’t say.

For what it s worth, I spoke to the customer service people at Busy Bee and they assured me that the new Busy Bee planes they sell will be quality checked and have a flat sole, flat frog, and sides 90 degrees to the sole—they assured me that the planes will meet the quality criteria described in the Steve Maxwell video (found on their website and on YouTube). All I m saying is that this is what they told me. Is it true—I can t say.

- 2leftfeet

Then is must be true! Thanks for sharing.

-- Half of what we read or hear about finishing is right. We just don’t know which half! — Bob Flexner

Once again, thanks for all the great replies!
Yeah, I kind of suspect that these may be re-branded generic planes. How many different factories are out there in the world, producing planes? Probably not many.

If I was a tool dealer, the quickest way to include hand planes to my product line would be to strike up a deal with one of the few actual plane producers and have them make planes for me with our company logo.

I have a “Busy Bee” 14” bandsaw, which is a clone of my old Enco which is a clone of my even older Delta. Just a foil label with their logo differentiates it from the others.

Guess if curiosity gets the best of me, I’ll have to buy one, and see how it suits me. I’m not so biased in favor of championing old relics anymore. I’ve got furniture projects to make.

TY again for your thoughtful comments, everyone!

-- Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." I'm Poopiekat!!

Hi PK.
They look very much like “Bench Dog” (made in India) planes sold in the U.S. by Rockler. I have never dealt with Busy Bee. They may be great to deal with, but they have put out a fantastically inaccurate YouTube about tuning these planes. The tube is titled “Hot Rod and Fine Tune a Hand Plane” by someone named Steve Maxwell who presents himself as some kind of expert. It’s truly cringe worthy. The methods he demonstrates are highly questionable. There are far more accurate and simpler ways to tune a plane than he employs. I would argue his sharpening method would produce a convex edge and that his flattening technique could quickly take a flat plane out of true. He also instructs people to undertake the rounding over of a Lie-Nielsen style chip breaker. Why, no one knows. Shavings curl up and forward away from the chip breaker when you take heavier cuts and simply pass over the back of the breaker on lighter peels. If you watch the video, you can see he sets his chip breaker nearly 1/4” back from the edge anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter what he does to it. He also sets about “lapping” the frog with the yoke and lever still in place. Needless to say, he can’t really lap it in this state. He merely swirls the lower half of the frog over some compound on a glass plate. I really question the expertise of this instructor. He refers to the planes as “steel” planes. He does this twice. He is not referring to the cutter – make no mistake he thinks they are steel. He picks up a 1930s or 40s vintage Stanley claiming it’s been in his family for OVER (not almost, but OVER) a hundred years. Anyway, the Busy Bee plane he introduces is obviously better than the Great Neck hardware-store plane he compares it to. On the other hand, its clearly not a premium plane as Busy Bee claims. The blade is chipped right out of the box and is horribly ground and too far from flat. The casting is visibly crude and shows signs of rust. Then there is the fact that it’s a Baily not a Bedrock. To make these planes look good you have to compare them to absolute junk like Great Neck. A Wood River on the other hand is close in quality to a Lie-Nielsen. Given that these Busy Bee planes are only about $35 less than Wood River planes I can see no reason to buy them.

Check Cosman. He did a whole series of reviews maybe this was one of them since he’s Canadian.

-- Everything is a prototype thats why its one of a kind!!

A respectful comment on the entry by “mcase” above. At this time, Wood River planes are not “about $35” more than the new Busy Bee planes. They are at least $96 more, and up to $160 more depending on which size you buy. For example the No. 4 Busy Bee is $149 and the No. 4 Wood River is $250 at robcosman.com. Check out the websites.

. . . . They may be great to deal with, but they have put out a fantastically inaccurate YouTube about tuning these planes. The tube is titled “Hot Rod and Fine Tune a Hand Plane” by someone named Steve Maxwell who presents himself as some kind of expert. It’s truly cringe worthy. The methods he demonstrates are highly questionable.
- mcase

That guy is clearly no expert. I laughed when he used the lever cap to tighten the chipbreaker screw; great way to muck up your lever cap….

-- Elvem ipsum etiam vivere

. . . . They may be great to deal with, but they have put out a fantastically inaccurate YouTube about tuning these planes. The tube is titled “Hot Rod and Fine Tune a Hand Plane” by someone named Steve Maxwell who presents himself as some kind of expert. It’s truly cringe worthy. The methods he demonstrates are highly questionable.
- mcase

Yet..that WAS the way the Old Timers did it….not everyone carried a screwdriver around, just in case they needed a quick hone on their plane’s iron….

The “problem” happens when one uses the lever cap out near an edge, instead of in the center…to loosen or tighten that bolt….why some of the older lever caps I see are chipped out at the corners….too much torque was used.

Might want to watch Rex Krueger as he looks at the “New” planes coming from SABO in India….as he presents a review of those planes….at least the No. 4 sized ones

That guy is clearly no expert. I laughed when he used the lever cap to tighten the chipbreaker screw; great way to muck up your lever cap….

- AdmiralRich

-- A Planer? I'M the planer, this is what I use