Wood River #3 smoother...

I have an old Stanley Bailey #5 1/4 Jack that I love because of the narrow 1 3/4" blade. I find it easier to push than a two inch blade. That in mind, I'd been keeping an eye open for an old Stanley Bailey #3 smoothing plane instead of a #4. I was also looking at Lie-Nielsen's #3 in bronze. Hey, you only live once... far as I know.

I was in a Woodcraft last week perusing the aisles when I looked up at the Wood River V3's planes. I opened up the #3 to look over. I was so impressed with the overall quality, look and feel, that I figured for that kind of money (compared to the Lie-Nielsen), how bad could it suck? I actually asked to look at the Lie-Niesen #4 to compare to the Wood River. Gotta say, very close. Granted the LN has an edge on refinement. But, very close. The LN had about a 1/4 turn of backlash on the blade adjuster, the WR had a 1/2 turn. So what.

I bought it, threw it on the back floor of my truck and forgot it... until a few days later when I was looking for something else to bring into the shop. I opened it up, cleaned off the grease, looked at the blade which seemed sharp enough, then proceeded to plow through some poplar and maple. I couldn't believe the shavings I got out of the box. So, to recap... big thumbs up!