You get what you pay for

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

I thought this might be worth mentioning on here. 

These are my 2 larger planes, a Lie Nielsen 5-1/2, and a Bench Dog (Rockler) #7 jointer. 

 

 and here's one difference between a premium and bargain plane. 

The paint/Japaning(?) on the top of the sides of the plane. 

On the Lie Nielsen, it's smooth to the touch.

I can use that plane for hours on end and never experience any discomfort at all. 

 

 

But on the Bench Dog, it's textured.

 

And that's where the side of my pinky rests. So that paint ends up working like sandpaper on the skin. 

And the end result is that it is now painful to use. Obviously this isn't the biggest wound in the world, but it's irritating. And it doesn't make me want to pick it up and use it. This was after about a 1hr session. 

So that's something to think about if you're in the market for a larger sized plane. 

 

[Tpt life]

That finish is following the casting. BD is not polishing the “inside” of the casting. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 7/9/2025 at 4:58 PM, Tpt life said:

That finish is following the casting. BD is not polishing the “inside” of the casting. 

Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thanks!

[gee-dub]

I am just glad that in certain respects we can get quality for a price.  So many things like refrigerators or even drill motors . . . you can't get a good one no matter how much you are willing to pay.  Ever onward .  . . 

[Von]

On 7/9/2025 at 6:03 PM, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

Ah! That makes perfect sense. Thanks!

Could you polish that part of the top of the side? 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 7/9/2025 at 8:41 PM, Von said:

Could you polish that part of the top of the side? 

It'll lose the finish but i don't really care that much about that. I'm going to work on it a little and see if i can't smooth things out a bit. 

[Ron Swanson Jr.]

On 7/9/2025 at 8:41 PM, Von said:

Could you polish that part of the top of the side? 

Actually that was pretty easy. I hit it with some 800 grit and it smoothed it out pretty well. Should be a little better now. 

[Von]

On 7/9/2025 at 10:29 PM, Ron Swanson Jr. said:

Actually that was pretty easy. I hit it with some 800 grit and it smoothed it out pretty well. Should be a little better now. 

Cool. It struck me later you could also have coated it with some candle wax, plastic-dip, etc.

[Mark J]

or some blue tape.

[pkinneb]

On 7/9/2025 at 7:05 PM, gee-dub said:

I am just glad that in certain respects we can get quality for a price.  So many things like refrigerators or even drill motors . . . you can't get a good one no matter how much you are willing to pay.  Ever onward .  . . 

...don't get me started @gee-dub  just got quoted $1,200 for the 2nd compressor failure in our $2,800 7 years 8 month old GE refrigerator   

[Coop]

On 7/10/2025 at 6:19 PM, pkinneb said:

...don't get me started @gee-dub  just got quoted $1,200 for the 2nd compressor failure in our $2,800 7 years 8 month old GE refrigerator   

Repair or replace? And it’s not just GE but runs the gamut. 

[gee-dub]

On 7/10/2025 at 8:21 PM, Coop said:

Repair or replace? And it’s not just GE but runs the gamut. 

Yep.  We are contemplating replacing a 25 year old Maytag that has had two minor repairs in all that time and are terrified.  It currently cannot seem to get the freezer below about 20 degrees.  I am going to empty it, check all the pathways and reload and see what happens.  Fingers crossed.

[Coop]

I used to laugh silently when I would hear a customer moan when I told him he needed to replace his 18 yo $100 fire extinguisher while suspecting that he replaced his and his spouse’s $50k vehicles every 5 years or so. 

[pkinneb]

On 7/10/2025 at 10:21 PM, Coop said:

Repair or replace? And it’s not just GE but runs the gamut. 

We replaced it...we'll see if it was the right move or not. Ultimately it took 9 days to get someone out and then was going to be another 4 days to get the part. I was over it by that point and we bought a new one. 

On 7/11/2025 at 10:31 AM, Coop said:

I used to laugh silently when I would hear a customer moan when I told him he needed to replace his 18 yo $100 fire extinguisher while suspecting that he replaced his and his spouse’s $50k vehicles every 5 years or so. 

Coop that is totally different!! One needs to have a nice ride or two  

[Chet]

Best thing when it comes to refrigerator shopping is try to do a deep dive and find out if the compressor pistons on a model you are interested in are plastic  or metal 

[Coop]

Sure didn’t know that. Thanks!