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Reviewbucket.co.uk scanned the internet for Stanley No.4 Sweetheart Smoothing Bench Plane (12-136) reviews.
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For Stanley No.4 Sweetheart Smoothing Bench Plane (12-136), 95 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.3.

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18.10.2014

Over the last couple of years I've discovered that old fashioned hand planes are a great addition to any woodworkers shop. Yes, I know that's always been the case but like most people of my age and younger we have been brought up with vast array's of power tools that have consigned many older hand items to the history books. Planes up to a point have suffered with this and to my discredit I thought that they had little use today.But I was wrong. Having developed an interest in better quality woodworking - thanks to the American magazine 'Fine Woodworking,' - I decided to dig out my old planes and set them up properly and make sure they are sharp.Once I'd done this I discovered that even today when we are buried under the weight of electrical tools, a good hand plane can really help get a good finish and speed up certain tasks.So having sorted out a couple of the Stanley planes I wanted a 'better' standard of plane and of course looked at the likes of Lie-Nielson and Veritas which are lovely but damned expensive. Stanley now have a range of planes aimed at the craftsmen end of the scale but not with the wallet busting costs of the Lie-Nielson etc. I think they have nailed it to be honest.The general fit and finish is top notch and when in use this does feel like a quality item in your hands. Adjustments are easy and accurate and the blade is A2 tool steel which holds a great edge for longer. Comes packed in a cardboard box that evokes old fashioned workmanship which is nonsense but adds to the buyer appeal.Blade was sharp from the box, but I put a slight curve on it and honed it to a very fine edge. As an engineer by profession I have learned a long time ago about sharpening, so that holds no fear. I tend to make most of the sharpening on emery cloth or 3m Scary Sharp paper and then finish off with Japanese wetstones.This is the best of the three bench planes I have and is set to take very fine shavings. In general I find that getting different cuts always a bit fiddly as there is always a bit of backlash no matter how good the plane so I prefer to have each plane set to cut differently and use whichever one is appropriate for the job.If like me you are a half decent woodworker but deep down know that spending the eye watering amounts on a really high end plane is more about looks than reality then this is a great compromise. Great plane for the money.
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23.9.2015

Now, this is definitely a tool for the enthusiast that's for sure. And if you are then come on in.This Stanley plane of course buys into the resurgence - especially in the US - of hand tools used in woodworking. And amongst that movement, hand planes have taken on an almost hallowed status with online arguments to rival WW2. The upside is of course that companies like Stanley have decided to offer top end products that border on works of art. Which this is.Firstly the build is superb. The cast plane has a fine grain texture and quality that is immediately obvious. It is as perfectly flat as I can tell - and I've had 30 years as an engineer working with multi-million dollar bits of machinery installed to superfine tolerance such as steam turbines.I know when something is flat and it would take a high end marking out table and super high quality measuring tools to determine if this was out of true. You won't find it with a steel rule as the level is so good.It is fitted with an A2 plane iron which contrary to what some think is not some sort of esoteric metal offering the nirvana of surgical edge with the longevity of the Queen. It's simply air hardened steel that is a nice balance of edge and life. Personally I prefer O2 steel (oil hardened) that will take a finer edge but require a bit more regular honing. A2 is the buzzword right now for planes so this comes with it.Handles feel tactile and comfortable. I like the matte finish which isn't as quite as the old planes would have been as they would have had a gloss varnish on them. Adjustments are excellent with a quality finish and feel.I tried this out of the box on some end grain and it cut well. Of course like the plane pedant that I am I honed it afterwards and tried it again to see if it was better which it was. But not by a huge margin. Tick one for Stanley.Overall a great alternative to the much more expensive Veritas or Lie Nielsen planes.
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4.4.2016

I was expecting to have to put a bit of effort in to get this working but, to my surprise, it actually took decent shavings right out of the box on Ash and Beech. All square and a good level of fit and finish. Mouth and blade adjustment work well. As with most things, a dud is sure to slip out now and then but I found nothing untoward with the one I received. I bought this because I have a lot of accurate jigs to make out of plywood and acrylic on the shooting board, (not the kind of material I want to use my LN or vintage planes on), and it could then assume a permanent role as a general "household" plane but I'm sufficiently impressed with it that it might stay in the workshop.If I hadanything negative to say it would be that the lever cap certainly isn't as nice as a big lump of bronze but it doesn't affect performance. I also think the handle is a little on the chunky side and definitely not as comfortable as my favourite vintage Marples planes or my Lie-Nielsens but it's not a deal breaker for me.Compared to the other low angle jacks out there, the Lie-Nielsen is almost exactly twice as much, the Veritas twice as much and then some and even the Quangsheng is about £40 more. By any reasonable criteria it's a perfectly acceptable tool but I'd even go as far to say that it's actually rather good for the money. Yes, a Veritas or LN would beat it soundly in a woodworking magazine shootout but it works just fine under real world conditions and any minor shortcomings, (the handle, lever cap), are perfectly forgivable considering the price. Probably not one for tool fetishists but as functional item I can't really fault it.
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23.8.2015

The design is great but there are a few drawbacks due to poor workmanship. Sides were a bit off from being square and the sole was flat enough. The paint job is terrible, and the black paint is chipping off in some places.The tote is awesome, a clear improvement compared to the classic Bailey design. Works well either pushing or pullin. Front knob on the other had is about the same as in Bailey design which might work for some, but I would have preferred wides knob (as in Kunz plus planes) to help when pulling.Blade adjustment in a bit something to get used to. Both directions have a lot of play and the blade ofthen moves horizontally when cutting depth is being reduced. Probably something that I do wrong,as the behavior has decreased over time. Nevertheless, the depth is easy to adjust while pushing the plane, but it requires both thumb and index finger. Needless to say, the A2 blade is a huge improvement over the standard blade.With the quick mouth adjustment and rock solid, chatter free blade bed, this plane is versitile enough to do both roughing and final smoothing. When using on a shooting board, the plane was easily able to cut continous shaving from oak, something I would not expect from the current Bailey plane with it's wobly blade bed and inferior blade material.Considering the pricing of this plane, I have issues recommending it if you feel able to live with slightly non square sides and poor paint job.
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23.1.2013

I own several Lie Nielsen planes which out perform my old Stanleys and Record planes by a good margin, they look great, are built with care and craftsmanship and do exactly what they should, no fuss, no issues. I vowed I would never buy another Stanley, as they have been nothing but a disappointment by comparison. I had some tricky maple to finish and needed a new smoother, tough decision, pay nearly £300 for the Lie Nielsen or take a punt on this new Stanley for less than a third of the price. I took the plunge after reading (very few are out there) some positive reviews, and how glad I am! This plane is as far from recent Stanleys and as close to the current USA made market leaders as you could wish for.Not quite as well finished, but these are only minor cosmetics, the functional bits are great. The plane is hefty, straight, solid and feels like a quality product. The cutter comes sharp and adjusts easily, the shavings are even, wafer thin and the mouth adjusts to nearly nothing quickly and easily. It has made short work of my maple worktop and I'm sure will rapidly become my favourite, go to plane. When you consider the price, the quality is more than close enough to justify the purchase, I've got a bargain, and am delighted with the saved cash I still have in my pocket. If you have concerns of recent Stanley planes' quality, dull, soft cutters and poorly finished castings, don't worry, this one is great!
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22.3.2018

I was nervous about buying this....style over substance?...still the rubbishy Stanley quality? Actually it’s OK. The sole is flat...unlike usual Stanleys...and didn’t need lapping. I don’t think the sides are perfectly square to the sole but that doesn’t worry me. The blade is apparently British...it’s thick and solid...not very well finished to the top but the cutting end is OK. The paint is a bit cheaply done and smelled very recent...but who cares, it’s going to get dusty anyway. The fit in the hand and weight distribution are comfortable. The handle and knob are pretty and well finished. The cap iron seems pretty crappy...it’s very light and feels like a cheap moulded alloy that has no strength...but it seems to work so fingers crossed.Overall it’s much better than a standard no 4 and I’m perfectly happy with it. Is it a Lie Nielsen or a Veritas? No it isn’t but it’s less than half the price of those and I think is good value for money. Yes I would buy it again and yes I would recommend it....but because of the poor quality of normal Stanley planes, I’d suggest a careful check when you get it to make sure this is a good one. There are a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to check and set up and tune if you’re not sure
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28.9.2017

I'm sometimes puzzled by 1 star reviews. People have complained about nuts being too short so the cap iron won't grip properly, others have complained that the plane wasn't packaged properly. I'm not saying that these reviewers are wrong, I'm just saying that in my experience, none of these drawbacks occurred. My plane came in a huge box with lots of packaging. When I unpacked the plane and wiped off any excess oil, I found it easy to assemble and adjust. I used the plane without doing any tuning up or sharpening the blade and found it a delight to use. I used it to clean up the outer veneers on birch faced plywood. This I've found to be particularly prone to tear out,but using this plane I found no tear out issues at all - so far at least. This, coupled with the fact that it is about £150.00 cheaper than the Veritas or Lie Neison equivalents make this a real bargain. Delivery too was much sooner than I expected. In short, I'm delighted with it. It looks gorgeous, the handles feel very comfortable and hopefully, this plane will give me pleasure every time I use it for the rest of my life and beyond.
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19.1.2017

I've been using this plane for several weeks on reclaimed oak and softer woods. Very little initial tuning needed, a gentle wipe across a dimond plate confirmed the sole is flat. I was a little doubtful about the adjustable throat at the front, but the mechanism is smooth and seems well fitted. Back of the iron was almost flat, just the tiniest hollow and it took very little work with 100 diamond followed by finer stone and then polish to get a mirror finish and the same for the bevel, that job is a one-off task for every new plane, and this was about as flat as I have ever seen. In use - I have an older no 4, well tuned up and I thought that was good, but this is in a different league.Smooth clean full length shaving that means all the attention is on controlling the tool, not pressing down or forcing. Taking out saw marks etc is painless. It took a short while to get used to the ajustments but now they are second nature. Blade is hard and holds edge well.
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7.10.2020

Substantial plane. Beautifully milled body but the edges were not deburred/chamfered. As a result in my rush to try it out I discovered the hard way that the unfinished edges, even some with a black finish, were as sharp as the blade and so, I sliced my little finger on the body of the plane. I filed all the edges to avoid further self mutilation.In use the plane produced beautiful consistent shavings straight away.The blade adjustment requires the cap to be unscrewed slightly before the combined depth angle adjuster can be moved. The cap then needs to be tightened again which is a bit of a faff compared with Bailey style planes. The adjustable throat is a joy, unscrew the front knob,slide the adjuster lever to set throat size and tighten knob.The low profile keeps the centre of gravity low so the plane feels very stable.Overall I'm pleased with the
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11.1.2015

Brilliant smoothing plane for the price. I have had it a few months and have found it true pleasure to use, the plane seems to stay sharp for good lengths of time even when using hardwoods. The adjustable mouth has turned out to be more useful than i original thought it would, it really helps to tone into suppe fine shavings which i have found hard to achieve with cheaper hand planes. The sole comes perfectly flat out the box but it can be easily scratched. The only downside to this plane is that the norris style adjuster is hard to get use to and can be really fiddly but after many months use i now find it quite simple to use it just take some getting use too.As mentioned in one of the other reviews the paint is slightly chipped but its a tool the paint will get chipped in time so does it really matter it shouldn't put you off buying it!
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27.12.2019

Arrived well packed after removing did the usual degrease with white spirit then got marble tile with sandpaper to flatten sole which the plane did not need. Then took off any sharp edges with a file as you would with any plane after which took the blade out and did the Charlesworth ruler trick at 600 and 1200 diamond stones then put a 30deg secondary bevel on then removed the burr by going back to the ruler and stropped the blade until it cut the hair off my arm. Got my shooting board out and tried it on endgrain which left a beautiful finish then tested it normally along the grain which left a nice shiny finish. The plane is good out of the box and above only took about 10 minutes

6.7.2019

Most woodworkers struggle with rough grain, end grain, tearout and other evils of the forest. I have been using hand planes for a few years and finally bit the bullet to buy something costing over £100. Well it's worth it. ( yes - I know one can spend 4 times as much on a Lie Nielsen, Veritas or Clifton but you don't have to)! The plane is simple, solid, well presented and ready for work. The silky finish that this plane leaves is not to be believed, nor the way it cuts through difficult grain. Of course the basic rules apply - check grain direction etc. but it is a fabulous addition to my tool cabinet and I am a happy man! Sweetheart it is! Well done Stanley!

7.1.2019

My wife bought me this plane as I was setting up my workshop so it did not initially get much use. Some 10 months later I was using it and found that it did not cut well. I went to sharpen it and found that it had nasty machining marks on the flat side and the bevel had four different faces at different angles. I contacted Stanley and they sent a new plane almost by return of post. So great customer service. The new plane iron looks perfectly ground so I have great hopes. So 5* customer service but only 4* for not getting it right in the first place. I sharpened the iron and it cuts wood like gossamer. Really pleased with the purchase.

5.12.2013

I'm a weekend handyman and amateur woodworker, so I wasn't sure if I'd notice the difference in quality from a relatively expensive tool like this, but I have to say I was very impressed. The plate of the plane is as flat as flat can be, adjustments you can make are very useful, and there's essentially no play in the fittings, so once it's set up right then it stays that way. And, I have to say, it is a thing of beauty! I have a few woodworking tools inherited from my grandfather that just fit your hand perfectly and also look gorgeous, and when I look at this I know that I'll be passing this down the generations as well.

23.3.2013

This bench plane is a good performer straight out of the box, but with the blade sharpened and flattened it is a brilliant performer.The sole and sides are flat and square so there is no need to worry on that score (unless you're really anal) and it neatly fills the chasm between the affordable and the fancy and expensive,in fact it performs almost as well as the fancier brands leaving me to wonder at the pricing (either Stanley are losing money on these planes or some others are grossly overpriced).So well done Stanley, let's see a nice jointer plane now.

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