FAIPLANE10 No.10 Rebate Plane

I gave this five stars because it is a great tool for the money. It took a little bit to get to me because it came from England. I checked all the surfaces with a machinist square and a straight edge. The edges are perfectly 90 degrees, the flats are pretty flat but not dead flat (which they don't need to be). I sharpened the blade on my Tormek so it was razor sharp and polished it to a mirror shine (in my experience the mirror finish helps it stay sharper longer and it feels nice). The furniture is very nice and coated in some kind of poly. While I own some higher level tools like Veritas and this tool is not to that level I feel they don't need to be. This tool works just as good overall in my humble opinion. The No.10 is a rebate plane so the blade is wider than the body of the plane. It lets you get tight into corners of rebates. It is the length of a No.5 and the width of the No.3 and it works pretty good. Plus it fills a hole in my collection. Making wood shavings with my planes is the most favorite portion of the work and I find it to be a very good stress reliever.My only criticism of the tool is the size of the Tote (main handle). It is the same size as the one I got with there No.3, which is fine for the small No.3 and to small and a little uncomfortable for the bigger No.10. Eventually I will probably just make a new one using a Stanley template. But it is really not that bad and I have big hands.If your budget is a little smaller, you don't want to refurbish vintage planes, or you just want a robust plane that work hard this is a great buy. All planes need to be sharpened either up front or eventually (everyday). So I don't see that as a negative at all. With that point in mind, these planes are great because you don't pay a huge amount and you can put a little money toward a sharpening system which is so vital to all your cutting tools. Sharp tools just work better no matter what the name on the tool is.That is my two cents. Enjoy and good luck.

I received this about two weeks earlier than the estimated date. It arrived in a cardboard box inside a padded envelope. I’m happy with the plane. The sole is flat and straight. The sides are square and the surface is smooth. After cleaning off the oil I checked all the screws and they were all fine. The frog is machined well and moved smoothly. The blade was not sharp, but was ground square to the body and took an edge well. The back was flat but needed polishing. The blade is just a bit wide for the body, maybe 1/64 of an inch on each side. The tote and knob are a good size and finish is smooth. There is lots of play in the adjustment and this could be improved. Overall a good value.

I was skeptical when I saw this No. 10 plane for such a low cost, but since all other similar and vintage models were at least thrice the price, I decided to give it a go. It was shipped from the UK (originating in India?) and arrived well packaged and on time--during the pandemic no doubt. Using an engineer's square, I found the base and sides were true to 90. The square fit tight, and after cleaning off the protective rust-resistant varnish-like coating with lacquer thinner, I could see no light between the square and the sole. I tested it without sharpening the blade and found it worked fine, but like all new planes, I had to flatten the back of the iron and hone the bevel to the desired 25 degrees. Which I did.Next, I flattened the sole. Even though I found it perfect for my use (there were a couple of shallow spots in non-critical areas), I knew I would be writing this review so it decided to flatten it precisely. The toe section was a little higher than the rest of the base, but this was easily remedied*. I used 150 grit garnet sandpaper followed by a 300 grit diamond stone to make it perfectly flat. 20 minutes on each, and it was flat.I put the iron and cap in, tighten the cap screw 1/4 turn, balanced the blade, and tried it out on a couple of boards. It performed perfectly and had no trouble and no tear out! The blade depth adjuster was about a tight as on my vintage Stanleys and was easy to adjust. Shavings were consistent and see-thru thin on the lightest depth. It left a smooth surface reminiscent of my smoothing planes.I am a little worried about the blade quality. This is more of a specialty plane so it may not be a big deal as it won't get as heavy of use. Hock Tools makes a blade and chip breaker that fits it, so if you are looking to really make this thing into a top-quality plane, they would be the ones to go to.Overall, I recommend this plane if you are in the market for a #10.* Stanley vintage models of the #10 often have similar defects that need to be flattened out.

As others have noted, this is a nice plane once it's tuned. My plane body was machined square, but needed some lapping to be perfectly flat. The blade needed a lot of work. It wasn't particularly flat and the cutting edge looked like the factory stopped with a 200grit grinding wheel. After lapping and polishing the back, I used a jig to hold it at precisely 25 degrees on 1200/3000/6000 grit water stones. It took me well over an hour to get a highly polished and extremely sharp blade.Other minor nits...the plane body was covered with some sort of anti-corrosion lacquer. A quick wipe with acetone cleaned it up. The blade and several other parts had cutting oil left over from manufacturing. A bit of acetone cleaned those up also. The handle also needed tightening...the two screws were both loose. All this stuff is minor, though. For the price, and with a little bit of work, it's a fabulous plane.