Stanley RB5 block plane

[StevenBauer]

I saw a cool little block plane at the lumberyard today and being a mild tooloholic I picked one up to try it out. It has small replaceable blades, like the Swiss Rali planes. You can move the blade to the front edge of the plane to make it into a bullnose plane. It cut fine, felt nice and it was cheap. :) It was $12 bucks. :D But just now I looked it up online and found out I was ripped off. Online it was only $11.49 from Stanley or $9.96 from Lowes.

This pic shows it with blades in both positions. It's really an either/or type thing:
http://www.stanleytools.com/catalog_images/mid_res/12-105_mid_res.jpg

"Features and Benefits

* Dual-blade positioning for regular planing or bullnosing into corners
* Cutting depth is easy to set and adjust
* Compact size perfect for narrow work areas
* Contoured to fit in the palm of your hand
* Quick, easy blade change; no honing required
* Convenient blade storage in the handle
* Comes with two disposable replacement blades
* Three replacement blades available for bullnose work, regular planning, and work on plastics and laminates"'

So it was pretty nice, I'd recommend it. :)

Steven

[StevenBauer]

It looks like you can get five replacement blades for $2 (plus $1 shipping) Not too bad.

Steven

[Spokaloo]

Paid ten for mine. Its okay for quick and dirty rounding and shaping of ply end grain, but rips out after about 2 passes due to dullness and doesn't finish all that hot.

However, given the price its a nice handy tool to do quick jobs on glue-laden surfaces that will destroy your good plane blades. I like it for the ability to use it without remorse in the "hidden nail" situations.

E

[Keith Wilson]

Geez, for not much more money (maybe less if you're patient) you can pick up an old Stanley 9-1/2 on eBay. They're very common, and with a little work tuning them up will do as well as almost any block plane you can buy.

http://jonzimmersantiquetools.com/tools/9_half_d.jpg