Hand Plane Review: Harbor Freight #4
Author:
Badmin
I picked up the Harbor Freight (Central Forge) #4 hand plane to see what an under-$15 plane could do. Straight out of the box the casting was rough, the blade was thin and unevenly ground, and the chip breaker didn't seat well enough to keep shavings from jamming things up. After flattening the base, cleaning up the blade, and fixing the chip breaker fit, it turned into a genuinely usable plane — not pretty, but it makes shavings, and for the price it's a reasonable trade of some elbow grease for savings.