Stanley 12-960 Contractor Grade Low Angle Plane

by Stanley

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Stanley Contractor Grade Low Angle Plane with 1-3/8-inch Cutter is idea for or planing end grain and plastic materials. Designed with a gray, cast-iron base that has precision-ground sides and bottom, this plane will work quickly and efficiently to smooth and remove debris from any work piece on your bench.

Versatile, durable, and designed to accomplish tasks efficiently.

Works efficiently and easily with your bench-top projects. View larger.

The block plane has a fully adjustable cutter that rests at 21 degrees and adjusts to 13-1/2 degrees, for less vibration, more control, and a finer finish. Its hardened, tempered steel construction gives you a precision-ground cutter edge that's durable and reliable, and a cutter mechanism that moves with your needs for complete manageability. This block plane boasts a quick-release cam lock that makes iron removal easy, and there are finger grips machined into the sides, making single-handed use unbelievably easy. It's even topped off with a durable epoxy coating so you can enjoy years of heavy-duty use. This block plane is 6 inches long with a 1-3/8-inch cutter.

Product Description

This versatile plane features newly designed lateral iron adjustment levers, adjustable mouth, brass knobs, heavy body castings, accurately ground surface, and a black enamel finish. Body length 6-1/4" with low 12 degree angle. Blade cleanly cuts end grain, interlocking grain, or any problem stock. Iron width 1-3/8". This tool is factory ground and requires honing before use.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 2.8 x 2.2 inches ; 1.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000223QX
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 12-960
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,848 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #5 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Hand Tools > Hand Planes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars top of the line, November 7, 2001

By 

"nportnoy" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley 12-960 Contractor Grade Low Angle Plane (Tools & Home Improvement)

I'm a carpenter's apprentice and as I purchase tools to add to my collection, I always consult the guys on the job beforehand. This block plane, without a doubt, received their absolute recommendation. It's a great tool to have around, as I learned, for hardwood flooring. When cutting the last few pieces in a field, it is imperitive to have a block plane that is up to snuff and this one is and then some. It's also an invaluable tool for doing basesboard when you need to scribe the 2 by lumber to the floor. This is a tool of professional quality that will be enormously helpful to those who are pros and those who are the regular family handyman or weekend warrior. 5 stars!!!

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Little Block Plane, August 12, 2000

By 

Al the Pal "Al the Pal" (The Fruited Plain, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stanley 12-960 Contractor Grade Low Angle Plane (Tools & Home Improvement)

I bought one of these for light duty planing tasks - relieving corners, cutting dowels flush and etc. You do have to hone the pre-ground edge before you use it the first time. It is ground to 25 degrees and recommended final angle is 30 after honing. I used a Veritas honing guide and a Japanese water stone to do the job. It only took about 5 minutes with the right tools!

The mouth is easily adjustable with the front knob to regulate the size of your curls. The blade is easy to adjust with the brass knob at the back. It is easy to grip and use. I look forward to getting may years of use out of this well made tool!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a good plane with a little tuning, November 26, 2005

By 

C. Abney - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stanley 12-960 Contractor Grade Low Angle Plane (Tools & Home Improvement)

I'm overall very happy with this plane, being able to take shavings of less than a half a thousandth of an inch across the width of the blade.

But some tuning was required.

First of all, the throat adjustment plate must be removed and the inside cleaned out, especially the milled contact points. It appears that grit and ground metal from surfacing the sole of the plane may have found their way in to this area and, as a result, the adjustment plate was jammed and wouldn't move. It was easy enough to get it unstuck however (don't use pliers like someone suggested, that's a really bad idea!) by gently tapping straight down on the brass adjustment knob on the front after unscrewing it a little. The plate will come loose and you can then unscrew and remove the brass knob to remove the bottom adjustment plate for cleaning. In addition to removing the grit, I ran some very fine grit sandpaper along the milled surfaces inside the plate receiving area and the sides of the plate itself: just a couple of light passes with the paper wrapped around a 90 degree edge to smooth it out a bit. Blow the dust away and reassemble.

I also found the back edge of the adjustment plate was rough--it looked like the raw cut edge from the manufacture hadn't been ground straight. This is the edge of the plate adjacent to the blade so I felt it was important to dress it straight by rubbing it against some sandpaper on a smooth surface.

Next I sharpened the blade. Use the scary sharp method if you want, I used waterstones to 8000 grit to get a nice polish and razor sharp edge. Check it with a square, you can either grind or hone it square or live with a slight cant to the blade if it's a little off square (mine wasn't.) Sharpening the blade like this is important if you want fine shavings.

Finally, I only dragged the plane across some sandpaper on a Grade A surface plate a couple of times before stopping, because it was obvious from the grinding pattern that the bottom of the plane is very flat, and required no tuning. If you must do this put the blade in the plane and have the cap mechanism properly tensioned before starting, so any distortions of the plane body introduced by that tension become part of the grinding pattern. Just make sure you have raised the edge of the blade above the mouth of the plane!

With this procedure completed I could adjust the mouth of the plane to a very fine opening, and align the blade to get an even cut across the edge of the blade. I used a piece of scrap wood to test the alignment.

The plane is hefty, stable, and strong. I've been using a cheap block plane from the orange borg and the change to this one is a welcome step up.