Stanley 12-105 RB5 Plane
February 19, 2010 · Posted in Popular Hand Tools
- 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
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
Product Description
Dual blade positioning for regular planing and bull nose work into corners. Easy to adjust and set depth of cuts. Compact size for narrow work areas. Contoured to fit the palm of your hand. Quick and easy blade change, no honing required. Convenient blade… More >>
Comments
4 Responses to “Stanley 12-105 RB5 Plane”
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This excuse for a tool is entirely useless. Also dangerous: if you excert any force on it, the yellow flimsy plastic bit will fall off, and you run a real risk damaging your hand. If you want to accomplish anything useful at all, use a real plane, a spokeshave, or indeed, a sharp knife.
Rating: 1 / 5
I have always struggled with trying to take a thin strips off of the edge of a piece of sheet rock. With a razor knife the ege is always a mess. I picked up the RB5 plane because it was cheap enough to be expendable and found it works great on sheet rock edges. The only problem is getting new blades many stores sell the plane but not the supposedly disposable blades that go with it (I sure miss real hardware stores). I have pointed this out in a number of stores but they have yet to stock them. Fortunately, Amazon has one type of them under Stanley blades.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is an inexpensive block plane that does a respectable job on a variety of surfaces and grains. Very handy for edge work, the plane is quick to set up and use. Blades are replaceable and very inexpensive. This is the plane to use when working with used lumber, where you are worried about hidden pieces of brads, staples, dirt and grit, etc..
The plane is slightly larger than other mini planes but is very comfortable in the palm, even when using a lot of force. The block is polished and stable. Easy to grip. Blades are easy to adjust and change. The blade can be installed either traditionally, mid block, or at the leading edge, making it useful for planing assembled pieces. (Worked great when skinning down some thick drawer rails on a couple of our kitchen cabinets.)
The blades are set at a fairly steep angle, so on hardwood it works best taking a thin bite. The blades also seem a little softer than the blades on my larger bench planes. I have found they require sharpening more often. (Of course being soft makes them quick to dress up after use.) I would also suggest that you not store the spare blades in the handle. Not only do they rattle a bit, but if you are not careful when placing blades in the handle, you can dent them when snapping it back onto the plane. (Maybe I was just in too big of a hurry.)
Still this is a useful addition to your tool box. It does the dirty jobs, does not cost much, and replacement blades are very inexpensive. I believe you will find this a pretty darn good little plane.
Rating: 4 / 5
The Stanley RB-5 plane is a nice compromise for working on surfaces one wants to plane smooth, but which may contain hidden grit &c. which would damage a fine plane blade — having spare blades (just don’t store them under the handle when using the plane) allows one to do this.
Rating: 4 / 5