New Clifton Plane *LINK*

*Whoa*

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>Well that's refreshing... I was becoming worried about Clifton considering the number of companies who were dropping them over here.

On top of that... now I will have 2 more Clifton planes to buy so I can have a complete set..

It never ends...

:(

I still have a LOOOONG way to go on my Lie-Nielsen collection...

Re: New Clifton Plane

SimonA

>Well this has to be a first....people in the UK getting their hands on new tools before you fellas do!! :-) Its usually the other way on.....oh...oh...I feel a small gloat coming on!! :-)

If you guys just can't wait and need to have one of these beauties right away, know the feeling been there, then you can get Mike Handcock to send one or both out to you:

www.classichandtools.co.uk

I hope the wait isn't too long.

SimonA

rats

John Truxell-Svenson

>Well, Simon, that just means that you have to do the first review. :)

Bummers about the timing; after the last two 5 1/2's, I'm pretty much done buying metal bench planes until I wear one out.




/jvs

Re: New Clifton Plane

Brian Yankee

>A question: On the page you linked to under the picture of the two planes, there's this comment: "The new planes are being cast at the foundry they use to produce their shoulder/3 in 1 planes. They are definitly of a higher quality than previous planes."

Are there quality issues with the previous Clifton lineup? I've never heard of any (but what do I know. If so, what were the issues?

Just wonderin'.....

Re: New Clifton Plane

Alice Frampton, UK

>Brian,

I think the problem was that Clifton themselves were getting too many rejects back from the foundry - the problems didn't make it to the customer, but they didn't do Clifton any favours as regards costs I imagine.

Cheers, Alf

Re: New Clifton Plane

Alice Frampton, UK

>Frank,

Yep, had a look at 'em on the Classic Handtools stand at Yandle's show last week. Very nice, and very heavy. Spoke to Mike, the Clifton guru, and he's hopeful of bringing out a York pitch frog sometime, and they're also looking into a #8. Only drawback to that is their preference for thicker castings could make the weight a problem he thinks. Also in the pipeline are block planes I believe.

Cheers, Alf

Agree on the #8

Russell Seaton

>My Clifton #7 weighs about 9 3/4 pounds. Its an armful. About the same weight as the Lie-Nielsen #8. A Clifton #8 would easily be 11 pounds, if not more.

Awhile ago I saw the original article in Woodshop News announcing the Clifton line of planes. Late 1990s or early 2000 I think. The article mentioned Clifton would be producing the 4 1/2 soon. Apparently the timing was not right to get the 4 1/2 out before now.

Someone else asked about quality issues with the Clifton planes. I have all of their bench planes. The castings are not exactly consistent. From one plane to the next and on the smae plane the thickness varies considerably. They work very well and are very nice planes. But the Lie-Nielsen are just a better fit and finish and attention to detail. As I've said before, the Clifton planes have to be at a 25-35% better price than the comparable Lie-Nielsen to make them worth it. For me anyway.

Re: Agree on the #8

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>Russell I think you and I talked about this before some..

Part of the reason I have a (currently) complete set of Clifton's is because they were 30%+ cheaper at the time compared to the LN's. Even after the exhcange rate went haywire, you could still find places selling them on clearance. Doing some rough math... if I compare the total cost I paid for the 5 Clifton bench planes to the cost for the 5 similar LN bench planes, the difference in total cost covers the cost for 4 Clifton shoulder planes I bought.

I have not noticed any problems in Clifton's castings. I have seen some differences but nothing major. OTOH, a #8 would be massive...talk about having some inertia when you plane.

*whew*

Re: New Clifton Plane

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>Nice! Glad to hear they are expanding their line...

I wonder what their block planes will be designed after....

Good news...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>Whether anyone is a LN fan, or likes Clifton's, or Veritas items, or even vintage planes, or likes them all, this is good news.

It's nice to see a plane maker expanding their line, adding new items, and improving quality. In these days, it's good to see a manufacturer improving their products and increasing competition.

It's only good for us...

:)

Re: New Clifton Plane

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>Thanks, Alf! That York pitch frog would be very interesting. With the loss of Record it's great to see an English firm hanging in there and producing quality products for this niche market. I love my Cliftons, they were my first planes and I learned about planing from them. Had they been LV or LN I'm sure I'd be saying the same of them.

Re: New Clifton Plane

rarebear

>Wow My two favorite Plane Sizes

I guess I need to start saving some Green Backs .

Any oe now what the prices will run about?

Re: New Clifton Plane

SimonA

>Howdy Alf...fancy meeting you here :-P

Alfs right theres been too many problems with the casting from the old foundry so Clifton moved to the current one. Also I think they have improved on the castings and are now that little bit closer to being up LN standard.

I wish I could do the first review of the #5 1/2 but I've just become the proud father of a Clifton #7 and I don't think the lady of the house would take to kindly to me purchasing another one so soon......but just for you I ask :-)

SimonA

Re: Agree on the #8

Russell Seaton

>Yes we did talk about this before. I think you got the Clifton #6 from Woodcraft when they did their second super discount sale. I bought it during their first 20% off sale and paid more. Thus I don't have the Clifton shoulder planes.

The biggest price difference I found was between my Clifton #5 and the Lie-Nielsen #5. Lie-Nielsen really wants a bundle for their #5. On the #5 I could easily say get the Clifton over the Lie-Nielsen even at full retail price. For the others, the nice discount on the Cliftons was a big factor for me.

The difference in casting thickness on my Cliftons does not hurt the way the plane works. It is just a visual reminder that maybe production quality is not at the same level as the Lie-Nielsen planes I've seen and own.

My advice is for the same money, get the Lie-Nielsen. For a good discount, definitely consider the Cliftons. You won't be disappointed in them.

I now covet the Clifton 4.5 and 5.5 so I can have a complete Clifton bench plane set. I'll be on the watch for someone with a great sale price on them.

Re: New Clifton Plane

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>What you do is get one of those counterbalance thingies they use on factory production lines to offset the weight of the impact wrenches they're using to break bolts on the cars or widgets they're assembling.

Or a helium balloon.

Or, to be properly Neanderish, a tiny hot air balloon with a shop rat in it, feeding straw into the fire - a new job for Lonnie, Will!

well let me know if you

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>fine some...

;)