Clifton Planes

Re: Clifton Planes

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>Good quality but pricey. Much better than Stanley or other current manufacturers like Amant or Groz. Some people rate them nearly as high as LV and L-N. There have been some reports of unsatisfactory machining details but my Clifton #3110 shoulder plane is a nice piece. JR

Re: Clifton Planes

John Todd

>I have a Clifton 4 and 7 that I got from www.thebestthings.com and think they're excellent. I think they compare with LV and LN. While I don't believe the castings are ductile iron or stress relieved, the machining on mine is as good as LN and the blade is of high quality. Since people around here do care for looks (all the jabs at LN bronze over LV!) I think the Clifton Green looks great too. They're high quality planes, particularly if you can find them at a good price. Check "The Best Things" (discount on LN also).

Re: Clifton Planes

Christopher Fitch@Memphis

>They are excellent and are at or near the same level as LV/LN planes. I have all of their bench planes and some of their shoulder planes.

Clifton has been hit some by the currency exchange fluctuations...

They grew to be too expensive and a number of sellers dropped them such as Woodcraft. There have been complaints of not-so-perfect machining but I have not seen it. I was lucky enough to pick up some of them on sale or clearance from Woodcraft and other places. Also, I have bought some from Joel's store (Tools for Working Wood) as well as The Best Things.

Re: Clifton Planes

paul womack

>They used to be a cheaper competitor to LN. The quality was mainly 90% of LN, and the price around 65%.

Which is a valid choice.

Sadly, with the movement in the dollar/pound rate, North Amrican tools are now highly competitive with GB made tools.

Further, LV have (BIG TIME) entered the fray, with a wide range of semi-conventional bench planes, and their bevel up offerings.

I don't think things look fair for Clifton, I'm afraid.

BugBear

Re: Clifton Planes

Tony Zaffuto

>I got a #3 from "The Best Things" early this year, and it has fast become my "goto" plane. The machining was as good as it gets--tested on a granite plate. I have a fairly complete arsenal--including bronze LN #4 w/high angle frog, LN LA jack and normal compliment of Baileys.

Re: Clifton Planes

John Horobin

>I really like the styling compared to the LV planes (or even LN)- the green and traditional casting of the name in the lever cap is much nicer. If I had the spare cash I would certainly have one of each! As it is I only have the #4 and I use that a lot.

John