Taytools #4 Bedrock Smoothing Plane

Alex

September 11, 2026

Best bang for your buck

I bought this as my first Bedrock pattern plane to fill a gap my Rockler No. 5 Bailey version could not cover. I needed a dedicated smoother and a plane with tighter tolerances. Here is my detailed first inspection and early use report.Out of the BoxThe packaging is bare bones. The plane arrived oiled, though thankfully not overly oiled, wrapped in a plastic bag and protected by a foam insert within the box. The tool immediately feels substantial. In fact, it feels as heavy as my daily use Rockler No. 5, despite the roughly 2.5 pound difference between the two sizes. This indicates solid castings over a lightweight, thin walled body.Fit and Finish. This is exactly how the plane arrived:Sole: Feels genuinely flat. It created a suction seal on a clean, level kitchen counter. This is a good preliminary sign, though not a substitute for a straightedge check. Very fine general scratches from being manufactured, packaged, or transported are visible but undetectable by touch.Blade to frog contact: Full, flat contact with no rocking.Chipbreaker to blade fit: No visible light gaps, and the chipbreaker was properly set for use straight out of the box. Blade edge: The factory bevel is narrower to one side and wider to the other. Other than that, it came sharpened with a burr on the edge.Lever cap: Very tight out of the box; required a tool to pry open initially, but far preferable to a rattling fit.Depth adjustment: Roughly a quarter turn of backlash, compared to a full two and a quarter turns on my No. 5. This allows for highly precise depth dialing.Totes: Arrived slightly loose; a two minute fix with a screwdriver.Yoke Assessment:The yoke visibly shifts left as it travels downward, then recenters. I am continuing to assess this as I use it because the shift is significant enough that it could potentially change the angle the blade operates at while making adjustments.The Blade ItselfTaytools specs this as a 0.150 inch thick, cryogenically treated O1 iron. Just by polishing the blade as it arrived, I genuinely got it sharper than I did with any of my vintage plane blades (W Butcher, Sandusky, Stanley) as well as my Bench Dog blades. The hardness rating is a bit confusing because it is rated 54 to 58. However, after well over 50 passes through cherry, maple, and white oak, it still retains an edge sharp enough that it will cut me I want to specify exactly how little I needed to do to this plane to get impressive results. The only real refinements I made were:Removed the factory oil.Polished off the burr on the blade using compound on a piece of MDF, polishing the back and bevel at the same time. Honestly, you could easily get away with just a few swipes across your palm to remove the burr because the flat was polished enough as is.Lightly polished the sole of the plane at the same time as the blade, just on the flat piece of MDF. I was not going for a truly polished surface, I just wanted to smoothen any spots that could cause more resistance than necessary when in use.Waxed the sole to further reduce friction.Thats it. Nothing else. In UseWith proper blade seating and minimal adjuster backlash, setup is highly precise and predictable.After polishing the factory edge, the plane took a broad, continuous, even shaving from kiln dried 8/4 cherry across the full width of the iron without chatter. On spalted maple, the plane left a very clean surface. I am able to get super thin, transparent shavings on all the types of wood I have used it on so far. Although they are not figured, interlocking, or super dense hard grain, I would expect the plane to perform very well in those situations as well.The heavier body dampens vibration well. The fine adjustment allows transitioning from zero cut to a light smoothing pass without a trial and error routine.To compare this against my Bailey style Bench Dog No. 5, the Taytools feels entirely solid and the blade only moves with my deliberate adjustments. The Rockler suffers from two and a quarter full turns of slip in the yoke and noticeably more movement where the blade pushes into the yoke during use. Overall, the Rockler feels very cheap, clunky, a sole that needed flattening, features a fast dulling blade, and simply does not feel nearly as refined as this plane does. The Taytools was produced to a higher quality standard, in my opinion. (I’ve worked in an aerospace machine shop for the last 12 years so I’m used to being picky and noticing small things)What I would Tell a BuyerThis is not a Veritas, Clifton or a premium plane, nor is it priced like one. For a mid tier import, it is a strong performer. At this price point, the reality is that quality depends heavily on how on point the inspectors were on the day your specific batch was made. That variation is to be expected, but the unit I received was as good as anyone could hope to receive for the price. Always inspect upon arrival: verify sole flatness, frog seating, and chipbreaker contact. Also, check the yoke movement with the blade removed to see its full range of motion before judging performance.Bottom LineThis plane exceeded expectations, arriving ready to tune and use rather than requiring a full diagnostic teardown like my No. 5. The successful initial inspection directly translated to actual workshop performance. While a No. 4 and a No. 5 are intended for two separate functions, this No. 4 is outperforming my daily use No. 5 because it was flat out manufactured to a much higher standard than the Rockler Bench Dog.It has given me enough confidence in this product line to narrow my focus to their jointer plane next.Is the value there for the price? YesWould I buy it again? Yes.Would I recommend it? Yes.

Ned

June 25, 2026

great plane for the money

So far, this plane feels very comfortable in my hands and the various parts fit well together, e.g. blade advancing knob and the lever cap.I might have to refine the sole's flatness; we'll see as I use it more.My only complaint is that the blade is a bit too soft and may need sharpening more often than I would prefer. it's minor flaws can be fixed at low effort and cost.Overall, I'm well satisfied with this smoother - it hits the quality/cost sweet spot between the low-end offerings so prevalent on the market and the highest quality, but out of my price range, planes from Maine and Canada to name two.

Andrew

May 22, 2026

Nicer and heavier than expected

I have more than a handful of restored vintage Bailey hand planes. I've always wanted a Bedrock one, but never really found one out in the wild, so this seemed like a good way to get one. And I was not disappointed. The bed came dead flat, no sharp edges and the blade is a lot thicker than what I'm used to with vintage planes. Overall, its great!

RSB

May 6, 2026

Excellent, especially for the price.

I am a power tool hobby woodworker. I've only ever bought new planes, so I cannot compare this plane to a vintage. However, I've bought 3 big box store/amazon planes (in retrospect, a waste of money; frustratingly difficult to make them usable, so much so that I rarely used them), as well as 3 planes from Veritas (very pricy, but perfect; I actually look for an opportunity to use them because of how enjoyable they are). While not quite a Veritas plane (which are at least 3 times the price), this plane is FAR superior to anything else I have purchased close to this price range. Note, it arrived with parts that were loose and unaligned. I took the plane apart, wiped off the excessive oil it was packed with, properly aligned the frog, tightened up the tote which was loose, and rubbed a little Walrus oil on the tote/knob as they seemed to lack a little finish. However, after about 10 minutes of setup, it worked perfectly and was plenty sharp enough to take thin shavings without any sharpening or honing. For the price, the minor adjustments required are absolutely worth it.

higgy_g

March 16, 2026

High Quality Great Tool!

Best plane I've ever owned and used. Sole was flat out of the box, and the iron was sharp. Easy to use, predictable results, what more could you ask for?

Rosy

March 16, 2026

This is a solid tool

I am pleased with this plane. I have used Staley Bailey planes for 55 years. I have used Lie Neilson planes for 5 years. This plane is between the two. I had to work on the rear handle to keep it from moving, normal work on the plane iron. I am glad I tried it. I would buy it again.

JD

September 1, 2025

Excellent quality

This plane is perfect .The finest out of the box I've ever used.Honed and stropped the iron and it is a pleasure to use.

James R Thompson

August 27, 2025

Another great Tay-tool

Just got this new plane and love it. Right out of the box it produces nice shavings. Can't wait to see how good it will be after sharpening.

Thom Lipiczky

April 14, 2025

Can\'t beat it for the price

I don't know how Pres. Trump's tariffs will affect the availalibility and price of this plane, but as of early April 2025, it is an excellent value for the price. I needed to spend about 20-30 minutes flattening the back and honing the iron, but once that was done, it was ready to work smoothly both on edge planing, surface planing, and on a shooting board. I bought it on the recommendation of James Hamilton (Stumpy Nubs), and he noted that the very minor issue of the iron-advancing adjustment knob having a bit of play. I found this to be the case on my plane, but I found tightening the screw on the top of the breaker helped, and--like any new tool--, one just has to get used to its particulars. I have a low angle Veritas smooth plane, and an old but great Stanley #4 smooth plane for the kind of use the new Taylor flattop will be getting, and I'd recommend this highly.

Rich

February 5, 2025

Great affordable hand Plane.

Vintage Planes are pretty good but I would buy this one for the price difference for sure.