Hefty plane, feels good in the hand. Fit and finish is remarkably good. Blade was a tiny bit warped right at the cutting edge and took hours to flatten with coarse sandpaper on a surface plate; however, now it's cutting as well as any other "premium" plane in my toolbox. Maybe would recommend the prep service if you're not interested in fiddling with these things or are not comfortable setting up blades out of the box. My only complaint so far is the full turn of backlash in the blade adjustment screw that I can't seem to get rid of, which makes counter-adjustment of blade projection quite cumbersome (eg overshooting the depth and having to back it off, need to take up a turn of backlash every time direction changes). Not sure if that's typical for Bedrock style, all of my other planes are Norris style adjustment and have no noticeable backlash (although I am preferring this style of lateral adjust). The play seems to be coming from a slightly oversized adjustment lever hole in the blade. Regardless, would recommend.

This plane was purchased to replace a hundred year old plane that had belonged to my uncle who was a cabinet maker, I cant believe the difference. The 4 1/2 is almost twice as heavy and floats on the surface with very little effort and has a super smooth finish. Love it. Phil

Both my new Wood River No 6 foreplane and a No. 4 1/2 smoothing plane (both "Cosmanized"), make planing a pleasure, and they are almost too beautiful to put to work! Seriously, they are fine tools with lots of heft so they run the length of the board with considerably less effort (especially with a bit of Cosman wax) than I have been used to. The adjustment knob is located just right to easily adjust with my index finger as I plane, which is a welcome change for me. As I add planes, I'll definitely come back to Cosmanized Wood river planes. Loved the wafer thin shavings which came with the planes, right out of the box. Nice touch.

What a beast! Had you tune it up ! Set the standard for me to aim for! When I opened the box a set of shavings floated up! Lol Included a sample of delicious maple syrup! Thanks!

With this plane and a WR no. 6 I’ve found so much satisfaction in woodworking that my wife accuses me of spending too much time with my new “girlfriends”. An initial inspection revealed the need to file a few micro-burs from around the throat and edges of the plane, and I also ensured the lever cap and chip breaker were flattened to ensure equal pressure across the blade. I prepped and sharpened the blade, although it’s sharp enough out of the box to start planing if you don’t already have a sharpening kit. I like the weight and balance, and the Bedrock features that make it easy to close the throat for planing harder species. I like using my no.6 but I have had a few smaller workpieces where this no.4 1/2 has been ideal. The results are as smooth as glass and it offers the level of control I desire.