TESTED: Hongdui DJ11S chamfering plane

Above: Hongdui’s chamfer plane has a cutter at each end.

Review and photos: Raf Nathan

Chamfer planes can make a perfect cut along the edge of a board. The Japanese have a traditional chamfer plane made of wood whilst manufacturers like Veritas have adapting guides for this that work with a block plane.

Woodpeckers Tools designed their version in aluminium some years ago. There are however numerous planes based on their design now available online – from as low as an amazing $18.79.

This is Chinese toolmaker Hongdui’s take on the Woodpeckers tool with the improvement of the plane now having two cutters, one at each end. It is a beautifully made plane that incorporates both a 45° chamfer and a radiused edge (1/8" radius curve).

The body is machined and anodised aluminium with steel blade advancing mechanisms. A single locking on/off knob is released and with a thumbwheel the cutter is advanced or retracted. There is a millimetre and inch scale for blade depth which is somewhat accurate.

Above: The small carbide cutter is removable and fixes with an allen screw.

The small removeable cutters are carbide so you can forget sharpening for a while. They are fixed with screws and there is also a spare cutter discreetly stored in the body under a thumb screw. Overall, it weighs a good 0.6kg.

You can’t creep up on a cut as the blade is always a full cut on each pass. Remove too much material in one pass and you risk tear-out. You make a pass, release the lock knob, adjust depth and lock again and keep going like this to the desired depth. It makes a perfect chamfer.

In my opinion, the edge achieved with a carbide cutter is not as keen as one that can be made with tool steel. There is more resistance in the cut, and it does not slither through wood. However, it makes a clean and perfect chamfer or round-over on all types of wood, as long as you don’t remove too much in one pass.

Endgrain planing however is not as crisp, and can rough on some wood so not recommended by me. However I noted a YouTube review of this tool that found this process was fine.

In use I found it more efficient to remove most of the waste with a block plane and save the chamfer plane for the final cuts.

Review tool supplied by and available from www.hongduitools.com

Raf Nathan @treeman777 is a Brisbane based woodworker and designer.