Sharp right out of the box, the new WoodRiver Apron plane works great for chamfering and refining the edges of your work—very common jobs. At just 4 in. long, the body is too small to push really firmly, as you would need to do to make full-width cuts, but it can smooth small flat areas in a pinch.

The machining is good, with eased edges and nicely finished surfaces, and the D2 blade is thick and stable. While the sole on my plane was about 0.001 in. out of flat, that’s probably not enough to affect its use on edges. But I lapped it flat anyway.

If you tuck one of these planes in your apron, you will find yourself reaching for it quite often.

 

—Jeff Miller is a professional woodworker in Chicago.