With a little tuning this plane performs nicely.  Sure you can buy much more expensive planes that will perform better out of the box but for the moderate user this plane is a great value.  Trueing your plane only takes a little time and is well worth the effort.  I'm sure those who have rated this tool poorly do not know how to tune a plane.  The mechanism is not quite up to par with really expensive planes but with a little work can be made to perform within good limits.  Microns do not necessarily good woodwork/furniture make...