Being somewhat of a tool freak, I saw a little 3" plane at home base the other day that was somewhere in the $6 > $7 dollar range. It looked fairly well made (it has "usa" cast in) It doesn't have any adjusting mechanism, but for the price I didn't expect that, however the only thing I personally didn't care for was the blade locking feature which is a slotted head machine screw. So I bought it anyway and used it a bit. Seems to hold an edge surprisingly well.

When I got tired of hunting down a screwdriver every time the blade needed adjusting, and the three hands needed to adjust besides, I made the adaptation shown with a handy golf ball (I live on a golf course on the Olympic Peninsula) the primary purpose was to replace the screwdriver. But in addition to being a lot handier to adjust, it has turned into one of the handiest and most comfortable little tools I own.

I have seen the plane since at Home Depot under the "buck" label,I think mine was "great neck" or ? It might also be found in the "master mechanic" line (true value) All about the same price.

happy trails
Ron