No. 7 or No. 8, and which?

[Andy]

Hi all,

I wonder what the wisdom is on choosing between a No. 7 and No. 8. I noticed in Rob Cosman's videos that he uses the No. 8, and that he places it in his list of the four essential planes.

If I go for a No. 8 right away, I won't be able to afford a No. 7 for some time, so my question is whether I would miss something there. Or vice-versa, if I go for the No. 7 to start out.

Also, which No. 7 or No. 8? Besides Lie-Nielsen and Anant, I can't find any other No. 8, and there would be a wide range of quality there. For No. 7, it looks like there are more options: Lie-Nielsen, Anant, Clifton, and even some wooden options.

I also realize that my decision might be different than others who use machine tools as well. I'm aiming to keep the AC current to a minimum in the workshop... Andy

[joeljcarver]

There's no wisdom and no big difference .... Simply, you don't need both, and either will do the job.

[joeljcarver]

There's no wisdom and no big difference .... Simply, you don't need both, and either will do the job.

[joeljcarver]

There's no wisdom and no big difference .... Simply, you don't need both, and either will do the job.

[Andy Dingley]

Certainly don't buy a #8 (and maybe even a #7) until you've felt the weight of the thing. A lot of the time I use a #6 instead, as a "short #7" where I'm working on something smaller. The #7 only comes out for big carcase pieces.

A #8 is also wider, which is a lot of extra weight with no benefit at all, unless you're actually going to use that blade width. We rarely joint timber that wide - although if you need to, it's often easier to try and take a #8 to the clamped timber than it is to pass something that big through a hobbyist jointer. The one thing I find my #8 really good for is flattening tabletops.

Weight in a plane is a good thing, up to a #6 or so, then an excess of it is bad.

As to brands, then get the Lee Valleys for new, or restore an old Stanley.

[fredfighter]

#8s are considerably rarer than the #7s. It is also harder to find cutters for them. The Stanley benchplanes made between introduction of the lead screw frog/mouth adjustment (Type 11) and sometime just after WWII (Type 17) are fine planes and you should be happy with one for a fractionof the price of a new Lie Neilsen. Even the Bedrocks don't go for as much as a Lie Neilsen.

If you find a #8 (or 608) in good condition and it is not too heavy for you there is no reason to get a #7 too. Don't overlook the Sargent, Millers Falls, Union, Winchester, Ohio Tools, or 'KK' series Keen Kutter planes either. Those were as good as Stanleys, sometimes better. The Winchester and 'KK' series were the same design as the Stanley Bedrocks (600 series) and were made by Stanley for the other companies.

The Ohio Tools had a unique tapered cutter, but can be used with a standard replacement cutter.

IMHO the older Stanleys, pre-WWII, had the most comfortable totes.

[DCH]

"Andy" wrote in news:1140267406.990716.157320 @o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

Greetings...

I gotta say I like the #8 better than a #7, but also I don't have a electric jointer....I lucked up on a pair of pre-WWII Stanleys at a flea market a few years ago, and if I had to choose, I think I'd keep the #8. Lie-Nielsen makes a very nice replacement blade for either plane, You may want to try making a plane yourself...Thats a real slippery slope...it's not to hard to make a wooden smoother ( or jointer ) that will perform every bit as well as the premium planes...the down side to that is a bit more upkeep and the learning curve that you go thru adjusting the plane...

I think maybe the bottom line is which one will you use the most, or which plane is best suited to the work you need to do....

Hope this helps...

DCH

[Lobby Dosser]

I was stepping from foot to foot trying to make that same decision. What I finally decided was to get either on e-bay. The first 7 or 8 SB, or other, in decent condition and for a price I'm willing to pay will be the one I use. So far I've bid on a few, but the market right now wants more than I want to pay. See comments by others on weight and other manufacturers.

[Enoch Root]

I think I got lucky: an 8C for $61. Not like some gloats I've seen (a

607 for $30???) but those are saler stories...

er

[Lobby Dosser]

Well, you Suck!

Right now none of them are going for under a hundred or so. But I can wait.

[Larry Blanchard]

Actually, I did as well as Enoch a couple of years back. There was one on Ebay where a previous owner had drilled and tapped two holes for a fence. None of the collectors wanted it :-).

[Lobby Dosser]

Okay, so you suck too!

Bidders went nuts on another one today. None of the planes I've been looking at seem to be Real collectors items, but bidding frenzy seems to overtake the tool junkies more than 'normal' folks.

[Enoch Root]

Well, there you go. I had to replace the severely pitted blade on mine. Looks good with Hock steel, anyway.

er

[Enoch Root]

There's a wave action to all of it. I noticed it went through the roof as xmas approached, and dropped down again mid-January through Feb. or so. And you say it's going up again? I'm just glad it's over for me now that I have the basic compliment of planes. *knock* *knock*

er

[Lobby Dosser]

You just Think you have the basic complement of planes. There was a real nice wooden plow plane went for $1200+ today.

[Enoch Root]

My current project plan outlines a panel raising plane. I just have to figure out all the angles, and it's go.

From now on, any plane I need, I make it. Thanks for the reminder... :)

er

[Lobby Dosser]

Got an 8C today in my price range, but I had to snipe. Don't know how I'll live with the shame. ;o)

I was shooting for less than half the LV version - including shipping. I'll see how well I did when it gets here.

Oh, and thanks for the roll your own reminder. I stumbled across a 3 foot long oak 4x4 in the shop yesterday and couldn't remember why I bought it. Now I remember. Had a price sticker on it - five bucks.

[Enoch Root]

I prefer to call it "late bidding", and see no stigma. There is a guy that follows my bids around, has one sale to his (everchanging) name, and who knows not what he'll pay, only that it is a dollar more than I will. I must needs gird my self against his randomness.

If I bid late, the only thing I need fear is that two of them find my interest themselves and each decide to outbid the other.

Couldn't find a LV version of the 8c...

Oooaah. I've been rolling my own thicker stock, too. You suck.

er

[RicodJour]

All's fair in love and auctions. Sniping can be annoying if you don't do it yourself. There are sniping web sites and software that will submit the bid for you. You can be pissed off about the technique or use it to your advantage. Tilting at windmills to fight it.

There's one guy that I would follow to check his bids because he did an _amazing_ job of ferreting out the most misplaced, miscategorized, misspelled and mis-tery auctions. I ran across him while doing my usual search routines and found his moniker popped up very frequently. He's in the business of buying and selling tools and apparently spends many, many hours a week combing eBay. It was more of an efficient way for me to spend my eBay time than trying to outbid him. I don't recall ever winning an auction he bid on, and he wasn't always the high bidder.

R