Advice needed for buying a plane

[wood_newbie]

Hello,

Long time lurker here, but brand new to actually working wood.

Have a question regarding which plane(s) to buy. I am assembling my shop, and have a 6" jointer (Jet) and a portable planer (dewalt). So far have mostly done some crude tables for the shop, and these have sufficed.

But now want to start doing what I originally got into the hobby to do: building my own furniture.

Toward that end, I figure I will probably need a hand plane or two. Money is at a premium for the time being (did I not just mention the above two power tools!), but I would rather buy high-quality stuff one tool at a time than buy lots of things quickly and sacrifice on the quality.

If you all had to buy ONE plane, which would it be?

Bench or block? What size/number? Which manufacturer?

Thanks for any help you can give!

[David]

First decent plane I purchased was the Veritas low angle smoother. I suggest that AND get the high angle replacement blade. It will then do double duty. Great quality. Order from Lee Valley. You can't go wrong with the Veritas line. I'm now at 4 Veritas planes/scrapers and counting...

Dave

[Patriarch]

If I could only have one plane, it would be the LN Adjustable Mouth block plane, an interpretation of the venerable Stanley 9 1/2.

Dave's suggestion is a good one, because the Veritas is wider and heavier, and works not unlike an old Stanley #3, which is also a favorite plane of mine. I have the Veritas Block plane, and it's a good one, but it's not the first one I pick up, for most projects.

This notion of one plane, however, is foreign to me. Rather like working with only one species of wood, or eating only Mexican food, or only listening to Beethoven.

Buy one block plane now. Budget for a Low Angle Smoother for the near future. Expect to purchase a high angle blade for it as well.

Welcome to the quiet side, at least a little bit.

Patriarch

[Dave in Fairfax]

wood [e-mail] wrote: snip

We've had this question come up repeatedly, which I'm sure you've noticed while lurking. The best advice would be to DAGS on it and read the threads. The problem is with the question. What do you want the plane to do. That is what makes all the difference in which one to get or even which tye to get. The analogy is to say, "I'm moving out of my parents house, what appliance should I buy?" I'd guess that you don't have any experience using planes, and possibly not in sharpening. Just getting some amorphous plane isn't an answer. Getting an expensive one to use as a learning experience is probably a bad idea. Get one each, block and bench planes and read up on shapening and fettling, then learn how to use them. At that point, you'll have a better idea of what plane to get. DON'T get a Buck or Great Neck or Stanley from the big box stores. Go to the antique store and buy a few old Stanleys/Sargents/Millers Falls planes. They'll be very usable if you get ones without cracks or TOO much rust. A couple of them shouldn't cost more than the replacement blade for a plane.

Dave in Fairfax

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Lee Valley Low angle block plane Next a shoulder plane or smoother. It's a toss up there depending on your project at the moment.

[wood_newbie]

Dave,

Great points, all true. In short, I have *no* experience using planes at all. I've had very little formal woodworking training at all as a matter of fact, and all of it has been on power tools. I guess I'm not even sure *what* I'll need a hand plane on...so far my machine work has been good enough to get me by. However, I'm sure that will change once I stop building crude tables out of construction pine!!

Here's a corollary question, I guess: Some people rely heavily (exclusively?) on their power tools, and some prefer the feeling of hand tools. For the first group, and particularly if you own a power planer and jointer, what DO you use your planes on mostly? I guess a little more specifically, I'm most interested in building a variety of tables, as well as bookcases and, when I get a LOT better, maybe a bed or two.

Thanks all!

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The blockplane can put a bevel on an edge. It can smooth the edge of a board. It can be used to fit a board between others,

Shoulder plane is good for fitting a tenon into a mortise or a tongue into a dado. One pass at a time, it is very satisfying to have that tongue slip properly into the groove.

The Knight coffin smoother, well, smoothes the wood.

[TheNewGuy]

There's a trove of information at this link, including attempts to answer questions such as "which plane first?" and "which one plane?"

first plane (and I only have 3) was the Veritas Apron plane - an economical choice I thought for trimming/fitting. It has worked well for me in this regard.

FYI, Chris

[TheNewGuy]

Crap - typo! (Couldn't paste into the Google "reply" window for some reason...)

There should be an "_" (underbar) added in the middle of the word "handplanes" at the end of the link - i.e. "rfeeser_article_on_hand_planes.htm"

Sorry!

[John McCoy]

wood [e-mail] wrote in news:1121790527.587887.63140 @g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

The plane I use most is a Lie-Nielson #102 block plane. This is a very simple plane, but I find it essential for trimming things just a touch to make them fit, putting a quick chamfer on an edge, smoothing a not-quite-flush peg, etc.

If you only have one block plane, you might find L-N's 60 1/2R to be more versatile. I save mine for tenons, since the 102 is more comfortable in the hand for other tasks.

As a general rule, I'd suggest buying block planes & smoothers new, and looking for the longer bench planes in the used/flea market arena. If you can afford them, L-N are (in my opinion) the best, altho Lee Valley are also very good.

I beleive that a block plane, a #4 (or a low-angle smoother),

5, and 7, and a good shoulder plane will cover most requirements; altho since you have the power jointer & planer the #5 & 7 can be deferred.

John

[Andy Dingley]

Three of them.

#5 jack Smoother (maybe a #4), sharpened and set differerently from the jack. Block. Lee Valley low angle if I could afford it.

As usable planes are $5 and sharpening time, there's no sense in limiting yourself to just one. Google this ng for more details.

[CW]

My two most used are, in order, block plane, #5.

[Patriarch]

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in news:LmcDe.5014$Zx3.1269@trndny05:

And looks supremely cool doing it.

Patriarch, owner of several handmade Knight smoothers, still not cool, though. (101 today...)

[Barry Lennox]

I'd use the money that ONE new plane would cost and buy from the used tool shop:

A Stanley/Bailey #5 A Stanley/Bailey #7 A low-angle block plane.

If you have the time, you can get them even cheaper in tag and yard sales. You will have to learn sharpening.

There's a good fairly new FWW book: "Working with handplanes" (ISBN

1-56158-748-6) it's worth checking out of the library.

Barry Lennox

[AAvK]

Thanks for the note about that book, good price too.

[Dave W]

[Dave in Fairfax]

I do NOT concur. The new planes from the hardware store, especially the ones from India/China/CZ are not worth the time to flatten. And you WILL need to flatten them. I looked at a GROZ at Woodcraft and it rocked on its corners, don't even get me started about Anants or the HF crap planes. The English Stanleys, Great Neck or the Chinese Buck Bros are nearly as bad. None have decent, or even fair, blades or chip breakers. Poor tools are usable by a craftsman, but are a lousey way to learn how to use tools. Middle level tools, like OLD Stanleys are usable, and arre probably acceptably flattened. They have usable blades and chipbreakers. You can learn on them and use them without cursing, assuming that you can sharpen. Going higher end than that to start is, in my opinion, a waste of money, as is buying a crap and then getting bummed out because it won't do the job.

The Old planes, woodies used to build things pre-Civil War work perfectly well, and some say better, than metal bodies. They have a learning curve in setting the blade and require care and feeding, but they are incomparable in their feel when gliding over wood. Hardware store planes are not at all in their class.

My tu sense, Dave in Fairfax

[wood_newbie]

That's exactly what I just ordered, the Lee Valley low-angle block. Thanks for the advice. Thanks to everyone, too.

BTW, the Lee Valley shoulder planes look nice, and the ability to trim the end-grain on tenons would be wonderful. The kinds of wood I will be working will most likely be cherry, walnut, and mahogany. Any preferences as to the LV Medium Shoulder versus the LV Bullnose?

[Andy Dingley]

No it isnt, I have some of those 18th century wooden planes and they work just fine - locally made too. They work a _lot_ better than some pressed-steel base plane from the usual DIY shops.

And what's wrong with English Stanleys? They're not great, but neither are they bad. The #92 and family was always better than the US-made version too.

[Patriarch]

wood [e-mail] wrote in news:1121889012.842560.11270 @z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

Yes. They do different things. The bullnose gets into places the shoulder plane doesn't fit. The shoulder plane takes a different type of shaving, because the mouth is tight to the blade. A much smoother cut.

I use my shoulder plane a lot. I use the chisel plane I have very little, although it is of excellent construction and quality. I have never missed having a bullnose plane.

Another shoulder plane, for larger work, might find a place in my tool cabinet. But not this week, cartainly.

The LV Medium shoulder could easily be one of the 'first 5' planes.

Patriarch