Do I Need a #5 Jack Plane?

[George Israel]

Hello Neanders,

I'm preparing stock entirely by hand from rough stock. I currently have a Scrub Plane, a #7 Bevel-up Jointer Plane, and #4 Smoothing Plane. Do I need a #5 Jack Plane?

Thanks,

George

[scott spencer]

Nope. The others you have will each do a specific job nicely. The 5 is intended to all of them reasonably well..."jack" of all trades, master of none. If you could only have one plane, a #5 is a good choice, but you're pretty well covered. Now, "want" is another matter, but you don't need one.

[Sam Takeuchi]

You don't need it, no. But a jack plane is a handy thing to have. In your case, going from scrub to #7, whilst it's perfectly do-able, might not be the most efficient way. Using #7 over rough surface left by scrub until surface is flat might tire you out. #7 isn't a light plane to push around for longer period of time, so if you have a jack plane (traditionally fore plane did that prep work), it might save you some energy to remove scrub marks as well as making surface relatively flat before flattening it with a #7.

Personally I'd opt for 5-1/2 sized plane. It falls right between #7 and #4. of course #5 should do fine. I think you should figure out by yourself which size suits you better. If you are looking at a relatively large work piece, maybe #5-1/2 (or even #6, which I really like) may work better. If small work piece, then perhaps #5? But numbering and terminology is really relative, in the end, what's important is what size of planes suit your task. So if you want to fill the gap between #4 and 7, you should consider the size of your work piece.

I know some people do this, so I'll just mention it as an idea. Some people use smoother to remove scrub marks and unevenness before flattening with a larger plane. It can be done. But I also know some people are totally against using smoother for rough work. Personally I don't consider smoother to be a fragile tool and confident that they can withstand rough surface work, if I only had a #4 and 7, I'd probably use a smoother.

[Matt Evans]

As others have said, no, you don't need one.

But. . .

I use mine a lot. I use it between jointer and scrub, I use it to dimension stock that is only a little off, but more than the smoother will take care of in a few passes, and I have found that a #5 makes a really good shooting plane.

The other thing I like it for is fixing drawers and boxes. It is a great length for equalizing drawer sides, fronts and backs. You can use any plane to do that, but the #5 is really well suited to common drawer sizes.

I wouldn't buy one new if you are unsure if you need it or not. Get an old one and spend some time with it, fettle it the way you want, and then try it in different circumstances. #5s are pretty common, so you can find them pretty often for under $20 in decent shape.

[Richard Niemiec]

+1 to what Sam said. Personally, having both a #6 and #5, I use them both prior to the #7, but if you get a 5 you'll be a happy camper.

[David Keller NC]

I would recommend a fore plane if you're surfacing all of your stock by hand. The #6 size in metal planes is the traditional fore plane, but you should size the plane according to your work. If it's standard sized furniture and case work, the #6 is appropriate. If you're making children's furniture, boxes, picture frames, etc..., then a #5 or even a #5-1/4 would be more appropriate.

I also do most of my stock prep by hand, and have a scrub, a #6 (antique Stanley), a 20" long Ohio Tools wooden fore plane, and a 5-1/2 LN. Generally speaking, the Ohio Tools is the roughing plane that I go to most often. The point of a fore plane is to provide the intial flattening and straightening of your stock, and you want it to be as light as possible so that most of the force coming from you is expended in taking very thick, curled shavings. Because a wooden plane has significantly less friction between the sole and the plank you're working on, you will expend far less energy than you will with a metal plane.

Chris Schwarz has a great deal of posts on fore planes and prepping boards with planes on his blog at Lost Art Press, as well as the Woodworking Magazine blog - well worth reading.

[lowell holmes]

A Jack plane with a cambered iron is really good for making an edge square. I find that while I don't use some of my planes all the time, when I need one it's great to have it. A Stanley Bedrock or Bailey either one will do the job. You can get a Bailey for a reasonable price and save your coins for something like a Veritas plow or a set of hollows and rounds. :)

[Sean Hughto]

Is this a trick question? Of course you do. You need lots and lots of planes!

But a 5 can be had relatively cheap - like 25 to $30 on ebay and another $45 for a blade upgrade from LN or Hock.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3274/3029105774_d55b79555e_o.jpg

[David Keller NC]

Hmm - Sean, is the bed of that plane actually green? Or is that a trick of the light? Not critiquing here - if it is green, that's actually pretty cool. I get tired of the same old Stanley black in my fleet, and the Record blue somehow doesn't look right.

[Sean Hughto]

Yeah, Dave. THis was my first plane many many years ago. I bought it on eBay back when most auctions didn't even have pictures. It came covered in flat black spray paint - I mean every bit of it except the sole. So I used thinner and brass brushes and sandpaper etc. to clean it all up and then not knowing japaning even existed just masked and painted with some high quality spray enamel in deep green. Totally messed up the huge collector's value!

[jerry nazard]

+1 on what David posted. Sorry about the loss of all that collector's value....

[RickT Harding]

I definitely use my #5 a lot. Mostly it comes down to the size of material. I mean there's no need to break out the #7/#8 when the part I'm working is only 12x2 or something.

I also find I use the #6 the most. I love the size/feel of that thing. Working on my workbench recently though, wow was I glad the #8 was around.

So looks like you need them all! :D

If there was one I would lose first it would be the #7. I just seem to go small/big around that one all the time.

[David Keller NC]

Yeah, Dave. THis was my first plane many many years ago. I bought it on eBay back when most auctions didn't even have pictures. It came covered in flat black spray paint - I mean every bit of it except the sole. So I used thinner and brass brushes and sandpaper etc. to clean it all up and then not knowing japaning even existed just masked and painted with some high quality spray enamel in deep green. Totally messed up the huge collector's value!

I think it might be the combination of the brown wood and the green body - definitely a nice color combination. And besides, collectors only want planes that spent the last 85 years in a forgotten box on the back shelf of a hardware store....