Do I need a Jack plane?

[Brett Robson]

So here's my dilemma:

I'm fairly new to the hand tool world. Until recently, my usage of hand planes generally resulted in a horribly mangled surface! For many years I felt I just didn't seem to have the knack for a hand plane. I remember as a kid, watching my father produce long "goldielocks" shavings with his planes, a feat I was never able to replicate! After many years and much frustration, I've found my past poor sharpening skills and poor plane setup skills had more to do with my problems than anything else. :)

As my skills at sharpening have improved, I've found I've been using various planes more and more frequently, often times reaching for a plane whereas previously I'd have grabbed a sander or headed to the jointer.

I have several smoother planes in various lengths, some with cambered irons, some flat. These have been my workhorses to this point and I use them all the time. In addition to the smoothers, I have representatives from the other kinds of planes-- shoulder plane, block plane, radius plane, most of which I inherited from my late grandfather. These specialty planes I use less often but still do see occasional usage.

One notable vacancy in my collection is the Jack plane. Now I've read some descriptions of Jack planes, it seems to my understanding they are considered an all-purpose plane, perhaps due to the lower angle (??) and traditionally used in sequence with other planes to flatten/smooth rough lumber.

Now as I'm not a purist with the hand tools and still rely on my power tools to dimension lumber, is there any real need for a Jack plane, other than to just have one? Does the lower angle on the iron perform a specific task that a smoother plane wouldn't perform as well? As with many here, I too fall under the aegis of "never enough tools" so I doubt it will take much convincing for me to buy another plane but I would like to know that I could conceivably find a particular use for the Jack which none of my other planes could perform quite as well! :)

[David Keller NC]

One notable vacancy in my collection is the Jack plane. Now I've read some descriptions of Jack planes, it seems to my understanding they are considered an all-purpose plane, perhaps due to the lower angle (??) and traditionally used in sequence with other planes to flatten/smooth rough lumber.

Now as I'm not a purist with the hand tools and still rely on my power tools to dimension lumber, is there any real need for a Jack plane, other than to just have one? Does the lower angle on the iron perform a specific task that a smoother plane wouldn't perform as well?

Leaving aside the question of why a "jack" is named that way for the moment (there are lots of explanations - it's not cut and dried that it means "jack of all trades"), yes, you may well need a plane longer than a smoother, even if you use power tools to roughly dimension lumber.

Specifically, you may well find that you wish to true boards that are too wide to fit your machines, that you may need to adjust the angle of a long edge, and/or that you need to taper parts to get an exact fit. Whether that should be a jack plane or not is up for debate. Were I in your shoes, I would choose a short jointer plane before I got the jack - perhaps a #7 or even a #6. These planes will let you do all of what a jack will, though perhaps a little less conveniently, and will also allow you to true and flatten long edges or long surfaces.

Regarding planing angles - there is no difference between the planing angle of a jack plane and a smoother, all other things being equal. In the traditional Stanley design, that planing angle is 45 degrees. For bevel up planes, the planing angle is determined by the grind angle on the cutting edge, regardless of whether the plane is a smoother, a jack, or a jointer.

From the stnadpoint of versatility, you can convert either a bevel down or a bevel up design to a higher planing angle very easily. In a bevel-down design, you simply put a few millimeters-wide back-bevel on the blade (sometimes more conveniently done by having an extra blade). For a bevel-up plane, you simply put a higher-angle grind on the blade.

A couple of things to think about when choosing a bevel-up or bevel-down design: if you're going "low expenditure, high value", then antique Stanleys are the best deal there is - no manufacturer can compete in price with hundreds of thousands of used tools made 80 years ago. If you choose this route, then putting a back-bevel on the blade is the way to get a higher planing angle for planing highly figured stock. If money is less of an object, then you can choose either bevel-down or bevel-up from LV or Lie Nielsen, both are very high quality brands for very little money.

However, if you intend to use either a #5 or a #6 length plane for roughing duties (i.e., rapidly removing mill marks from rough lumber prior to the use of a jointer), I would suggest you choose the bevel-down design. Bevel-up designs are useful (I've several), but in this one particular case, they're not as suitable as a bevel-down design. The reason has to do with the increased camber that must be put on a bevel-up design, and the reduced blade support and clearance angles involved with a BU design used to take a thick shaving.

[James Scheffler]

You don't NEED longer planes if your power equipment is big enough to handle all your jointing and planing needs. If you have larger panels you need to flatten or longer boards you need to joint, then longer planes are extremely useful.

Virtually all old jack planes (wooden or metal) have a 45* bed angle. If you want a lower angle, then you would want to look at Lee Valley or Lie-Nielsen.

Jim

[Eric Brown]

A low angle bevel up jack would allow you to use a shooting board to make beautiful ends on your boards also. Depending on your joints of course.
A regular jack would also work, but personally I think the low angle does the job easier.

Eric

[scott spencer]

As with any tool, if there's ever a question about whether or not you need it, the default answer if "of course"! :D

The Jack is kind of the "general purpose" blade of hand planes. I've got a fairly good collection of planes and still tend to grab by #5 or 5-1/2 the most...they just feel right to me so I use them. Theoretically, a good compliment of more specialized planes should be able to fill the void, but I still use the Jacks most. Same is true of my saw blades...even with an excellent choice of specialty blades, I spin a general purpose or combo blade most, so it could just be me.

[paul cottingham]

"Do I need....(insert tool name)"
I've said this before....is this a trick question? :-)

That being said, I use my low angle jack all the time, and wish I had bought it a long time ago. Not bad for an impulse buy.

Paul

[Hank Knight]

Everybody has their own work style and favorite tools, so you will get lots of opinions about whether you "need" a #5 jack plane in your arsenal. I have a pretty wide assortment of planes including two bevel down jacks: a very nice old Stanley and a modern Record. I use hand planes a lot but seldom use either of the bevel down jacks. They are best suited for rough dimensioning and flattening rough stock. I rely on power tools for dimensioning and flattening my rough stock, so I don't often use my jacks for this. Other size planes seem to fit other uses better than the jacks, so I use them instead of the jacks. Frankly, I could easily do without my traditional #5 jacks.

There is, however, one notable exception for me. That would be my Lie Nielsen bevel up jack. It is my favorite plane. It is enormously versatile and, with its adjustable mouth, it is capable of both coarse and very precise work. It serves well as a jointer on small stock and a smoother on larger stock. It's great on end grain. It is very good on a shooting board. With a blade (or bevel angle) change it will handle very difficult hardwoods with little tear out. I use it all the time. I took a hand tool course a couple of years ago from Garrett Hack. He said several times during the course that his LN bevel up jack was his favorite plane. I agree with him. I NEED my bevel up jack.

By the way, I'm not advocating for the Lie Nielsen bevel up jack specifically. It's the one I have and I'm very satisfied with it. Lee Valley makes one and it has many passionate advocates. I think either one would be a great addition to your hand plane stable.

My $.02

Hank

[Brett Robson]

Good advise from all! So I learned something here--I was under the impression a jack plane (specific to the traditional Stanley design) had a lower angle than smoother planes in addition to a longer sole, hence making it somewhat unique and special unto itself.

So I suppose the advise of a shorter jointer plane might be a better alternative to a jack, which would be identical to my smoothers except for the length. I do often use my smoothers to true an edge, a task I've not had great success with to this point due to the shorter length of my planes.

Thanks to all for the responses!