First Plane Purchases

[Matt Sauber]

Hello,

I don't have any planes yet - just starting down the path - and want to purchase a set of planes to cover most of my dimensioning needs. I've decided on a #4, #5, and #7 to start with. That's pretty easy to do at Lie-Nielsen, they have all three. But over at Veritas it's not as straight forward. There is a #4, a Low-Angle Jack Plane, and a Bevel-Up Jointer. They don't offer the standard #5 and #7 planes.

My question is: would these two setups (LN #4,#5,#7 and LV #4, Low-Angle Jack, and Bevel-Up Jointer) accomplish the same dimensioning tasks?

Thanks!

[Matt Radtke]

My question is: would these two setups (LN #4,#5,#7 and LV #4, Low-Angle Jack, and Bevel-Up Jointer) accomplish the same dimensioning tasks?


Almost certainly, though there is some debate on how well bevel up/low angle bench planes work for "everything." Either set would likely serve you well-- though I wonder why you're set on just getting one manufacturer, or even why you 'need' all new planes.

The common wisdom is that you need a smoother, jack, and jointer. Okay fine, perfectly reasonable. A more appropriate checklist is what you want to do with the planes. Smoother and jointer have obvious jobs. The jack, well, it really depends. . .

Plan on using it for roughing? Get a used 6. You don't need precions here. More of a true jack of all trades? BU/LA Jack.

I'm personally coming to the conclusion that a traditional, bevel-down 5 has limited utility. A 6 for roughing, 7/8 for jointing, 3- 4 1/2 for smoothing. Whats the 5 for again? A smaller rougher. How is that useful? I dunno. I intend to buy a few pieces of rough sawn in the coming months and try my different planes on them. A purely academic study to see which planes are useful to me and under what circumstance.

[Brian Kent]

I recommend one change to your list. Instead of the Lee Valley #4, the set would be complete with a Bevel up smoother. The trio from Lee Valley all use the same blades. If they are set (or purchased) with three different bevel angles - 25°, 38°, and 50°, you have an amazingly versatile set for almost any task.

One necessity to add - a block plane, old stanley or LV or LN.

[Zach England]

I was in a similar position about 6 months ago and my collection of (useful) bench planes so far is:

no. 4 vintage Stanley
4 1/2 LN with 55 degree frog
Veritas Bevel-up smoother
Veritas 5 1/4 (haven't quite gotten the hang of this one)
Veritas Bevel-up Jack
LN no. 5
vintage Stanley 6

I still use my jointer and planer for most of my dimensioning

The Veritas planes are more contemporary designs while the LN are more directly derived from the original Stanley/Bailey designs. Before ordering a couple grand in planes you might want to get one by each company and see what you think about the ergonomics and overall feel. Really, the two lines of planes are apples and oranges. For me they both have advantages and quirks. I really like the shape of the totes on Veritas planes. They tend to be more upright and I feel like they fit my hand better. However, most of the Veritas planes have a mushroom-shaped knob that I don't like as much as the ball-like Stanley/Lie-Nielsen. Definately get a bevel-up plane. They are very easy to use and have a wonerful feel. My two Veritas planes have irons that must be 1/4 inch thick and there is absolutely no chatter ever. My experience is that they cannot take as fine a cut as the standard smoother styles, but that could very well be user error. That's a whole other issue. Lie-Nielsen also makes bevel-up versions, as did Stanley, but they aren't promoted as their flagship planes like the Veritas ones are. I also like toothed blades for the bevel-up planes.

Also, don't discount the old Stanley planes just because they don't cost $300 (though some can get close). The functional parts of my two GOOD Stanley planes I'd say are every bit as good as the Lie-Nielsen, except for the iron and chipbreaker. They aren't as pretty, but they work just as well.

Also, before getting ten bench planes, think about a block plane (or three), a rabbet plane, and then we get into more esoteric territory like a chisel plane (love my 97 1/2) and a router plane (waiting for Lee Valley to get them back in stock).

[Sam Takeuchi]

I think he's looking for planes to do dimensioning. Not sure how rabbet and other specialty planes fit into that task for now though.

[David Gendron]

If dimensioning is what you want to do, a scrub plane(highly cambered iron huge mouth), a #6, #8(I have LV BU jointer, but my go to jointer is my#8) and a smoothing plane of some sort to do final work, in this case you have a lot of choices, from #1 to #4 1/2and thats only for Stanley type planes...

[Matt Sauber]

Thanks for all the replies.

I don't need all new planes, I could rehab some old Stanleys - and I am debating that as well. But because I haven't used a well-tuned plane, I want to buy a new quality plane to know what to shoot for if and when I buy an old Stanley to restore. Buying a quality tool keeps its resale value, too - just in case I'm not pleased.

I think my question here has been answered - I think I will go with the bevel-up series of planes to start off with. People seem to be happy with them.

[dan sherman]

I've been using the following:



#60-1/2 for end grain
#15 been using it as a really small smother
#3 my go to smother
#5 some rough work, shooting, heavier wider smother
#7 This one still needs refurbished, but it will be used to true tops, and to joint boards to big for the planer

[Preston Baxter]

I use a 4-1/2 for smoothing, a 5-1/2 as a panel plane, and a 7 for a jointer. I've got an old 5 that I use for roughing. The half sizes may be to heavy for some, but I'm a tall guy and they seem to work well for me.

One big advantage is that the 4-1/2,5-1/2, & 7 all use the same width blade, so you can keep a couple of sharpened blades on hand that will drop right in to any of them to save time between sharpening sessions.

I once owned some bevel-up bench planes and didn't like them. To me, it seemed like the tote was too far back and vertical, making the plane more awkward and tiring to use. The bevel-down style has the tote right up under the blade, and the tote is designed for a three fingered grip with the index finger along the frog making the plane feel like an extension of your hand. The bevel-up planes I tried had totes that were designed for a four fingered grip. I prefer the former since all woodworking tools are generally held with one finger pointed forward...chisels, saws, etc. It just seems to provide more control over the tool.

I'm not trying to start a BU vs. BD debate, I just want to make the point that there can be differences in comfort and ease of use, and to try both styles before making a big investment in a set either of them.