Hand Planes

[Phil Koundakjian]

I was wondering about all these numbers related to hand planes .. Where can I get information on what each type of hand planes is used for.

I need to buy one maybe two hand planes for general use in my workshop. I have a very small block plane but I think a larger one is what I should have as part of the arsenal for woodworking.

Plus Woodcraft seems to have hand planes on sale .. are they worth it?

Phil

[John Toigo]

All you ever wnated to know about Stanley hand planes and more...... http://supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

[David Weaver]

What do you want to do? Take planer chatter off of boards without sanding?

[Erik France]

Plus Woodcraft seems to have hand planes on sale .. are they worth it?I think the Woodriver planes are worth it, I like my No 6. The Groz planes, nope. My Groz low angle block is OK, but the No 4 is a piece of junk.

Christopher Schwarz book Handplane Essentials is pretty good read.

[Rick Erickson]

Plus Woodcraft seems to have hand planes on sale .. are they worth it?Phil

The latest version of the Woodcraft planes have taken a huge step forward into the 'very good user' category. For the $s they can't be beat right now.

[John A. Callaway]

The latest version of the Woodcraft planes have taken a huge step forward into the 'very good user' category. For the $s they can't be beat right now.

I am anxious to get to a wood craft store again and see these things for myself. I know Cosman had a hand in the redesign. I was emailing him about the 5 1/2 and he urged me to go with a new Wood river.... but I had that damn Lie-Nielsen fever....and ... well... there is only one cure for that !!!!

[Charles McKinley]

Hi John,

I seriously doubt that you will regret the LN. Even for the extra $$ You can use it for years and get your money back if you wanted to resell it. (again doubt you would want to sell it)

[John Powers]

If your LN fever leads you to the little, 102 Low angle ductile block plane you will be temporarily cured.

[John Sanford]

5 Planes, okay, 6, will do 90% of the planing you need. (Stanley # equivalents in parantheses)

Lee Valley BU Jointer (#7), BU Smoother (#4ish), LA Jack (actually a BU Jack) (#5).
LV / L-N Medium Shoulder Plane
LV / L-N / ?? Low angle Adjustable Mouth Block Plane. Stanley may be making a new one under their Sweetheart label, and Woodriver may be making one.

Router plane. Both Lie-Nielsen and Lee Valley make 'em. The first time you use one to clean the bottom of a hinge mortise (rather than butchering with a chisel), you'll understand why this type of plane is da bomb.

The V3 Woodriver's are apparently a screaming deal, but they don't have the flexibility of the LV BU planes. Probably the biggest downside to the Woodriver planes is their origin. China vs America (L-N) / Canada (LV), and Woodcraft vs L-N/LV. These points matter to some people, not to others. Most of the Lie-Nielsen planes are soft core tool porn. They deserve to be photographed like jewelry.

Just be warned, planes are addictive. You'll know you've gone over the deep end when you build a plane till, for the living room. Because you just want to look at them ... :D

[Jon Toebbe]

Just be warned, planes are addictive. You'll know you've gone over the deep end when you build a plane till, for the living room. Because you just want to look at them ... :D
I'm sorry, I was right there with you until you got to here. Now I'm confused... You say that like it's a bad thing... :D

-Jon (who just last night asked his wife what she thought of the idea of hanging a couple of saws over the front door)

[David Weaver]

I am anxious to get to a wood craft store again and see these things for myself. I know Cosman had a hand in the redesign. I was emailing him about the 5 1/2 and he urged me to go with a new Wood river.... but I had that damn Lie-Nielsen fever....and ... well... there is only one cure for that !!!!

From everything I've heard, they're a good plane (the third version of the WRs). If you want the LN and have the money, I would buy it, though.

(Three or five years ago, you might've gotten a different recommendation.)

[Jim Koepke]

Phil,

Here is a post of mine that may be of help.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076

To be able to make a good suggestion for your use, it will important to know what you want to do with the hand planes and the kind of projects you plan for their use.

If you already are using some power equipment to dimension your wood the answer will be different than if you are starting with rough cut lumber or surfaced lumber.

Other decisions are based on your ability at working with metal and how much time you have compared to your economic situation.

I have had good luck with buying old Stanley/Bailey planes and fettling them into good useable planes. If and when it comes time to sell them, I will have derived great value from their use and will likely be able to recover most, if not more, of my initial investment.

That is another story that can be seen here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?114373

LN and LV planes are in that same station as being great useable tools and retaining their resale value.

I have never held a Woodriver plane. I also do not know about their ability to be sold on the resale market.

People may disagree with me and they could be right, but in my opinion, the plane truth is that you can not have too many. (OK spell checkers, plain was misspelled on purpose.):p

179854

And that isn't all of them.

jtk

[Jim R Edwards]

If you have the money my sugestion is to buy the Lee Valley bevel up jack and the Lie Nielsen 60 1/2R block plane. These two planes will handle 90% of your needs. If you decide you like working with hand planes then venture out and purchase more. If you do not like them you can get 90-95% percent of your money back re-selling them.