Ready to move into hand planing...need some advice.

[Dave Kirby]

Hello everyone! I have been contemplating for years and I don't know why it's taken me so long, but I am ready to supplement my shop/skills and enter into the wonderful world of hand planes (not to mention some more Neanderthal awesomeness, but we'll start with planes for now). I'd like some recommendations. First off, which would be the best type of plane (block plane, Jack plane, bench plane, jointer plane, etc...) to get as my first one and why? I suppose I would like something that wouldn't be too specialized and would perform a few general duties like flattening/smoothing stock, edge planning, etc. if there is such an animal. I don't want to spend a ton on my first one either so I'm hoping for best bang for the buck. I'd love some good advice! I'm looking forward to adding some new skills to my woodworking and take it to the next level!

[paul cottingham]

Nothing like a good old fashioned jack plane. I started with a bevel up jack from LV, but a well loved pre 1945 no. 5 Stanley is tough to beat. They are very common, and inexpensive. I use my jack on every project, and like the fact that I can easily change the angle on the blade with a bevel up. A good block plane is also very handy. There are many valid opinions on what kind to get, I have a low angle one that I wouldn't be without.

[Tony Wilkins]

Lot's of different ways to go. The most versatile would be a LA Jack from either LV or LN - they have the advantage of just being able to drop in a blade with high or low angle and easily adjust the mouth. A set up like that will be able to shoot edges, smooth, joint, remove a lot of material. You can do this with a traditional Jack with a quiver of blades but has more fiddling involved and I never got the hang of trying to shoot with a bevel down plane.

I've heard it recommended to get a block first to ease into 'hybrid' wood working coming from machine only. A good low angle block can do a lot of useful things - chamfer, break over edges, clean up local areas, and clean up end grain.

One of the first questions to ask yourself is new or vintage. Do you want to spend your time to fettle an vintage plane or your money for the quick but more expensive new route?

[Jim Koepke]

Dave,

Welcome to the woodworking cave beside the Creek. Your profile doesn't indicate your location. If you are near Portland, OR send me a PM and we may be able to arrange for you to test drive a few planes to see what you may want to use in your shop.

You may live close to another member who also would be willing to let you test drive their planes.

You may also want to check to see if Lie-Nielsen is going to have a Tool Event in your area in the near future.

What power tools or hand tools do you currently have/use?

If you are adding to a power tool shop, your best bet may be to get a good #5, jack plane, and a low angle block plane. A #5 is good for removing saw marks. It is also good for knocking down high spots and rough dimensioning of lumber.

As Tony mentioned it also depends on whether you want to get out of the box performance or how much work you are willing to put into rehabilitating an older tool. There are sellers of older tools that leave very little to be done. Then there is the rust hunt find that will take a bit more work to get going.

There are a few posts you might find helpful in the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs. It is located in the Neanderthal announcements at the top of the Neanderthal Haven page.

Here is one of mine:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076-Getting-Started-With-Hand-Planes

jtk

[Russell Dunham]

I agree with the jack plane sentiment! That was my first plane. An old plane from stanley, millers falls, union, or pretty much any other good manufacturer can be made to work well if you are well stocked on elbow grease, sand paper, and patience. I think tuning old planes before getting new nice/premium planes is a good idea because it teaches you lots of things about how planes work (as well as what makes them not work). Do some research about tuning if you haven't yet, it will give you a good idea about what's involved and help you decide if you want to go down that road with an old plane. If you do decide to get an old plane of any kind it is best to look at it in person before you buy it. Sometimes you will find little demons hidden in places you can't see in pictures. Anyway, these things are all subjective, different strokes for different folks as they say. Buy the plane that makes you, and your budget, the happiest and enjoy!

[Joe A Faulkner]

+1 on posting your location. Visiting someone with a few planes will give you an appreciation for what they can do, as well as exposure to the need to invest in sharpening/honing equipment. You can probably pick up a Stanley No. 5 in the $25 - $75 dollar range. Look over in the classifieds here on the Creek and you might find one in that price range. You could always post a "wanted to buy" thread there, and my guess is someone would offer you semi-tuned Stanley in this price range. Add another $15-$20 for shipping. Whether you go the used route or the new route, you will need to learn to sharpen. Several options and price points for sharpening equipment. Lots of people start with the scary sharp method. It works and is probably the cheapest way to get started. You can easily spend more on sharpening equipment than you will on a used Stanley plane, of course depending on how frequently you need to sharpen your edges, the sharpening equipment will probably give you years of service. You might do a little research on water stones, oil stones, ceramic stones, and diamond plates to get a feel for some of the options.

[Dave Kirby]

Dave,

Welcome to the woodworking cave beside the Creek. Your profile doesn't indicate your location. If you are near Portland, OR send me a PM and we may be able to arrange for you to test drive a few planes to see what you may want to use in your shop.

You may live close to another member who also would be willing to let you test drive their planes.

You may also want to check to see if Lie-Nielsen is going to have a Tool Event in your area in the near future.

What power tools or hand tools do you currently have/use?

If you are adding to a power tool shop, your best bet may be to get a good #5, jack plane, and a low angle block plane. A #5 is good for removing saw marks. It is also good for knocking down high spots and rough dimensioning of lumber.

As Tony mentioned it also depends on whether you want to get out of the box performance or how much work you are willing to put into rehabilitating an older tool. There are sellers of older tools that leave very little to be done. Then there is the rust hunt find that will take a bit more work to get going.

There are a few posts you might find helpful in the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs. It is located in the Neanderthal announcements at the top of the Neanderthal Haven page.

Here is one of mine:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076-Getting-Started-With-Hand-Planes

jtk Thanks a lot for the offer Jim! I really wish I could take you up on it but I am in Michigan. I appreciate the great advice! I apologize, I haven't gotten around to customizing my profile but I will try and get some info in there right away. Here is a list of machine tools I currently have in my shop: 16" floor standing drill press
Router table with a PC 5202EHD 15amp, 22,000rpm beast that lives beneath.
Craftsman 10" Table saw (hope to replace it with a good cabinet saw in the future, but it gets the job done.)
Bosch 5312 12" sliding compound miter saw
PC model 690 "D" handle portable router and also a portable PC plunge router (I believe model 7529)
DeWalt 735 Thickness Planer
18ga brad nail gun
23ga pin nail gun
Bosch barrel grip jigsaw
Rockwell 9.5 inch miter 'chopsaw' (an old soldier but still a great saw!)
...and the list keeps growing slowly all the time...especially the collection of hand tools! :)

[Dave Kirby]

+1 on posting your location. Visiting someone with a few planes will give you an appreciation for what they can do, as well as exposure to the need to invest in sharpening/honing equipment. You can probably pick up a Stanley No. 5 in the $25 - $75 dollar range. Look over in the classifieds here on the Creek and you might find one in that price range. You could always post a "wanted to buy" thread there, and my guess is someone would offer you semi-tuned Stanley in this price range. Add another $15-$20 for shipping. Whether you go the used route or the new route, you will need to learn to sharpen. Several options and price points for sharpening equipment. Lots of people start with the scary sharp method . It works and is probably the cheapest way to get started. You can easily spend more on sharpening equipment than you will on a used Stanley plane, of course depending on how frequently you need to sharpen your edges, the sharpening equipment will probably give you years of service. You might do a little research on water stones, oil stones, ceramic stones, and diamond plates to get a feel for some of the options. Great advice Joe! Thank you. I'm not sure yet if I want to go with new or used but you make some great points on learning to sharpen. I will certainly start learning all I can about it and let it influence my ultimate decision. Just curious though, Can you elaborate further about the "Scary Sharp Method" that you mentioned? I'd like to know more! Thanks again!

[Prashun Patel]

I'm not as far along the curve as the pros here, but for my money, I'd start with a low angle block plane. They're versatile, and easy to learn on.

Then I'd move up through the numbers in this order: #4, #5, #7(or 8).

You need first to learn how to sharpen. It's easier to do this on shorter planes because they are typically used on stock that's already pretty flat.

Learning to joint or flatten with a #5 and #7 requires reading the stock for flatness and knowing how to read highs and lows on twisty boards. If you don't know how to do that, then it can be tricky to realize whether skips and catches are a result of suboptimal sharpness or working the wrong areas in sequence.

In fact, I would even suggest that before getting any planes, consider getting a decent sharpening system AND some chisels. Once mastered (I am not there yet), chisels are extremely versatile. They will also allow you to hone (no pun intended) your sharpening skills without having to worry about the other variables of lateral adjustment and depth and frogs and chip breakers that some planes can introduce.

[mike holden]

Dave,
I am in Macomb county, MI- near Mt. Clemens.
Send me a PM and we can get together for a planing session.
Alternatively, consider joining the Michigan Woodworkers Guild, the Southeast Michigan Woodworkers, or the local Society of American Period Furniture Makers chapter (I am chapter leader here).
Mike

[Chris Vandiver]

As a starting point, I would suggest buying a good book on hand tool woodworking. Also, if you are able to take people up on their kind offers for some hands on experience, so much the better.

[Graham Haydon]

A #4 or a #5 metal bench plane would be a first and worthwhile toe in the water before investing too heavily. If you want a "true" jack plane go for a cheap wooden jack. A jack plance is all about rapid stock removal. A #5 can be used as a Jack but it is more versatile than that.

[Winton Applegate]

and are cool to look at.

I have a whole pile of planes and the following are my most prized. If I were going to a desert island and could only take one two or three these are my choice in order of priority.

this plane can do it all (I have no great need for a long plane and even a jack isn't all that useful in my hands.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=51870&cat=1,41182,52515
I mean look at her go ! And that is bubinga; some of the hardest stuff around.
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/Sothinandgossimer_zps0bad077a.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/Sothinandgossimer_zps0bad077a.jpg.html)
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/BytheTub.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/BytheTub.jpg.html)


The scrub
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/special-purpose-tools/scrub-plane/
can really take off a lot of wood and I could even finish plane with it with a properly set up blade. To get the jack, the above Varitas and any of the other wider blade planes to scrub you have to grind the heck out of the blade to get a lot of curve (camber) so you can cut deep without toooo much effort. The narrower blade is better for that right off.

I know I can catch heck for sugjesting a scrub can finish but a narrow throat opening is way over rated.

This plane is so versital and for smaller projects it can really do it all and shine.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=47881&cat=1,41182,48942
Get the optional handles for sure ! I have them on it most of the time.
so precise and adaptable you can plane anomalies out of your finish ! Or open the easily adjustable throat, throw in a cambered blade and scrub.
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/DonttrythisathomeIamaprofessional.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/DonttrythisathomeIamaprofessional.jpg.html)

It is true you can buy an old run of the mill bevel down and beat yourself up making it into a plane and then put in a thick blade and hold your tung just right and get by. Or you can buy one of the above, take it out of the box and go to work. All come with thick HARD blades that don't need fixing to work.

finally you will hear a lot about this jack which I have and have used the most of all my planes but reaaly , it has some design problems, is heavy and the above planes are the better way to go.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/low-angle-bench-planes/low-angle-jack-plane/

And finally I would add . . . that three hundred dollars for a hand plane is practically free.
Two or three thousand dollars are high end planes.
Seriously.

PS: get a pile of blades. This pile cost as much as the plane or more.
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_0959.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_0959.jpg.html)

[Winton Applegate]

In case you are going to be up late, all by yourself, and need some tool porn
http://www.marcouplanes.com/index.php

PS: if you are going to take up weight lifting I can recommend these two #7 jointers the LN bevel down and the LV bevel up.
they both are very well made and work great. WORK being the key word.
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_0187_zps8423393c.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_0187_zps8423393c.jpg.html)
http://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy298/noydb1/IMG_0185_zpsfc4d21d3.jpg (http://s801.photobucket.com/user/noydb1/media/IMG_0185_zpsfc4d21d3.jpg.html)

[Joe A Faulkner]

Scary Sharp is a method that uses sandpaper, typically afixed to a flat surface, like a table saw, jointer bed, or float plate glass. Go to u-tube and search for "sandpaper sharpening". There is aa three part series that will give you some insights into this method. The advantage is it is a low cost of entry. The down side is, you need lots of different grits of sandpaper, and the sandpaper wears out quickly. Most other methods require at least $100 or so invested in stones or plates.

[Jim Koepke]

I know I can catch heck for sugjesting a scrub can finish but a narrow throat opening is way over rated.

I like the #5-1/4 as a scrub plane. Narrow blade and just pop in a different blade and chip breaker and voila, a small jack plane.

jtk

[Noah Wagener]

you can have this #7 if you pay shipping:

275525


It is pretty much fubar but I got most of the rust off.

[Jim Foster]

I think Prashun's suggestion to start with a block plane is a great idea. It's extremely versatile and the blade is easier to sharpen than the longer, wider bench plane blades.

[George Beck]

If I had to go with One plane ( I am sure only one plane would cause my eyes to twitch and my hands to shake), but if I had to I would select a LA jack plane. I like the Lie Nielsen. This plane is easy to use and can be used as small jointer and a large smoother. The bevel up thicker plane blade is easy to sharpen and with additional blades it can be a shooting plane, a toothing plane (scrub work) and with the mouth set fine a finishing plane. The 2 in thick blade is fairly easy to sharpen as compared to thin wide blades or small blades.