Hand plane recomendations

[Nick Mazzino]

Hi all,

I am looking for a decent, cost effective hand plane that will mainly be used for panel glue ups that are to large to fit in my 15" planer.

Does anyone have an recommendations?

Thanks!

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Electric or not electric?

If not electric, try the Neanderthal forum. Most who use them have multiple set up for different purposes (taking heavy shavings versus finer for example). A budget would also be helpful. For less than $50 you could get a Stanley No. 5 in good shape, or you could spend hundreds on a new manufacturer model. Also think about how you intend to sharpen it.

[Nick Mazzino]

Thanks Nicholas!

I am looking for non electric with a budget of around 50-100$. I know people have entire sets for different applications. I am just looking for one to start off to plane panel glue ups that are to big for my planer. I just set up my first shop this year. Eventually I would love to have a full set.

[Doug Hepler]

Nick

This question may yield a vast multitude of opinions. I recommend a #4 bench plane or a #5 low-angle jack olane. The low angle jack is more versatile because you can change out the blades. A longer plane is better for joining but less versatile.

Hand planes require knowledgeable preparation and some skill to use. It is a vicious cycle of not knowing whether difficulties are due to your lack of skill or due to the plane itself. A plane that will work right out of the box will exclude the second cause of difficulties. A new, top quality plane would cost you about $250. Look at Lee Valley Veritas or Lie-Nielsen. That may seem like a lot of money for a lump of iron, but it will save you hours of learning time. You might be able to buy a re-furbished #4 or #5 from somebody here on SMC that will be set up ready to use and cost much much less.

Newman are you listening?

Doug

[glenn bradley]

Hand plane guys tend to get really attached to certain tools for certain tasks just as us tailed or hybrid guys do. My knee-jerk reaction was a low angle jack but, it sounds like you are after a specialized tool so to speak. For what you describe I would reach for a No5 (or a Millers Falls No14) if I didn't have a LAJ. Opinions and recommendations will be many and varied but, a No5 (or No14) is a good all around tool that will never lose its place in your shop. Stanley prices vary but, the last couple of MF planes I bought in user-ready condition were about $30.

[Robert Engel]

It will be difficult to find a plane for that price unless you go to a flea market. If you're lucky you can pick one up on Ebay. Just be very careful to inspect the photos meticulously.

That said, a #4 is the first plane anyone should own but is not good for flattening a panel.

For this you want at least a #5. IMO a # is even better.

Woodcraft sells a line of planes are are pretty decent called Wood River. I own several of them and have not been disappointed, other than some of the irons required a lot of work to flatten.

[Wojciech Tryc]

Hi all,

I am looking for a decent, cost effective hand plane that will mainly be used for panel glue ups that are to large to fit in my 15" planer.

Does anyone have an recommendations?

Thanks!
#5 Jack Plane would be great for that. You should be able to find Stanley #5 on ebay or Craig List.

[steven c newman]

394919
Larger panels need a longer plane....Stanley No. 7c ( You CAN get by with either a #5-1/5 bevel down, or a No. 6 bevel down. )
394920
Besides..you can even use the No. 7 as a jointer, to get a good glue joint..
394921
As sometimes, a 14" long plane just won't do...

[Jim Koepke]

Hi all,

I am looking for a decent, cost effective hand plane that will mainly be used for panel glue ups that are to large to fit in my 15" planer.

Does anyone have an recommendations?

Thanks!

My suggestion for a single plane would be a #5 or a #6.

One place to begin would be the research:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?103805-Neanderthal-wisdom-FAQs

There is a lot of information about many things on the page. Some of it covers rehabilitating and using planes.

If you know someone who uses planes it might be good to ask them if they would give you a quick tutorial.

jtk

[mike holden]

I am aware that you asked about planes, but if you are talking about removing xs glue, then a scraper is a better choice (and cheaper -grin).
If you are talking about leveling wood then the above advice is spot on.
Mike

[Frederick Skelly]

1. You'll also need a way to sharpen the hand plane and need to factor that into your total cost. There are many ways to sharpen, ranging from sandpaper to diamond plates ($100 each) and many choices in between. Depending on your manual dexterity, you might also need a honing guide. You can search the archives here for "sharpening" to better understand the options, but if you are just buying an old plane with a regular steel blade, "scary sharp" (sandpaper) is a perfectly good and cheap beginning.

2. There are many sources for old hand planes that have been tuned-up. A buddy of mine bought an old #6 that had been precision ground (flattened) by Mr. Tom Bussey, a member here. I now own that tool and I can tell you that Tom does good work. Here's a link to a thread about him. Link (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?235722-Plane-flattening-by-Tablesaw-Tom). (No affiliation with Tom.)

Fred

[Bill McDermott]

+1 on starting with a #4. That is the baseline against which you can make more informed decisions about future planes (e.g. shorter, longer, bevel up, etc.).

As for the wide board planning... you can get there with the #4 and it will be in your price range. Use a pencil to scribble on high spots you find with your straightedge and plane them away, rinse and repeat.

Taking the $100 limit off the table, a bevel up #5 is a great tool for that application AND a whole lot more.

IMHO, you will be in great shape to make things flat and smooth with those two planes.

[William Fretwell]

If the panels are large they may be a little flexible, if they are thin they will be. You will need a flat surface to hold them, not so easy. Because of this a shorter plane will follow the surface better. Because the panels are wide you need a wide plane for two reasons:
1) You can plane more faster.
2) You can camber the edges of the blade so you don't leave grooves and still have some width left, (so buy two blades).
A 4 1/2 is your best bet. It will do the job and cost less. Bevel down is the place to start. Bevel up can be very problematic with many wood grains.
Yes you will need to sharpen the blades so your budget is blown. You will need to be good at it also!
Think long term, get two blades: one to camber. Lie Nielson, Clifton and Lee Valley are premium offerings. Older Bailey, Stanley etc. can be very good but will need to be carefully checked and getting a second blade is a little more difficult but very possible.

Warning:

Hand planeing is addictive, the results can be superb.

[Chris Parks]

I am aware that you asked about planes, but if you are talking about removing xs glue, then a scraper is a better choice (and cheaper -grin).
If you are talking about leveling wood then the above advice is spot on.
Mike

I totally agree with the hand scraper, get the panels as close as possible and a hand scraper is all that that is needed.

[lowell holmes]

I got started on a hand plane kick many years ago and ended up with 604, 605, and 607 Bedrocks.
They have Hock irons and breakers. They are a real solid set of planes.

[Nick Mazzino]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations! I am going to check out woodcraft over the weekend. I have a Wood River chisel set that I have been very happy with.

What tools do you recommend for sharpening? I have a honing stone kit I recently purchased from Wood Craft.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

If you are going to woodcraft, ask them if the set you already bought will work. They should know.

I started with sandpaper, bought waterstones after a while. When I moved I bought oilstones, because using the waterstones is not as easy here as it was in the last house. Of the three, I prefer oilstones.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations! I am going to check out woodcraft over the weekend. I have a Wood River chisel set that I have been very happy with.

What tools do you recommend for sharpening? I have a honing stone kit I recently purchased from Wood Craft.

Nick,
You're gonna start a food fight dude. There are as many opinions on sharpening as there are wet 2x4's at the BORG! :) :) :)

I bet you'll like the Wood River planes. I have a couple.

I dont know which honing stone kit you have, so I'm going to guess it's small stones that aren't wide enough for 2" plane irons. If Im wrong, just ignore the rest of this :) ..... I have evolved to sharpening with Shapton ceramic stones myself but there are many other options. Search for "sharpening" in the archive. There are many discussions. You could start out cheaply and use the "scary sharp" method (sandpaper) until you sort out your long term plan. But beware - you will likely become addicted to finding "the perfect" sharpening method and spend bushels of money on it. DAMHIKT. (If I had it to do over, I'd have bought a Tormek and low speed grinder. It would have been a little cheaper.)

I like Lee Valley's honing guide. LINK (http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078,51868) The basic unit is $70, which is good enough to start with. I think they also sell it at woodcraft. Woodcraft also has cheaper "eclipse style" honing guides but those never worked well for me.

[lowell holmes]

https://www.google.com/search?q=bedrock+planes+for+sale&rlz=1C1UCRO_enUS813US813&oq=bedrock+planes&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.21194j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

I would look here to start with.

[Matt Lau]

Nick,
You're gonna start a food fight dude. There are as many opinions on sharpening as there are wet 2x4's at the BORG! :) :) :)

I bet you'll like the Wood River planes. I have a couple.

I dont know which honing stone kit you have, so I'm going to guess it's small stones that aren't wide enough for 2" plane irons. If Im wrong, just ignore the rest of this :) ..... I have evolved to sharpening with Shapton ceramic stones myself but there are many other options. Search for "sharpening" in the archive. There are many discussions. You could start out cheaply and use the "scary sharp" method (sandpaper) until you sort out your long term plan. But beware - you will likely become addicted to finding "the perfect" sharpening method and spend bushels of money on it. DAMHIKT. (If I had it to do over, I'd have bought a Tormek and low speed grinder. It would have been a little cheaper.)

I like Lee Valley's honing guide. LINK (http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=51868&cat=1,43072,43078,51868) The basic unit is $70, which is good enough to start with. I think they also sell it at woodcraft. Woodcraft also has cheaper "eclipse style" honing guides but those never worked well for me.


I hope we're over the food fight stage. That was years ago.

Personally, I think that it can be broken into a few camps:
-Scary sharp- sandpaper. Bit fussier, cheaper, works
-Stones- ceramic, water or oil. Can dish. Faster. works. I like it because I don't need to worry about knciking the stones.
- Diamonds- I consider it for rough grinding only
- Power- Tormek, or other

Hybrid- grinder + stones. Derek does this.

[Robert Engel]

My 2 ¢ :

Of course sandpaper is the cheapest investment, but I do not use it.

Investing $7-900 in a Tormek is, well, money better spent elsewhere in my shop.

I use a combination of diamond and water stones.

If you go this route, bite the bullet and order all the grit sizes you will eventually need them:
Diamond: 300 to 1250 grit or Xcoarse --> xfine.

Water stone: 8K, or 12K or 16K. There is no sense in going past 16K.

What works for me:

1. Sharpen to 1250 (xtra fine).
2. 8000 grit water stone
3. A few strokes on a strop.

Unless I've let an edge go too far, I can be back to work in less than a minute.

I also recommend hollow grinding. This makes your honing much easier and quicker because you are only honing a secondary bevel.

The main thing about sharpening is 1) keep it simple and 2) find a technique that is fast. This is one reason I say learn to sharpen freehand. If it takes a bunch of jig set up its takes too long to hone & the tendency is to use a tool past its honing time (and then spend 1/2 a morning sharpening everything you have....)

Once you find a method that suits you, practice, practice, practice. This hones your technique ;-) and builds muscle memory.

There's other stuff that factors into your success such as having a dedicated sharpening center. Bench height, stance, lighting, magnifiers, etc.

[Jim Koepke]

Which sharpening system is best?

All of them if one learns how to use them.

jtk