First Plane

[Patrick Stoddard]

I know that this subject has be broached a number of times but think that deciding on a first plane can come down to what you're trying to do rather than a catch all "first plane has to be a #4!". I've considered myself a "builder" for quite some time but really just figured things out as I went along without much guidance or instruction. Over the last year or so I've tried to become more of a "woodworker" and tried to learn as much as I can. With that, I'd like to start getting some planes that are useful to what I'm doing. Primarily I have been working on learning different joinery and a friend has asked me to build them a dining room table when they move into their house in a month. I think using all hand tools on a dining room table is a bit much for me to bite off at this point so I'll probably be relying on my joiner and planer for a bulk of the smoothing for that project but I would like to throw in some mortise and tenons on it if that's something they are wanting. I initially had in mind the medium Veritas Shoulder Plane but then heard about the Lie-Nielsen rabbet block plane which then lead me to the Veritas Jack Rabbet. With the Jack Rabbet, my line of thinking was that I could get a plane that would be a plane to handle multiple different jobs instead of buying multiple different planes. I've read Derek's Jack Rabbet review and found it very helpful and since then it looks like Veritas has added a few extra attachments that Derek had made himself. Although with the length and heft of the Jack Rabbet it wouldn't replace a simple block plane.

Thoughts?

[Warren Mickley]

I have been doing hand tool woodworking since 1970. Two of the tools you mentioned were on my list to buy decades ago, but then dropped off the list. I never owned any of them. If I had to pick one that might be useful to you, I would pick the shoulder plane.

[Jim Matthews]

If you're relying on a powered Jointer and Planer to get flat and smooth, there's little point in buying any handplanes. The interesting parts of joinery can be accomplished with fine chisels and well tuned saws.

Listen to Warren - then read the FAQs.

We all go down this same road.

[James Pallas]

I have and use a Jack Rabbet. It is a great plane and will multi-task very well. It does work well as a jack plane and a short jointer. I have cut raised panels with it. I have cut wide tenons with it. You will need multiple blades for it if you plan for multi-tasking. I also have shoulder planes. They also can do different tasks. When you say first plane it seems that you are trying to jump past a little of the learning curve expecting the plane to help you out. Both of the planes mentioned are more advance joinery planes. If you’re comfortable with all of the primary tasks than go for the Jack Rabbet.

[Jim Koepke]

Hello Patrick and welcome to the Creek.

Someone mentioned reading the FAQs > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?103805 < there is a lot to digest there.

You seem clear on an important point:


I know that this subject has be broached a number of times but think that deciding on a first plane can come down to what you're trying to do rather than a catch all "first plane has to be a #4!".

A rabbet plane can be useful. It isn't essential. It is designed to cut rabbets or trim up to a wall or an edge. It isn't as useful when trying to smooth a surface.

Like many others my chisels are used more often for adjusting joinery than any plane.

Since you mention Veritas and Lie-Nielsen it doesn't sound like you are interested in looking for old planes to rehabilitate.

You do not mention if you already have any hand tools such as chisels or even a sharpening set up. That is also something to consider when getting started in hand tools. Planes, chisels, saws and even marking knives need to be sharpened.

A low angle block plane may actually be a good starting point for you. It would be good for when a glue joint isn't aligned. It would also be good on end grain your jointer/planer won't touch.

jtk

[Osvaldo Cristo]

IMHO the best start is a block plane. Followed by a Jack plane. All the best quality you can get.

Follow a smooth plane. Classical no. 4 cannot be wrong.

After them, the "specialized" planes: router, shoulder, shooting, rabbet, molder and a big jointer planes.

If you have very deep pockets and time to use all of them, you can add to the list Japanese planes - one parallel universe with lots of options.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

[Phil Gaudio]

Get a LN block plane and learn the ropes on that. Then follow what Osvaldo said.

[Ben Ellenberger]

I’ve only been making stuff for a couple of years, and just for fun, so take this as input from someone without much experience. If I was going to use a powered jointer and planer for dimensioning stock, then I’d stick to chisels and saws for the joinery.

A router plane is handy for fine tuning tenons, but not essential. I don’t have a rabbet block plane or a shoulder plane, and I’ve never felt the need to get either.

[Patrick Stoddard]

Thanks for all the replies and input.

A few responses to various reply


You do not mention if you already have any hand tools such as chisels or even a sharpening set up. That is also something to consider when getting started in hand tools. Planes, chisels, saws and even marking knives need to be sharpened.
I have a set of 3 Narex dovetail chisels and a set of cheap Kobalt. I’ve gotten a marking gauge, Narex marking knife, a 9.5” Suizan dovetail saw and sharpen the chisels on the scary sharp system using the Veritas Mk. II.


Since you mention Veritas and Lie-Nielsen it doesn't sound like you are interested in looking for old planes to rehabilitate.

I’ve got a full time job and a 30 month old daughter so my time is the shop/garage is pretty precious so I’m not interested at this time in restoring an antique.


you are trying to jump past a little of the learning curve expecting the plane to help you out

Very possible that I’m trying to jump past the learning curve as patience was never my strong suit but dovetails is going to beat patience into my I think. I wouldn’t say that I’m looking for a plane to help me out, more that I’m trying to be more traditional in my building.

I will definitely go through the FAQ and give it a good read.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I have a Jack Rabbet and it's a nice tool. But in the 7 years I've owned it I have only used it a few times. Mostly I just tend to use it as a giant shoulder plane, for cleaning up big rabbets or tenons. But only rarely.

In an all hand tool context, the one thing it's really well suited for is cutting very wide tenons for things like breadboards. Normal tenons are better done with saw and chisel, and most furniture-size rabbets would be better served with something like a Skew Rabbet.

It is not well suited for bench plane work in my opinion, being a Rabbet type and being bevel up. It would do ok for Jack plane duty if you can manage to get a decent camber. But with a jointer and planer I don't think a Jack plane is high priority for you.

My advice would be a bevel down smoothing plane for your first, that is something you will use on every project if you get good with it, even if you do most work with power tools. It will work fine on a shooting board as well, without having to cobble together a side piece and screw it into the plane body every time.

If you want to move to all hand tools, you will end up needing quite a few planes, and I would advise against do-all types.

[Tim Best]

Hi Patrick,

From my experience the folks on the Creek are amazing for their willingness to offer input and advice. The FAQ's are a great starting point, but there is so much there! It seems like we come from similar starting point--I always considered myself a competent "builder." About a year ago, my interest shifted from power tools to hand tools. For me the slope was very slippery. (It all started with a cheap plane I found sitting in an "antique" store. From there, I found myself devouring as much information as possible and acquiring a very small arsenal of older Stanley and Record planes.) Just from my very limited experience, I would say its hard to go wrong with a #5 jack plane. I love my type 11 Stanley jack. With a slightly cambered and a straight iron, I use it for so many things, even in places where a more specialized plane would have made sense. (I used the #5 with the 2 different irons for making moderately sized desktop for our now very much used home office. For edge jointing and flattening those boards, I am convinced a #7 would have been very helpful, but I made it work.) My very long winded point is that you may want to consider a solid, vintage #5. These are readily available from reputable dealers. I purchased mine from Jim Bode. I probably overpaid a little, but it was worth it to know that it would not take much, if any, real rehab to get it working properly. Patrick Leach is another great source. (Not an endorsement, just my experience.)

I warn you though it may not quench your thirst. The #5 will lead to a #4. That will probably lead to a plow (plough) plane, then maybe a light combination plane, and then a couple of hollows and rounds because they are just awesome to use. Enjoy the slope, build something fun, accept that mistakes will happen, it will take longer than you think it should, and that things may not turn out like the stuff Derek posts (his apothecary build from a couple years back boggles my mind.) Most of all enjoy the process knowing that all your work can be accomplished without waking your toddler from her nap!

[Jerome Andrieux]

I would recommend you pick the plane you "desire", since you don't have much experience yet. You will be happy, planing is rewarding :)
Be wary not to make your choice based on pre-supposed versatility and gadgets. There is no real "jack of all trades" planes, not even the aptly named "jack plane" isn't so much, if you use power tools for the grunt work.

Personally, my first planes were wooden ones. I like tight-fit joints but there is nothing quite like revealing the fine texture of some nice piece of wood with a sharp plane. They aren't very versatile / tunable, so I have many, each set for a specific job.
I also bought veritas low angle jack and skew block plane. They are heavy, precise and versatile with their adjustable mouth and swapable blades.

The jack rabbet plane is a specialty plane and won't be so great for smoothing and shooting, which are important and enjoyable activities.

[Jim Koepke]

Just got an email making me wonder if someone up in Ottawa is reading this.

Blades and accessories for the Veritas Router plane have just gone on sale to launch the new Veritas Router Plane Box.

My wife has already let me spend a bunch of money on a new Shooting Board Plane. Good thing my router plane has just about everything already.

jtk

[Erich Weidner]

I started out with spokeshaves (The woodworking bug that bit was for making wooden practice swords for a Korean martial art... maybe it was the cheap bug...) But the first bench plane I bought was a Veritas low angle block plane. Still using it today. Love it.

[steven c newman]

Hmm...
433075
Careful....or you will wind up with this....
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For what I build....that #3 seems to get a LOT of use...
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Then there is a Millers Falls No. 11 Junior Jack plane....because, most times I don't need to use a long jointer..
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Like a #7 or a #8.....
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These do come in handy....
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Skewed Rebate plane....cleans up rebates
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Made by one of these....
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Or, just cleaning up a dado, or 2...

First planes I started out with in the late 70s, early 80s.....Stanley No. 110 block plane ( chrome cap..) Great Neck No. 4, and a Stanley Liberty Bell No. 128......working with old pallet wood like Oak. Things kind of took off from there....despite Norm Abram.....was more of a Roy Underhill type of thing. Found out...it wasn't so much who made the tools, it was HOW those tools got used.

[Derek Cohen]

.... I'd like to start getting some planes that are useful to what I'm doing. Primarily I have been working on learning different joinery and a friend has asked me to build them a dining room table when they move into their house in a month. I think using all hand tools on a dining room table is a bit much for me to bite off at this point so I'll probably be relying on my joiner and planer for a bulk of the smoothing for that project but I would like to throw in some mortise and tenons on it if that's something they are wanting. I initially had in mind the medium Veritas Shoulder Plane but then heard about the Lie-Nielsen rabbet block plane which then lead me to the Veritas Jack Rabbet. ...

Patrick, the Veritas Jack Rabbet is a superb plane. I was blown away by its versatility, and wrote the review from this perspective. Some of it was tongue-in-cheek, however (such as using it as a shooting plane), and to my amusement, many took all this quite seriously ... as if I was really advocating it. Now, it I was to end up on a desert island,I'd want this plane - it is designed for timber construction. In the workshop is another matter. Not that I would not use it - I do use mine and when it is needed, it is the best plane around - but I am not one for Swiss Army Knives if you have the space to purchase and store planes dedicated to specific tasks.

You have a jointer and planer to prepare stock. What you need is a plane to clean up edges for clean joins, and then smooth the table top. One plane can do this, such as a Stanley #5 or a Veritas LA Jack. The Veritas Jack Rabbet is not suited as you want to add a slight camber to the blade (to avoid tracks), and the Jack Rabbet is used with straight blades (it is, after all, a very large rebate plane).

Then you want to make mortice-and-tenon joints. There are principally made with chisels and saw. It is the fine tuning where a plane comes in. If there was just one plane to get, it would be the router plane for me. This would ensure that tenon cheeks are parallel. Any tuning of shoulders I do with a chisel. I would not use a plane - shoulder plane or rabbet block plane - on the cheeks. This is more difficult than it looks. A router plane is foolproof. I assume that you have bench chisels and a 5/16" mortice chisel.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Pete Taran]

Patrick,

Unless you are making a supremely large table, it's hard to argue getting the plane you need and that's a shoulder plane. While you can make do with all manner of substitute, a shoulder plane for adjusting tenon cheeks is the coin of the realm. I particularly like the Lie Nielsen style, which is a copy of the Preston style. They all have an adjustable nose so you can set them for very fine shavings or those that are quite large. Since cheeks are an end grain operation, a fine mouth is more appropriate. The one with a 5"8" blade is $165. Unfortunately, vintage examples of these planes are hard to find and are expensive when you do find them.

Second, you might consider other's advice and get a nice vintage block plane like the #18 or 60.5. Decide if you want low angle or standard 20 degree angle. I'd only get one with an adjustable mouth. They can be had for cheap, and you can clean them up, tune them up and put them to use for very little money. Why spend a ton on something if you don't need it or are an occasional user? Same goes for a #4 or #5 plane. Both can be had relatively inexpensively and will suit your needs just fine until you determine you need something else. Almost everyone getting into hand tools goes this route at some point. It's much easier to forgive mistakes on an inexpensive plane than one which you pay $300 for. Your profile doesn't say where you are located, but Ebay has loads of inexpensive block and smoothing/jack planes. You can buy a very serviceable set of block and #4 for less than $100. Take the money you saved and buy that new shoulder plane you will likely need.

[Chris Fournier]

Boy, where to start?! One thing to remember is that planes and chisels, no matter how good from the mfgr must be sharp to be good in your shop so budget for sharpening right along side the tool purchases. Honestly I'd work through the design of this table with your friends and see if a specific handplane will be needed to complete the project.

Otherwise... LN #102 (I recommend this plane because it is relatively affordable, simple in construction and the size will really help you get the hang of things) and then a bench plane (3-4 for smoothing if you want to focus on that or 5-7 for flattening and making great edges for glue up if you need this in you shop).

Opinions are like... well you know, and this is just mine. Have fun and let us know what you ended up doing.

[Rod Wolfy]

Otherwise... LN #102 (I recommend this plane because it is relatively affordable, simple in construction and the size will really help you get the hang of things) and then a bench plane (3-4 for smoothing if you want to focus on that or 5-7 for flattening and making great edges for glue up if you need this in you shop).


I have over two dozen planes, but the ones that get used the most are the small block planes (LN 60s, 102, 103, rabbit block, 102 & 103 white bronze, 2 LV skew block planes, LV block plane, LV stainless pocket plane). I like the bronze LN (apron plane) as it doesn't rust and I just throw it in a pocket. I use them for woodworking (and carpentry around the house); trimming wood to make it fit. I have a couple of Stanley junk block planes for real rough work or wood with nails.

Start with a LN 102 and though it will come sharp, learn to get it really sharp.

[Robert Hazelwood]

I do not understand the recommendations for block planes. Seems to me they are mainly useful for when you need to use a plane one handed. In the shop this doesn't come up much. If I can fix the workpiece in a vice or on the bench against a stop I'd much rather use a bench plane than a block plane. Would be curious to see rationales for the opposite.

I use my #4 maybe 50 times to every 1 time I use my 60-1/2

[steven c newman]

Use Mine a lot, to soften a sharp edge, trim plugs flush, remove "fuzz" from saw cuts.

Spent $55 today, for a pair of "First Planes"...
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Sargent VBM 414c ( $40) and a Stanley No. 4 ($15)...
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Rust Hunting for my birthday...a few hours walking around in Heart of Ohio Antique Center....
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There was a Stanley #4-1/2 up in the corner...$175....the 5-1/4 beside it was $225....
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Don't ask....

[Jim Koepke]

I do not understand the recommendations for block planes.

The low angle block plane is great for working end grain. It leaves a better surface than a bench plane. A lot of my early shooting board work was done with a block plane.

For breaking an edge any plane can do the job. A block plane is a bit easier to handle. Though honestly most of my corner breaking is now done with a small hollow plane. (We should let the OP get used to a few other planes before sending him down the path of acquiring a set of hollows & rounds.)

If you want to round a corner on a piece, a block plane with an adjustable mouth is possibly the best tool to use.

A slight edge misalignment on a glued up panel? Again, block plane to the rescue.

With an electric planer and jointer, a #5 might be the do all plane for the heavy work. A block plane is a good choice for the light work.

jtk

[Chris Fournier]

I do not understand the recommendations for block planes. Seems to me they are mainly useful for when you need to use a plane one handed. In the shop this doesn't come up much. If I can fix the workpiece in a vice or on the bench against a stop I'd much rather use a bench plane than a block plane. Would be curious to see rationales for the opposite.

I use my #4 maybe 50 times to every 1 time I use my 60-1/2

They are easy to use one handed because they are small but their merit lies in the fact that they are small and scale to small work. This is in addition to their edge grain ability. I have a standard angle LN 102 and it is actually a great little plane for surface planing were my bench #2 won't go. In the end I grab a 102 because I know that I can get the job done with it and I attribute this to the fact that my hands/fingertips are as close to the work surface and cutting edge as they are ever gonna get with a plane and I have optimal feedback and control because of this. Great on-site tool as well!

Love my #4 as well...

[Tom M King]

If you don't know which plane you need, you probably don't really need one. Once you decide what you need one for, it narrows the choices significantly.

[Jim Koepke]

If you don't know which plane you need, you probably don't really need one. Once you decide what you need one for, it narrows the choices significantly.

Patrick in his original post mentions this:


I think using all hand tools on a dining room table is a bit much for me to bite off at this point so I'll probably be relying on my joiner and planer for a bulk of the smoothing for that project but I would like to throw in some mortise and tenons on it if that's something they are wanting. I initially had in mind the medium Veritas Shoulder Plane but then heard about the Lie-Nielsen rabbet block plane which then lead me to the Veritas Jack Rabbet.

He has pretty much narrowed down the choices of type of plane. However, like so many of us, it appears the distraction of images of shiny new tools on the internet has Patrick wondering about which rabbet plane.

jtk