Another question about which to buy

[John Kain]

I own a nice 60 1/2 old stanley block plane. I just bought a nice (circa 1940) #4 Stanley. Now, I'm looking to add something with a little beef to it for joining/squaring lumbar. Don't know if I should look at a #5, #6, or #7/8. I'm leaning toward the 6 for no good reason other than it'll give me a bit more versatility that a larger plane. I am hoping for your imput. Thanks.

[Michael Gabbay]

I'd go with a #7. That will allow you to face or edge joint and then smooth. The third plane would be a #5 or 5 1/2 so you can surface plane.

my 2 cents

Mike

[Alan Turner]

The 6 was said to be made so that a site carpenter did not have to carry both a 5 and a 7, i.e., the weight. Were I buyng today, I would have a 5 and an 8, with a 5 coming first. Each to his own.

[Mike Henderson]

Some people advocate a long plane for jointing. However, you can do it with a shorter plane, like a #5, if you use a straight edge to check your board as you plane, especially if you don't joint really long boards. A good straight edge is one of the pair of winding sticks, if you make your winding sticks long enough. I have a #7 plane which I almost never use. And when I talk to other woodworkers, I find they rarely use their long planes, either.

An additional advantage is that used Stanley #5 planes are pretty common, and thus not too expensive.

If possible, see if you can borrow a #5 and a #7 from someone and try some jointing to see what the difference is.

Mike