OK, educate me a little more.......

[Dennis Peacock]

I have a few handplanes. I'm trying to learn what each on is to be used for so I can incorporate each ones use on current and future projects. To me, ain't nuttin' better'n being edumuhkated about what each one is used for and how.
I have:
Stanley Jointer plane - kinda understand the uses of that one.
Stanley #4 smoother
Record Jack plane
I have a couple more, but can't recall the # of them right off hand. I'll check them out and will post an update later.

[Karl Laustrup]

Have you tried using 'em on the lathe Dennis? Just chuck up a chunk 'o wood and start shavin. :D :D

Just funning wit ya.

Karl

[Dennis Peacock]

Have you tried using 'em on the lathe Dennis? Just chuck up a chunk 'o wood and start shavin. :D :D

Just funning wit ya.

Karl

Nope....not yet, but don't think for one second that I haven't "thought" about it already.:rolleyes: ;)

[Dennis Peacock]

OK....I have a mix of Record, Stanley, Miller Falls and Bedrock handplanes. I don't have a full suite of planes, but I at least have a start on a collection to be used in the shop.

[Mark Rios]

Nope....not yet, but don't think for one second that I haven't "thought" about it already.:rolleyes: ;)


I say go ahead and try it. What is it you turning folks say?.......It's all in the presentation?




:D :D :D

[Alan DuBoff]

Dennis,

Names/numbers are arbitrary, since all planes are really a blade supported in a base. But the sizes come in handy for doing some stuff. As an example, there will be times when you can't get a larger plane into a given area, and a block plane will be the only one that will fit.

Typically a smoother (No 4?) is used to smooth the surface, but to flatten it you would most likely want something a bit larger, such as a Jack plane or Jointer. The longer the plane, the better it will produce a flat surface, in theory (there are always exceptions I 'spose).

A Jack is between a smoother and a jointer, and typically folks would refer to a No 5 or a No 6 as a Jack. A No 7 and a No 8 are both considered Jointers. The No 8 is a couple inches longer than the No 7, and most typically considered to be the largest of the common planes, AFAIK. Some folks like the No 7 as it's a bit lighter, and other prefer the No 8 as it is larger and has more heft. It really gets down to preference, and nobody will attempt to murder you if you use a Jack to joint the edge of a small 10" board. At least I won't. It will be hard to see the advantage of using a 24" plane on a 10" board, IMO.

Many folks have a complete collection of the common bench planes, but I only have a Smoother (4C), and Jointer (8). A block plane is similar in size to a No 1, and the No 1 is a quite rare plane to find, they didn't seem to make that many of them. The reason is most likely that craftsmen preferred a smaller block plane, since the sole was very similar. Seems that cost was a big factor in the days when most of these vintage planes were manufactured, and I would bet that the cost of the block plane was less than a No 1.

Aside from the rare No 1s, and the semi-rare No 2s, many folks own 3-8.

Most everyone owns a block plane because of how useful they are. I use mine for all types of stuff, from planing dovetails to planing window trim, and many things in between. It's also much easier to carry a block plane in an apron than it is a No 1, for instance. So, like most things in life, convenience and value could have dictated why so few No 1s were sold and tons of block planes (I have an old 60 1/2).

Blood & Gore has a lot of info on all of the Stanley planes. You can check there for much more info, although you need to be aware that Patrick Leech certainly has his own views and opinions on specific planes, some that don't coincide with other craftsmen. BG is not a bad place to start, IMO, though. See this link (http://www.supertool.com/) to get started.

The hand plane slope is a very slippery one, with so many different planes to want after starting to understand the various models. Many are duplicates and/or improved models over the previous ones, but there are many...you can be certain of that.

This is all my non-professional and completely biased opinion :D, so don't take anything I've typed in this message as a section of anyone's woodworking bible. I am one of the followers of the "old testament" which my interpetation of such states that craftsmen should use the tools that work for them. ;)

[Jim Becker]

Have you tried using 'em on the lathe Dennis? Just chuck up a chunk 'o wood and start shavin.

You laugh. I've done it with my block plane when I was doing the 10" diameter base spindle for our kitchen table. I "don't do skew" and wanted a nice, even, smooth surface. Worked like a charm at low RPM!

Dennis, I know that the jointer plane usage seems obvious, but one I saw demonstrated awhile back was to knock off the high spots on a big slab as part of the flattening process. Saw the same for flattening a workbench.

[Roy Griggs]

Dennis,
A relative inexpensive and readily available reference book that I thought was particularly well done is Taunton's "Working With Handplanes". It's a compilation of FWW articles. Gives a little more info than #8 is for flattening #4 is for smoothing; includes some tips for uses and tricks that aren't what you usually think of using a plane for. Although I don't remember them recommending using one at the lathe!!! I'm sure there are old texts from masters that are better but this is easy to find and cheep!

[Eddie Darby]

http://workshop.tjmahaffey.com/workshop/planes1.php

Lots of info!

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks guys........I really appreciate all the great info. I have more reading to do and maybe I can even swing a book out of this ordeal with the LOML. :rolleyes:

I know all this is boring and old news to many of you, but hey, I'm just learning all this and want to teach my kids about handtools as I get better at it. ;)

[Jerry Palmer]

Dennis,
I wrote up a somewhat humerous article called Plane Confusion on my website, here

http://home.austin.rr.com/sawduster/Plane%20Confusion/Plane%20Confusion.htm

It covers the basic bench plane nomenclature as well as some of the speciallized ones.

[Karl Laustrup]

Thanks for that Jerry. I just skimmed through it and realized it's something I want to really read so I saved it for future reference.

Karl

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks for all the help and the educational reading. OK...back to reading my new online docs for learning about handplanes. Thank YOU!!!!!

[Zahid Naqvi]

Dennis, borrow "the hand plane book" by Garret Hack from Joe. It is an excellent source of info and is very well written. With lots of colored pichres