Which planes needed for final surface preparation?

[Randy Klein]

I'm ready to start using some nicer hand planes than the Home Depot specials I have right now.

I have the necessary power tools to do all my milling and joinery, so my intended use of these planes would be for final surface preparation, i.e. instead of sanding.

But I'm unsure of what planes I need to start out with. I've been doing lots of reading and I've come to the following conclusions:

A block plane, a bench plane, and a scraper are necessary to cover the gamut of situations
You need a variety of bevel angles
Low angle good for end-grain
High angle good for figured wood
Normal angle good for the rest
So get a low-angle (bevel-up) design and if a higher angle is needed, use an iron with a larger bevel angle (Veritas offers different bevel angle irons for their bevel up planes).So I was thinking of the following set:

Block Plane:
Veritas Low Angle Block Plane: http://tinyurl.com/34pkog
Bench Plane:
Veritas Bevel Up Smoother Plane: http://tinyurl.com/24n6xp
Scraper:
Veritas Cabinet Scraper (similar to a #80): http://tinyurl.com/2x6zbn
I already have some card scrapersSo, does anyone have any comments on my conclusions or my choice of planes? Particularly:

Is my bevel-up assessment good? Or am I missing something about the bevel-down design that is superior to the bevel-up?
Do I need more than one bench plane or will the smoother be enough since this is for final surface preparation only?
And how slippery is this slope I keep hearing about?Thanks in advance.

[Dean Lapinel]

Based on what you stated all you need is a scraper. A recent study (well done) also showed that sandpaper was equal to planing for a final finish. There are reasons to use handplanes but a smoother or scaper is a personal preference not a necessity. I go the hand tool route because I enjoy that more.

But...if you understated your desire then I would go with a LV BU jack or the LN low angle (my preference)...both are multipurpose tools that are a hoot and will drive you into the insanity of acquiring even more planes.

[Dan Forman]

And how slippery is this slope I keep hearing about?[/LIST]Thanks in advance.

Why Randy, it's not slippery at all! Come on over to the precipice so I can show you. That's right, nothing to fear. Now, lean out just a bit so you can really see the valley below...oops.

I like the bevel ups, just more versitile than their bevel down counterparts. I think you would be fine with the ones you selected, so long as the edges you are planing are already perfectly straight. The block is a little easier to keep aligned with the edge of a board, at least for me, than a jack, which is easier to tilt a little as you are planing. However, if you have a bit of snipe from your jointer, a jack or jointer plane would do a better job of evening that out. (see first paragraph).

Dan

[Rob Luter]

Hi Randy,

I just took delivery on a LV Bevel Up Jack Plane, the big brother to the smoother you are contemplating. I also bought the 38 degree and 50 degree blades (it comes with the 25 degree). This plane combined with an old Stanley #80 Cabinet Scraper I found at an antique store will take care of any surfacing and jointing need I have. This weekend I used them to bring some rough maple boards to dimension. To be fair, the boards were run through some sort of a planer first, or perhaps a lawn mower, as they were still pretty rough. The LV Jack with the 38 degree blade flattened out the faces in no time, a switch to the 25 degree blade took care of jointing the edges, a quick switch to the 50 degree blade smoothed out some swirly knot areas on the faces, and the #80 scraper took what was already a nice surface to glass like smoothness. No sanding required :D .

I also have a LV medium shoulder plane, a US Stanley 60 1/2 low angle block plane, a British Stanley #4 Bench Plane, a type 9 Bailey #5 Jack, a 100 year old wood transitional jointer, and a no-name low angle block that has a steep grind for spot treatment of knots and such. Of these, I see everything but the 60 1/2 and the shoulder plane gathering dust from now on, that's how well the LV Bevel Up Jack works. I would expect the Veritas scraper to be better than the Stanley #80 too.

I'm sure the BU Smoother you are looking for will work out, but it's a dedicated smoother. I went with the Jack so I could joint and shoot with it as well. Mission accomplished.

Just remember: When in doubt, buy another plane. A note of caution however..... there is no 12 step program available :p.

[Jim Belair]

Randy

I admit a bias towards the Veritas planes partly due to their greater availability here in Canada. That said, I recently tried the Lie-Nielsen Low Angle block and like it better than the LV due to the smaller size. It seemed to fit my hand better and is close in size to the Stanley 60 1/2 I've been using.

Jim B

[Randy Klein]

I finally pulled the trigger on this after reading, I think, every thread in this forum.

And based on the wonderful advice of everyone here, I ordered the LV BU smoother, LA jack, 50 degree iron (since the smoother comes with the 38 and the jack with the 25), and lastly the cabinet scraper.

I'm holding off on the block plane for now...