Jack plane and smoothing plane

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Hi all,

I am starting to use planes in my woodworking shop and am curious about what differentiates a jack plane from a smoothing plane. I thought it had to do with the angle of the blade in the plane. I thought the smoothing plane would be at about a 45 degree angle while the jack plane would be less than that.

I was also under the impression that the length of the sole determines what is a jack plane and what is a smoothing plane; the smoothing plane being shorter than the jack plane.

Is this true? Or can a jack plane be a smoothing plane and vise versa.

I don't mind telling you I am confused.

[Bob Jones]

Jack is short for jack of all trades - meaning it can generally do anything. That being said, any bench plane can be a smoother as that is more a function. People tend to designate short planes as smoothers. They can have blades bedded at any angle. Jacks tend to be medium length planes and most have blades at a 45 deg angle. Jointers tend to be longer. It's all generalized. I suggest you find some good books and get reading. anything by Robert Wearing or Charles Hayward would be excellent. Have fun learning!

[Roy Lindberry]

Hi all,

I am starting to use planes in my woodworking shop and am curious about what differentiates a jack plane from a smoothing plane. I thought it had to do with the angle of the blade in the plane. I thought the smoothing plane would be at about a 45 degree angle while the jack plane would be less than that.

I was also under the impression that the length of the sole determines what is a jack plane and what is a smoothing plane; the smoothing plane being shorter than the jack plane.

Is this true? Or can a jack plane be a smoothing plane and vise versa.

I don't mind telling you I am confused.

"Jack" plane is a confusing term, in my opinion since it really tells you nothing of the function of the plane. Certainly, it is the "jack of all trades" plane, which means that it can be set up and used for many functions, but it only really excels at one thing. It is too short to be a really good jointer, though it can be used for that. The sole is too long to work as a smoother, particularly in small areas, or spot smoothing. What it is good for, and has been traditionally used for is rough work - hogging off a lot of material quickly.

For this reason, I actually prefer the term "fore plane" to "jack plane", because it is more descriptive of the use of the plane: the one that goes before all the others. My number 5 is set up with a heavy camber on the iron and it removes stock quickly. Could it be set up as a smoother or a jointer? Sure, but smoothers and jointers are better for those jobs.

Standard angle planes are bedded at 45 degrees, which includes smoothers, jointers, try planes, and fore planes (jacks). However, smoothers can also be found pitched higher, which reduces tear out.

You might find this episode of the Woodwright's Shop helpful in understanding the differences.

[Mike Holbrook]

What Bob said. You will also see #'s 3-4 1/2 are more Smooth, 5 is a Jack, 6 Fore Plane, 7-8 Jointers....Stanley created a numbering system to reference general plane types that many other companies have followed, but some companies that make planes use slightly or very different systems. I think you will find most people refer to the three plane names and numbers I mentioned as bench planes. There are other less frequently used planes: molding planes, router planes, shoulder planes....It might help to think in terms of the order planes are used in, generally starting with planes designed to remove more wood with little precision. These are medium sized Jack or Scrub planes. The longer jointer planes are used to remove high spots from surfaces, usually after the rough work is done. The smooth planes are usually the more precise planes that are used for final finishing of the surface, sometimes instead of sandpaper. Jointer planes are also used to work the edges of boards to make them level and 90 degrees to the surface of the board. There is another type of plane you will hear about frequently, called a block plane. Block planes are small planes that are easy to keep handy for touching up work.

There are knowledgable people who may use just one plane for everything there are others who may have dozens....Then there are metal Vs Wood planes, vs Japanese planes, which are very different than western planes...The subject gets complicated, but is generally simpler if you know a little about the Stanley naming and numbering system. If you study up a little on the Stanley numbering system you will have a good general idea of the types of western planes.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi all,

I am starting to use planes in my woodworking shop and am curious about what differentiates a jack plane from a smoothing plane. I thought it had to do with the angle of the blade in the plane. I thought the smoothing plane would be at about a 45 degree angle while the jack plane would be less than that.

I was also under the impression that the length of the sole determines what is a jack plane and what is a smoothing plane; the smoothing plane being shorter than the jack plane.

Is this true? Or can a jack plane be a smoothing plane and vise versa.

I don't mind telling you I am confused.

There are a lot of things with plane about which to be confused. Fortunately there is a lot of information available to help you get it sorted.

Starting here on SMC is the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs. It is located in the Neanderthal Haven Announcements:

Neander Haven Anno.jpg

It contains a lot of archived information including some good posts on planes.

There are some good finds from Googling > planes smooth jack jointer <:

http://blog.woodworkingtooltips.com/...so-many-sizes/

http://blog.woodworkingtooltips.com/...planes-1-2-2i/

Patrick Leach has a very informative site:

http://www.supertool.com/

This is the home page. I book marked the third page. You will understand when you get there.

He also has a monthly list of tools for sale. His reputation is good his prices will not be the lowest on the block. I like his monthly tool list as it is highly informative.

There are basic categories of planes base on the characteristics of each type. How these designations came about is another subject all in itself.

The Jack and smoothing plane fall into the category of "Bench Planes." In the Stanley/Bailey numbering system these span from #1 through #8 with a #4-1/2, 5-1/4 & 5-1/2 thrown in. The 'American standard' on this has a 45º angle to the blade which is mounted bevel down.

In the last few decades Veritas Tools has developed a line of bevel up planes in various "bench plane" sizes. Many people prefer these to the bevel down design. They do have some compelling advantages.

The next big category is the block plane. These are generally smaller planes. Most do not have a rear tote. (handle) Some actually do have kits or other ways to attach a tote or other hand hold. Many of these are bevel up though some are configured with their bevel down. These are often used for trim work. Low angle block planes are preferred by many to trim end grain.

After that it is pretty much specialty planes. The most common ones you will hear of are rabbet, router and shoulder planes. Then there are the molding planes, hollows & rounds, the multi-planes or combination planes like the Stanley 45.

There is likely more than you wanted to know available just for the looking.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

I do about 80% of planing functions with my #4.

I like the larger planes when I'm smoothing a larger panel, or for truing up edges to square.
It's my belief that the ideal plane size is just a little larger than your open hand.

If you've got bigger hands (mine is 7.5 from wrist to tip of my longest finger) - a larger plane should be considered.
I hold the rear tote with three fingers - index finger extended along the side of the iron.

If you need to wrap all four fingers around the rear tote to handle it, consider a smaller plane.

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Thanks to all for your input. I certainly have my work cut out for me. My hope and intention is to be able to use hand planes for truing up wood instead of buying a jointer. I realize it will take time for me to master, or even become moderately proficient with hand planes, but that is my goal. Wish me luck.

I've bought a few used ones at tag sales and flea markets so I can get some practice with sharpening. That in itself seems almost to be an art.

Jim. I will look into your sites. Thank you for posting them.

Lastly I would offer this observation, that it would seem to be easier to have three dedicated planes, Jack, Joiinter and Smoothing rather than one plane to do all three tasks.

[David Peterson]

Yes, it is easier,,,

Are you cleaning up milled lumber or working with rough cut? That will narrow, or expand, your needs for starters. A good jack plane with a couple of different blades can conceivably do it all.
If you want a complement of bench planes then a jack - jointer - smoother will cover everything from rough to ready --- along with a couple of block planes.

Whatever you start with, get it set up right with a sharp blade or it can be a very frustrating experience. That's where the references and comments above are so valuable.

[Mark Dorman]

Your location is not shown in your profile. There may be another Creeker in your area that can help you decide what may be best for your needs via a test drive.

Wow I feel like I just stole Jim K's parking spot.

[Bill Houghton]

The 14" "jack" plane used to be the first one recommended to purchase, because it could smooth or straighten moderately well. If you're using just one plane, it's ideal if you have more than one iron for it, so you can grind one straight for smoothing and one cambered (curved) for removing major amounts of stock when a board is warped or not straight.

[Matt Ranum]

I have found that after I stumbled onto my first decent old plane, I really enjoyed the learning that came along with it. I'm not a full hand tool type guy, I do like my power tools too but there is something therapeutic about peeling shavings with a finely tuned plane or scraper. I find in my shop I tend to use a #3 and the #5 the most. I found it to be easier for me to have multiple planes that are tuned differently, in other words I have 2 Bailey #5s. 1 is set for smoothing while other is set for more aggressive work.

Make sure you learn just what "sharp" is. When I started I didn't get the results I wanted and I had my irons sharp, at least I thought I did. When I finally learned to properly sharpen a blade it opened a whole other world. I now use waterstones and finish off with rouge on a piece of MDF for final honing and it comes out surgically sharp. Here are a couple pics from when I was playing around with my sharpening.

[Roy Lindberry]

Thanks to all for your input. I certainly have my work cut out for me. My hope and intention is to be able to use hand planes for truing up wood instead of buying a jointer. I realize it will take time for me to master, or even become moderately proficient with hand planes, but that is my goal. Wish me luck.

I've bought a few used ones at tag sales and flea markets so I can get some practice with sharpening. That in itself seems almost to be an art.

Jim. I will look into your sites. Thank you for posting them.

Lastly I would offer this observation, that it would seem to be easier to have three dedicated planes, Jack, Joiinter and Smoothing rather than one plane to do all three tasks.

I don't know if you are familiar with Bob R.'s work or not, but he did an episode on his podcast about doing this with planes. I found it to be really helpful..

http://logancabinetshoppe.com/blog/2010/10/episode-27/

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks to all for your input. I certainly have my work cut out for me. My hope and intention is to be able to use hand planes for truing up wood instead of buying a jointer. I realize it will take time for me to master, or even become moderately proficient with hand planes, but that is my goal. Wish me luck.

I've bought a few used ones at tag sales and flea markets so I can get some practice with sharpening. That in itself seems almost to be an art.

Jim. I will look into your sites. Thank you for posting them.

Lastly I would offer this observation, that it would seem to be easier to have three dedicated planes, Jack, Joiinter and Smoothing rather than one plane to do all three tasks.

Good luck Gerry. It shouldn't take to long to get proficient with hand planes. The most important thing to learn is getting the blades sharp. Sharpening is an art of patience and consistency.

The answer to how many planes to accomplish the tasks at hand depends on your philosophy of tools. Some like to have as few as possible. Some do not mind picking up rusty hunks of iron like cute stray puppies and taking them home.

Depending on the size of your work a #5 might be a fine jointer. The #5 is usually common and cheap. It is easy to set up a #5 for scrub work. Set up another for the major flattening after the scrub plane. It would also work well for jointing work. Have another set up with a tight mouth and a sharp blade that would do well for smoothing.

For me, having multiple planes of the same size set up for different tasks works fine. For someone with limited space it is likely not to work at all.

If that is the case, one plane with multiple blades is another option.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Here are a couple pics from when I was playing around with my sharpening.

Nice shaving Matt. I have been wondering if there is any market for pieces of sub-thou shavings mounted on slides for biology classes or forensic scientists.

I had some nice ones yesterday. Guess I will need to take some pictures before gloating. The biggest embarrassment for me is it came from a modern bevel up plane.

Okay, pictures have been taken. This is a good case of a jack plane being used as a smoother.

Shaving in Micrometer.jpg

I think it is actually reading 0.0004" but the angle makes it look like it is reading at 3.

The wood is alder repurposed from the firewood pile.

In this case it is a low angle bevel up jack, LN #62, doing the work.

Shavings on LN #62.jpg

This is from my current project of making some drawers for small tool storage.

The plane was being used for shooting the end grain and the sides of the burl and started to leave a track from a small nick before the blade was honed.

jtk

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

Again thanks for the input guys. Roy, I found the Logan link excellent. Practice makes perfect, certainly, and I have a LOT of practicing to do.