I can't decide.

[Tim Cooper Louisiana]

There is an arts and crafts cabinet made out of spalted maple and cherry that Schwarz made for some hand tools. I know that I want to make that one day. I'd guess that is my first "target project". I told me friend that I wanted to build it when the Roubo was done, and he politely told me to practice more first. Thus boxes. Dovetailed boxes. I am very appreciative of all the advice I've received so far. There are some really talented and smart individuals on this forum!

[Andrey Kharitonkin]

Narrow plane, or narrow shaving?

You can make a wide plane take a narrow shaving with blade camber, which is why I said you'd want a dedicated cambered blade for roughing. IMO that's enough, but then again I prefer to rough with a Jack (BD #5 or #5-1/4W) rather than a scrub to begin with, as I find that the longer sole is convenient. As always there's more than one way to do it :-).

Don't get me wrong: I don't think the BUJ is an optimal roughing plane. It's width coupled with the low bed angle mean that you need to use a LOT of camber to get a suitably narrow/deep shaving. If I were starting where the OP is I'd prioritize the jointer much higher than another rouging plane though.

You are right. I have only wide blades, #4 1/2 and #5 1/2. Probably alright with #5 or #5-1/4W and high camber as a scrub. But Veritas Scrub is also shorter and lighter and bigger mouth. Obviously, too many ways to do the same thing.

[Patrick Chase]

You are right. I have only wide blades, #4 1/2 and #5 1/2. Probably alright with #5 or #5-1/4W and high camber as a scrub. But Veritas Scrub is also shorter and lighter and bigger mouth. Obviously, too many ways to do the same thing.

There's a trick to grinding a blade to efficiently take a narrow shaving from a wide plane.

The key thing to recognize is that you don't need to camber parts of the blade that won't be cutting. For example, if you have a 2.25" plane like Tim's BUJ but you only want to take <=1.5" shavings (which is pretty typical for roughing) then the outer 3/8" on each side of the blade will never touch wood.

You can therefore profile the leading edge so that it follows an arc of the desired radius through the central 1.5", but then continues straight (and tangent to the end of the arc, such that the edge profile is never concave) to the edge. You can create that shape more quickly and with less metal removed than if you tried to grind a uniform arc of the same radius from the center all the way to the edges.

[Mike Holbrook]

I find it a little odd that there seem to be a number of posters suggesting a #8 metal jointer here. I believe there are good woodworkers on these pages who do not even use a #7 but prefer a #6. Recently quite a few people have become fans of wood mid size/try planes with double irons for jointing. Of those who have planes longer than 22" I suspect quite a few are using wood planes.

The #8's job, one might think, would be to surface long large pieces. I suspect that even on this hand tool centric forum you might find that people doing large jobs like that would use a planer. There are reasonably priced small "lunch box" planers that many people use for these jobs. I suspect that there are many more posters who's largest metal plane is a #7, #6, mid to large wood plane. I doubt many on these pages use a metal #8 on a regular basis. In some of the more recent posts on jointing, experienced posters revealed that they use shorter, down to #3 & #4, planes to joint small pieces.

I also suspect that BU planes do a great deal more jointing than recent posts might lead one to believe. Certainly chip breakers have become very popular for some good reasons. However, for most popular woods I think the BU planes do a very respectable job. I suspect that the ability to maintain a very sharp blade and familiarity with a specific tool are more important than whether or not the plane is BU or BD. As Derek mentions in an earlier post the new Custom #7 by LV, which has all the features of the LV BU planes plus a chip breaker, would have to be considered a contender for the most versatile long jointer.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Let me get this straight- this is your GIRLFRIEND, and you have a limit of $600? My WIFE gives me a limit of $100. My suggestion is MARRY THAT GIRL!!!!!

I have the Veritas bevel-up planes; all of them. I love them. I love that I can have three irons sharpened at three different angles and cover soft woods to figured hardwoods. I also love the toothed blade, which I now use quite a bit.

That said, I am saving up to buy a LN #8 because I long for a bigger, chunkier jointer for larger surfaces. I don't have a powered jointer either, and what I do is joint it by hand, then use a thickness planer to match the other side. You don't have to perfectly joint it smooth- just joint it so that it lays flat when it goes through the planer, then flip it over once you have thicknessed it and one more pass to touch up your hand jointing. After that I smooth by hand. For my Roubo build I did all the edge jointing by hand, but I admit for the top I gave up shortly and loaded everything in the Jeep and took it to the big shop where I have access to lots of tool drool and used a big powered jointer. That's only because of SO MANY board feet to joint.

SO... get a jointer, and if any money left, get a good block plane. The 60 1/2 is good, and the apron plane is also good. The difference is the apron plane doesn't have an adjustable mouth. I find I really do not need the adjustable mouth that much and I wind up using the apron plane more than the larger adjustable one.

If you really want to spend some money, the plane(s) that would be the last ones I would ever give up if forced to sell everything would be the Veritas skewed rabbeting block plane set. (2 planes- L & R). They are so versatile that I find them to be the best $350(ish) I've spent so far.

Now, back to this girlfriend- do you know what a good thing you have here? You do realize that now that you've posted this all over the internet there are going to be potential suitors busting down her door. I suggest you buy a ring as fast as you can and seal that deal.

Everything that Malcolm said, particularly about the wife's birthday budget. Definitely the trio of LV BU planes plus a good block plane. I have the standard LV low angle block plane with the optional tote and knob. Makes it like a small smoother to boot.

As for your hand planing skills: read up; watch the pros, and practice, practice, practice. FWIW, my wife loves the little curls of fire starter that my hand planing produces.

[Jim Koepke]

I suspect that there are many more posters who's largest metal plane is a #7, #6, mid to large wood plane. I doubt many on these pages use a metal #8 on a regular basis. In some of the more recent posts on jointing, experienced posters revealed that they use shorter, down to #3 & #4, planes to joint small pieces.

My #6 gets a lot of work, but so does my #8. Just for the educational value last week a #3 was given a shot at some jointing of a longer piece.

For smaller pieces a #5 or #5-1/4 are excellent for jointing.

The difference for most people is they do not want to have one of each available so they 'pick their fleet' and work at getting those planes to do the job.

I really do like my LN #62. Occasionally it does get some jointing work but mostly it is my shooting plane.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

My 607 Bedrock is used occasionally, my #6 Bailey never is used, my 604 and 605 are used occaisonally.

My #5 1/2 Bailey is used frequently and my #3 Bailey is my most used plane.

I will not part with any of them.

[Patrick Chase]

I find it a little odd that there seem to be a number of posters suggesting a #8 metal jointer here. I believe there are good woodworkers on these pages who do not even use a #7 but prefer a #6. Recently quite a few people have become fans of wood mid size/try planes with double irons for jointing. Of those who have planes longer than 22" I suspect quite a few are using wood planes.

The #8's job, one might think, would be to surface long large pieces. I suspect that even on this hand tool centric forum you might find that people doing large jobs like that would use a planer. There are reasonably priced small "lunch box" planers that many people use for these jobs. I suspect that there are many more posters who's largest metal plane is a #7, #6, mid to large wood plane. I doubt many on these pages use a metal #8 on a regular basis. In some of the more recent posts on jointing, experienced posters revealed that they use shorter, down to #3 & #4, planes to joint small pieces.

The reason the #8 has been discussed so much in this thread is because the OP specifically asked about it all the way back in #1. Folks are simply trying to be helpful and answer his questions as he posed them.

The difference in "ideal workpiece length" between a #6 and a #8 isn't all that huge. The #6 is 18" long and IMO is ideal for jointing pieces 18-36" long, the 8 is 24" long and ideal for 24-48" pieces. It's more a question of preference and working style.

I also suspect that BU planes do a great deal more jointing than recent posts might lead one to believe. Certainly chip breakers have become very popular for some good reasons. However, for most popular woods I think the BU planes do a very respectable job. I suspect that the ability to maintain a very sharp blade and familiarity with a specific tool are more important than whether or not the plane is BU or BD. As Derek mentions in an earlier post the new Custom #7 by LV, which has all the features of the LV BU planes plus a chip breaker, would have to be considered a contender for the most versatile long jointer.

You can joint with basically any plane, including ones that most folks would consider far too short. You're right that if the wood has straight, favorably oriented grain then the chipbreaker isn't necessary. Keep in mind however that the OP already has a BU Jack, so he's already covered in the "large BU plane" department.

I'm not sure what you mean by "has all the features" as those are VERY different planes. The #7 is more top-heavy with a higher "center of effort", and it can't go as low in terms of cutting angle (though it can get down to 40 deg with custom a frog, which is pretty impressive).

[paul cottingham]

You absolutely can't go wrong with a set of bevel up planes, especially a jointer and a jack. If I was starting over, I would seriously consider a jointer and a jack in the new LV customizable planes, which allows you to change them later for other needs.

[Mike Holbrook]

I made my comments about the #8, knowing the OP specifically asked about it. I was specifically thinking that he might want a larger perspective regarding the #8 related to general use and the planes he has. He actually mentioned the LV BU jointer and jack plane first.

Certainly the new Custom Veritas planes bare much more in common with their predecessor BU family members than Stanley type planes. The OP apparently has a Veritas BU plane now and would have some familiarity with the adjustment system and features. He apparently has access to other LV planes too, so he can try them before buying.

Patrick it is good to know I got at least one out of three of my comments to the OP half "right" in your opinion ;-) Maybe it would be more appropriate to address your comments to the OP instead of correcting and editing other posters.