The shooting plane. Just about everything else can be found more or less cheaply.
The shooting plane. Just about everything else can be found more or less cheaply.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
Brandon,
Vintage planes work better for me, it's not a cost thing nor nostalgia, the supposed connection to past workers and all that rot. Of course everyone works differently and has different needs but as mentioned in an earlier post, Bailey pattern chip breakers work better to control tear out, the planes are lighter, the irons are easier to sharpen and keep sharp. Once the frog is set there is no need to change it and if you do want to, a correctly tensioned post type 9 Bailey frog can be adjusted easier than a Bedrock pattern frog. Bottom line while LN and LV planes are beautiful and very well made for my use they offer no advantage except in cases where collectors have driven the price higher than a new LN or LV because with used planes there is usually a burn rate, with new one from LN or LV there isn't.
I hope that helps,
ken
Nicholas,
I almost never use a long metal plane, woodies are the only way to go. Maybe if I were still 20 years old and could still pick up the back end of VW's I might use the LN #8 instead of it collecting dust in the plane till. ECE planes are very inexpensive and work well, I also have all of Steve's planes and they are exceptional.
ken
Reading the fervency of the responses and knowing the fervency of my own opinion, I'm concluding that this is completely personal. Buy what your gut says. All 3 of those choices from those 2 makers will resell fairly easily if your gut, skills, or preferences change in a year.
I made that choice about five years ago and went with the Lie-Nielsen no. 4 (not bronze). I have a couple other smoothers ranging from Stanleys, Bedrock and a couple no. 3’s including Woodriver. Some with stock irons, a couple with Hock irons and one Stanley type 11 equipped with the PM V-11cutter. I’ve spent time with all of them and they work well but as soon as I pick up the Lie-Nielsen I experience a difference in how much better it seems to work. And so far I’ve had no trouble sharpening the A2 iron.
Don't know why I'm bothering, as Prashun says it's personal. However....
Since the original premise implies a willingness to learn to restore & setup old planes, I suggest the best strategy is to get on with it. Acquire the planes you can, restore them, and use them. Later, only when it becomes clear which plane you are missing for your work flow that can't be found reasonably (condition or price), cash in your premium plane "coupon" to fill the hole you've identified.
All the specific suggestions are the suggesters favorite or least available plane and only coincidentally align with anyone else's needs.
I also use mainly wooden bodied planes, but still I can't help but use a #7 and #4 LN pretty regularly. I prefer to edge joint with an iron bodied plane because they do not wear to any degree along the center. Edge jointing with a wooden plane is harsh on the plane sole if the edge that you are jointing is narrower than the sole.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
The OP is asking a question that doesn't have a universally accepted answer. Some folks, have one of everything, yet will continue to buy any new thing that comes along. Others have a few trusted tools that they have used for years and have no reason to buy anything new.
That's an interesting comment; I have to disagree. I've edge jointed thousands of feet of stock with wooden planes and not had any problems with wear.
The only place I've found wear to be an issue is with end grain shooting, because (A) you're always hitting the sole in the same spot, at least if your shooting board is not ramped, and (B) end grain is so much harder and more abrasive. But with long grain planing in a vise, it's really not an issue for me. I might be biased though.
"For me, chairs and chairmaking are a means to an end. My real goal is to spend my days in a quiet, dustless shop doing hand work on an object that is beautiful, useful and fun to make." --Peter Galbert
my choice LN LA Jack....
Jerry
I agree with Stan on this one, although I'm a LV fan.
A good vintage jointer is hard to find used.
They seem to get dinged, dropped, warped, etc.
By the time you've counted how many hours it took you to lap it true and flat, the LN or LV will look really cheap.
-Matt
ps. FWIW, I think the custom bevel down LV jointer is better than their bevel up because of the square sides. Much more useful to joint thinner pieces of wood. This was Stan's greatest argument in favor of the LN over the LV at the time...and he was right! Make sure your jointer has square sides.
pps. Depends on what you're doing. If you're guitarbuilding, you'd be hard pressed to beat a LV LA BU Jack. It's just the right size for jointing tops/backs, thicknessing, and precision work.
By the time you've counted how many hours it took you to lap it true and flat, the LN or LV will look really cheap.
Yes, though it's pleasant mindless work.
My #7 took me the longest to clean up the rust off the sole and it wasn't more than an hour. To the best of my recollection most of my planes didn't get much lapping of the sole. Mostly it is a smoother that needs lapping and then only if you want to see how thin you can shave wood.By the time you've counted how many hours it took you to lap it true and flat, the LN or LV will look really cheap.
My #7 cost me $21.25. For the hours put in on rehabbing it someone would have to be paying me some pretty good money to make the LN or LV look cheap in comparison. Being retired gives me more time than others. It may also offer less disposable income.
The #7 took a bit more time since not only was it in a pretty bad state, it was documented and painted. Of all my planes the #4 and the #7 were repainted and give me a warm fuzzy feeling each time they are in use.
Here is the rehab post:
https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....ker-to-Jointer
As Ray said, it can be pleasant and rewarding work.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)