What planes do you regret buying?

[Doug Dawson]

With the Lee Valley Cyber Monday sale coming, I can feel my willpower weakening.
I'm leery of buying stuff that I don't need.

What tools have you regretted buying?

Please talk me out of buying more planes.

Probably a Stanley #45. Super nifty looking, but mediocre at everything it does. Long since joined the pantheon of the departed.

Second would be a LN #140 skew block, You always have better options than that.

[Prashun Patel]

Bullnose plane.

[steven c newman]

Used a lot, when doing drywall.....

[Frank Pratt]

This one is easy...
There are a few planes that I regret that I haven't tuned up yet (#3 type 11), as I want to use it...
And then there is a #5 that I want to dislike because it is so ugly, but it works so well with a widened mouth and cambered blade...

But the one that I do regret: Surform Pocket Plane...

Ugh. I'd imagine this would be great for cub scouts to use to shape wood. I'd recommend 60-grit sandpaper glued onto blocks of wood, instead.

Matt

Those are a great tool for doing drywall work. I can't imagine that they'd be much good on wood though.

[Mike Cornwall]

I was just reading along and thinking, “the time to buy anything is when I see it, don’t go looking.” Then I saw your post and punched in the distance to Villa Park! Ha

I just bought too many. I really need to sell some of them. I bought multiples of some sizes thinking I'd always have another one to reach for when the first started getting dull. But I don't do that - I stop and sharpen.

I just need to make up my mind to go through my bench planes and sell off some of them.

Mike

[Kurtis Johnson]

That's interesting. I actually picked up a LV #6 during one of these Cyber Monday Lee Valley sales and it has become one of the most used planes I own. I've turned it into a jack plane and honestly prefer this over the #5's I used to use. I still break out the #5's for this purpose if the blade is dull in the #6 but am always bummed at the smaller size when I do. I just prefer the larger reference surface when flattening boards with the #6.

Hmm, I say while nodding. You must have Popeye-sized forearms to use a hulking No. 6 as a jack for hogging off material. Now, while I myself am no slouch at arm wrestling, I’d loath using a No. 6 for dimensioning lumber. It is nice to see No. 6’s get some love.

[Jim Matthews]

ECE plow plane.

Shavings of any thickness jam, fence inevitably shifts.
Everything I detest in tools: fiddly, expensive and ineffective.

[Andrew Seemann]

Andrew, could you post an image of this plane. It doesn't appear to be listed on the Old Tool Haven site > https://oldtoolheaven.com/blok/blok.htm

Could you possibly be referring to the Millers Falls equivalent of the Stanley #140?

jtk

It's the Miller's Falls version of the Stanley #140. I've always wanted a Stanley or LN #95, but I have never been willing to spend that much on a plane. The most expensive one I have is a Stanley compass plane (I don't remember the number) that I paid a little over $100 for. i was on the fence on that one, but it was an in-person buy, and the plane was in good condition, and I specifically needed a compass plane.

[Andrew Seemann]

I can't say "regret" because they're worth more than I paid a decade ago. But I just can't see that I need #3, 4, 4 1/2, 5, 5 1/4, 5 1/2, 6, 7 and 8. I sold off the duplicates and now I'm deciding which ones to keep as users. Maybe 3, 5, 7 and the low angle jack and jointer are enough. I need to decide of if I'd rather have a 4 1/2 or a 5 1/2 instead of a 5. The 6 and 8 are moving on no matter what. I just don't need all the excess and just the users are quite a collection.

I meet a hoarder and the only difference is my junk is organized.

I have all those standard angle bench planes except the 5 1/4 and the 5 1/2. If I could only keep 3 of them, it would be 4, 5, and 7. Four would be 3, 4, 5, and 7. Fortunately, I don't need to get rid of any

[Jim Koepke]

It's the Miller's Falls version of the Stanley #140. I've always wanted a Stanley or LN #95, but I have never been willing to spend that much on a plane. The most expensive one I have is a Stanley compass plane (I don't remember the number) that I paid a little over $100 for. i was on the fence on that one, but it was an in-person buy, and the plane was in good condition, and I specifically needed a compass plane.

A compass plane is a handy thing to have if one does curved work.

My Stanley #95 was one to get me biting the bullet and then not finding a lot of use for it. Maybe it should be given another try at cutting sliding dovetails. Otherwise one of these days it may get sold.

jtk

[Josh Robinson]

LN medium shoulder plane. Maybe not regret, but definitely not as useful as I thought it would be.

[justin sherriff]

A Stanley no 62 It is a nice looking plane but has a chip in the mouth. I do not use it for fear of chipping it out more. so it sits in the tool box and I think about selling it to buy a good crosscut saw witch I need more.
And a no.4 1/2 that I picked up at the same time I just seam to like using a no.3 more.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Well, a week ago I would have said my LN 97 1/2 chisel plane. But then I used it to flush trim 20 Cocobolo dowels and it was the perfect tool for the job. Left an absolutely beautiful and perfect surface. Initially I used a chisel, but Cocobolo being really hard and base material poplar being soft it was slow going. Didn’t relish spending a couple of hours on that job and then probably having to sand it smooth. Then I remembered my long idle chisel plane and, voila! Now it’s a certain keeper.

[Anuj Prateek]

LV side rabbet. Used once and never found any use since.

Woodriver #5. Used for few months till I bought LV #7, which has become my default plane now.

[Dominik Dudkiewicz]

Like others, I don't regret any of them. I think i'm at just over 40 atm (mix of LV, LN &HNT Gordon). Having said that, I no longer really use the LV Bevel up bench planes (perhaps only the BU smoother at times) I have as I always reach for the Bevel Down LN bench planes in preference. Nothing wrong with the LV, but I just prefer using the bevel down planes. I also use the large shoulder in preference to the medium 98% of the time. I'm still reluctant to even consider moving them on tho .

Part of me also wants a LN shooting plane vs the LV that I have. The LV works great and I love it, but something about the LN version calls to me haha.

The LV planes I love are the small plow, the Skew Rebate(s) and the large router.

As long as you buy quality I don't think there will be any real regrets!

Cheers, Dom