Second Hand Plane to Get?

[Jim Koepke]

Drop me a PM.

I've got spares in need of a good home.

Right here in Taxachusetts.

During my rust hunting days driving the distance equal to the two farthest distances in Massachusetts was nothing for a promising hunt.

jtk

[Jerome Andrieux]

I recently purchased a wood river low angle block plane and find it quite useful and have become addicted to hand planes and need to feed the beast.

What would be the most useful second plane to get? I was thinking jointing plane but hope to buy an 10 inch Wahuda bench jointer soon. Smoothing, Bench?

I do some cabinet type projects and a variety of misc type projects (no specific discipline), have a CNC, 12" bench planer, good sized combo sander, table saw etc.

it seems you don’t "need" anything else than comforting your options. You are going to buy a third, then a forth, then lose count.

I would start with a jack, which can act as a smoother and short jointer. You’ll grab this 5 or 5 1/2 all day.

[Jim Matthews]

During my rust hunting days driving the distance equal to the two farthest distances in Massachusetts was nothing for a promising hunt.

jtk

If you're looking for anything in particular, I'm thinning the herd.

[john zulu]

I recently purchased a wood river low angle block plane and find it quite useful and have become addicted to hand planes and need to feed the beast.

What would be the most useful second plane to get? I was thinking jointing plane but hope to buy an 10 inch Wahuda bench jointer soon. Smoothing, Bench?

I do some cabinet type projects and a variety of misc type projects (no specific discipline), have a CNC, 12" bench planer, good sized combo sander, table saw etc.

I assume that you have a router too and power sander? There are some specialist plane like scrub plane, side rabbet and plow planes. Maybe a rabbet can be of use to you. With that amount of power equipment
I am not sure hand plane would be a real game changer. If you DO not want dust, then #4 will do very nicely on smoothing.

[Jim Koepke]

I am not sure hand plane would be a real game changer. If you DO not want dust, then #4 will do very nicely on smoothing.

John makes a good point. Each hand plane has its area of speciality. The best way to find an answer to your question is to determine what need you want a plane to fill.

Smoothing minor machine marks on the face of a board could be done with a #4 or similar size plane.

Saw marks along an edge can be removed quickly with a longer plane. Short pieces with a jack plane, longer pieces with a longer plane.

Get familiar with the standard planes before venturing off into the specialist planes. They can do some great things:

Cutting Grooves with #50.jpg

A simple plow plane can be used to cut grooves, rabbets and beads.

Your machinery is able to do some of that.

jtk

[Rob Luter]

Just get a decent #5 jack/fore plane.....learn ti use it. Then either a #3 OR #4 smooth plane.....

The Jack can be used to not only skip plane a board relatively flat, it can reasonably joint most edges....usually up to 4' long ( BTDTGTTS), and...set with a straight edged iron, can be a LONG bed smoother.

The #3 vs the #4......the #3 can get into places the #4 can't, is a tad lighter....and the iron is 1/4" narrower.....

IF, after a while....you feel like a "true" jointer plane...either a #6 or a #7.....both can also flatten glued up panels. The #8 will wear you out, hard to keep level on a surface like a 3/4" wide edge...iron is 2-5/8" wide, after all...plane weighs in at around 10 pounds. The #5-1/2, the #6, and the #7 all take the same width iron..2-3/8" wide....main difference is the length of the sole.

So...next plane? Get a jack plane....does a lot of jobs decently enough...bevel up vs bevel down? Meh.....I prefer bevel down...

^^^^^^^^^

This, but I’d fill other holes prior to buying a jointer. I got one many years ago. A Sweetheart era #7 that was like new for cheap. Couldn’t pass it up. I’ve used it twice.

[John McKissick]

I assume that you have a router too and power sander? There are some specialist plane like scrub plane, side rabbet and plow planes. Maybe a rabbet can be of use to you. With that amount of power equipment
I am not sure hand plane would be a real game changer. If you DO not want dust, then #4 will do very nicely on smoothing.

I have two routers, a big Bosch with fixed and plunge base and a smaller Dewalt. I made an extension wing for my Bosch jobsite table saw. I also have a small Dewalt palm router attached to my Millright mega V CNC. I have a decent start on bits for both applications.

I have a good sized combo Rikon Disk/Belt sander, a older Craftsman belt sander and a quarter sheet sander. I know I need a RAS.

I have heard at least one in this thread advocate a jointer would be a waste of time.

[Jim Koepke]

[edited]
I have heard at least one in this thread advocate a jointer would be a waste of time.

If you are working short pieces, a jointer may be low on the list of planes needed.

If you plan to make and work on large panels for cabinetry you might find a longer plane useful.

If one is only using lumber that is already surfaced four sides, one could likely get by with nothing bigger than a #5.

We each have our own projects. A person who is mostly making small boxes might find a #1 & #2 useful. A person regularly making full sized wardrobes might be hard pressed to find a need for such a small plane.

The projects one plans to make has more to do with determining the tools one needs than all of the opinions of any number of woodworkers.

jtk

[Rob Luter]

Well said Jim. We often forget tool utility is a matter of context.

[Michael J Evans]

I bought a 30" wood jointer not very long ago. Maybe it is the new toy thing going on, but I pull it out on everything. For me the long jointer helps my lack of ability to get a straight edge with a shorter plane. But I also didn't have a jointer or planer machine when I bought it. If I already had machines like you, I would likely get a 5 or 4.

[John McKissick]

If you are working short pieces, a jointer may be low on the list of planes needed.

If you plan to make and work on large panels for cabinetry you might find a longer plane useful.

If one is only using lumber that is already surfaced four sides, one could likely get by with nothing bigger than a #5.

We each have our own projects. A person who is mostly making small boxes might find a #1 & #2 useful. A person regularly making full sized wardrobes might be hard pressed to find a need for such a small plane.

The projects one plans to make has more to do with determining the tools one needs than all of the opinions of any number of woodworkers.

jtk

I don't have a normal in my work which is more a hobby. Some cabinet type construction, so far a fair amount plywood/painted

finished doors.jpg

[justin sherriff]

This, but I’d fill other holes prior to buying a jointer. I got one many years ago. A Sweetheart era #7 that was like new for cheap. Couldn’t pass it up. I’ve used it twice.

I have been using my no. 7 more then any other one plane. Flattening out 1 face be for going threw the planer, edge jointing, smoothing out panels after glue ups, as a shooting plane.
Just goes to show that there is no end all be all way to wood work.

Still I would say get a no. 4 or 4-1/2 for your next plane.

[John McKissick]

I bought a 30" wood jointer not very long ago. Maybe it is the new toy thing going on, but I pull it out on everything. For me the long jointer helps my lack of ability to get a straight edge with a shorter plane. But I also didn't have a jointer or planer machine when I bought it. If I already had machines like you, I would likely get a 5 or 4.

30 inches! That's a beast

[Harold Patterson]

Without a doubt a smoother. I would suggest a #4. The #4 in addition to smoothing can do some short jointing as well. I would work with these two planes for a while before looking to add anymore planes. Good luck.

[Josh Robinson]

I’ve concluded that anything more than three planes is for collectors (like many of us become) or professional woodworkers (who do a lot of linear feet of a variety of planing task). I’ve found that lately I seem to keep a 102 block plane, a number 4 and a number 6 on the bench. With the number 6 getting more and more play time....