What should I get for my first hand plane?

[Dave Schreib]

I'm looking to buy my first hand plane. I've never owned or even used one before.

My first task will be to flatten a 27" by 48" 2x4 pine work bench top.

My second task will probably be to plane the end grain on hardwood boards that make up a new exterior porch screen door. I could also see needing to plane the edges of this door to fine tune its fit in the opening.

Can I do all three of those tasks with one plane or am I looking at three different planes?

Either way, I am a fan of buying used tools on Facebook marketplace but of course I have no idea what I am looking at. I dont know what planes are worth, what's junk, what's a jem in the rough, how to tune them up, etc. I also don't currently have the set up to sharpen a plane blade.

Any advice people want to provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Jimmy Harris]

Well, you can plane just about anything with just about any plane. It's really more about technique than tool. But using a plane that's made for the job does make the job easier. So it's kind of up to you if you want to just use one plane for all of that, or three separate planes.

Traditionally, you'd use a Jointer plane to flatten the workbench top. Probably a No. 7, as No. 8's are even more expensive and hard to find. But either would work well for that. Though, if you're careful, you could do with with a No. 3, 4, 5, or 6. The smaller the plane, the harder it will be to get to flat, but if you check your progress often, it's not too difficult. Just a lot of going back and forth between checking and planing.

As for the end grain, you usually want a bevel up plane for that. But again, a really sharp bevel down plane would work fine as well. Depending on the size of the end grain pieces you wish to plane, you could get away with something as small as a block plane. And depending on how you plan to hold the door while you plane it (and your stamina and strength), there's no reason a large jointer plane couldn't also do that. It just might get tiring if you're holding it at a funny angle.

The edges of the door are usually done with a block plane, but again, pretty much any plane can do that. Just some will be more awkward than others.

In other words, it's up to you as to whether you'd rather make it easier on yourself and spend more money, or make it a bit more difficult and save money. Personally, if I had to choose one plane for all of that, I'd probably go with a low angle, bevel up, jack plane. But really, I could make do with most any plane you give me. In fact, I'd probably, actually, pick a bevel down No. 5 jack plane, just because I like using them better than the larger bevel up planes, but knowing I'd need to be more careful with my sharpening. But I'd rather recommend the bevel up jack plane for someone else, as I think it would be easier for them. Jack planes are a good compromise between being long enough to flatten a board, but not too long as to make them unwieldy to use.

If I went with two planes, I'd probably want a No. 7 jointer plane and a No. 60-1/2 low angle, bevel up, block plane. Of course the numbers I listed are Stanley's convention, but really any brand of plane would work. But the jointer would do the table top and most of the side of the door, and the bevel up block plane would do the end grain and any tiny spots on the door's side.

If I went with three planes, I'd probably stick to the two I mentioned above, because those would work well enough and setting up a third plane would be more hassle than it would be worth, for me. And honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to do everything you've listed with any bench plane, No. 3 or larger.

[Cameron Wood]

IME, #7 jointer planes are rather common, gathering dust on shelves since they don't get used.

I suggest a Stanley #4 1/2 or #5 from a garage sale or wherever, and a low angle block plane- worth it to spend quite a lot for a good one, and a dive into the deep and swirling waters of sharpening. The bench planes are abundant and need not cost very much.

About eight hours on Youtube should get you up to speed.

A couple of old planes that I was given just recently took over an hour each to get to good working, if not cosmetic, order.

[Dave Schreib]

Thank you Jimmy and Cameron

What about this Stanley#5 Jack Plane? Does this look serviceable and a good place for me to get started?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...3054388214400/

[steven c newman]

#5 Jack planes are usually a good place to start...plus, their 2" wide irons also fit into Stanley No. 4 smoothers...

These?
4 Stanley Jacks, front view.JPG

[Cameron Wood]

Thank you Jimmy and Cameron

What about this Stanley#5 Jack Plane? Does this look serviceable and a good place for me to get started?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...3054388214400/

Yes, that looks good. I would spend some time flattening the sole with sandpaper on a flat surface, but others don't seem to care.

[David Carroll]

If I were starting out, like you are, I would get a No. 5 Jack Plane as you and others have suggested, and I would get a second iron. On that second iron I would grind it in such a way that the middle inch is flat (the way it came) but the outer edges have a pretty significant radius, back a full 1/16th-inch at least. This allows squaring a narrow edge essentially flat, but with the radiused edges you can take a deep cut like a traditional jack plane to flatten and thickness quickly. The other iron I would reserve for smoothing so just break the corners, ever so slightly, so it doesn't leave tracks. This will work as a smoother, and can work on a shooting board as well.

There are other planes that can do these jobs better than this, and you will soon grow tired of adjusting the frog and chipbreaker for this or that and swapping the irons, but this will get you started.

After that, invest in some sharpening equipment, (more important than the specific plane you wind up with, IMO) and a good straightedge. You can make a longer straightedge, squares, and various other tools you will need, but this will get you started.

DC

[Dave Schreib]

If I were starting out, like you are, I would get a No. 5 Jack Plane as you and others have suggested, and I would get a second iron. On that second iron I would grind it in such a way that the middle inch is flat (the way it came) but the outer edges have a pretty significant radius, back a full 1/16th-inch at least. This allows squaring a narrow edge essentially flat, but with the radiused edges you can take a deep cut like a traditional jack plane to flatten and thickness quickly. The other iron I would reserve for smoothing so just break the corners, ever so slightly, so it doesn't leave tracks. This will work as a smoother, and can work on a shooting board as well.

There are other planes that can do these jobs better than this, and you will soon grow tired of adjusting the frog and chipbreaker for this or that and swapping the irons, but this will get you started.

After that, invest in some sharpening equipment, (more important than the specific plane you wind up with, IMO) and a good straightedge. You can make a longer straightedge, squares, and various other tools you will need, but this will get you started.

DC

Thanks. Where does one buy a second iron? And can you link me to a good sharpening video? I would need both materials and technique.

[Jim Koepke]

Thank you Jimmy and Cameron

What about this Stanley#5 Jack Plane? Does this look serviceable and a good place for me to get started?

A #5 is a good all around size to start with in building a working set of planes.

This plane looks promising, not much to tell by two pictures. It looks like a type 16, built from 1933-1941.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...3054388214400/

Yes, that looks good. I would spend some time flattening the sole with sandpaper on a flat surface, but others don't seem to care.

Don't try fixing a problem when there may not be a problem to fix. The sole looks a little rough, clean it with some mineral spirits, rub some wax on it and see how it does before trying to flatten the sole. It is easier to mess up a good enough sole than it is to fix any unknown problem.

Save the sandpaper and look into > scary sharp < until you settle on a sharpening set up. You might try to look for other woodworkers in your area and hopefully find someone willing to be a mentor.

Thanks. Where does one buy a second iron? And can you link me to a good sharpening video? I would need both materials and technique.

I've bought many irons via ebay. They are also available from most woodworking supply houses. Lee Valley carries Hock blades. A new one with a chip breaker will cost more than the plane you linked earlier.

Lie-Nielsen has some good sharpening videos. At Youtube search > lie nielsen sharpening < There are less expensive sharpening guides. For some, it is easier to just learn freehand sharpening.

jtk

[mike stenson]

Rob Cosman's got a good freehand sharpening video, something like 36 seconds to sharp (I think was the name of it) as well.

there's also How to restore a hand plane by mortise & tenon magazine.. Which stays simple, which I like.

[steven c newman]

For the price of shipping one to you $19...I can send a No. 5 Stanley Jack plane to your address...sharpened and ready to go.

Better yet, just PM your Mailing Address...and I will send it out tomorrow's Mail.

[David Carroll]

Thanks. Where does one buy a second iron? And can you link me to a good sharpening video? I would need both materials and technique.

I just typed "replacement iron for Stanley No. 5 plane" on ebay, and found dozens, they range in price from 20-30 bucks for serviceable ones.

Sharpening... That's a whole other issue. I will tell you what I do now, and what I would do if I were starting out.

I now use diamond stones. I buy them from Sharpeningsupplies . com

I get the DMT brand, the dia-sharp kit. There are four stones from extra coarse to extra fine. They come in lengths of 6, 8, 10, and now 11-inch lengths. I got the 10-inch lengths 8-years ago and they're still going strong. I will likely add the new extra extra coarse 11-inch stone for heavy grinding, and get rid of my Tormek. Then strop with leather and some compound, choose the color you like, I've never seen that it makes a lot of difference.

If I was starting out today, I would get three thin diamond stones. Look at Amazon, they have Asian imports for less than $15.00 each. Then look up Paul Sellers: Edge sharpening for under £10. He has a method of using contact cement to glue the plates to plywood to make an inexpensive setup for less than $50.00. I think it's the best way to get up and running quickly. All you then need is a strop.

DC

[Jimmy Harris]

A Stanley No. 5 or equivalent would be a great starting point. That was my first hand plane (other than some nearly worthless block planes), and I did everything with it for a long time. They call it a jack plane, because it's the quintessential jack of all trades sized plane. It's still my most used plane.

As for how to set up and sharpen a plane, there are a million YouTube videos that go over that. There are also a million opinions, techniques, and styles that vary. Which is best is largely up to you. Just watch a few and see which ones look the easiest for you and give it a try.

I wouldn't mess with flattening the sole or buying a second iron. Those may be things you'll want to do later, but when you're just getting started out, keep it simple. Flattening soles and regrinding irons takes a bit of time, and if you're not careful, you can make things worse. I've bought a bunch of old hand planes, and while all of them "needed" the soles flattened, none of them needed it bad enough that they wouldn't do a fine job, as it came to me. Save that for when you have the free time and want to take it from "great" to "even better". And as for the second iron, you might find yourself like me where instead of getting a second iron, you just get a second plane. That saves you time from having to switch out and reset irons. And if you keep your eyes peeled, you will likely run across a few at prices too good to pass up. And this way, you'll have an excuse to buy them!

I don't collect planes. But I do own a bunch because they all have different uses. Which means for someone who doesn't collect them, I still have quite a collection!

[Eric Brown]

Thanks. Where does one buy a second iron? And can you link me to a good sharpening video? I would need both materials and technique.

A good book on sharpening is "Sharpen This" by Lost Art Press. https://lostartpress.com/collections...s/sharpen-this

It covers all the different ways to sharpen.

[glenn bradley]

Hard to go wrong with a No 5 or a low angle jack.