If you could have only 4 to 5 planes...

[Grant Vanbokklen]

Please this question should exclude boutique planes and high priced collectables. And should include only planes that do not go above the price range of modern Lee Valley/Veritas and Lie Nielsen planes. Old planes can be included only if they don't go above the price of a moderns like LV/LN planes.

If you could have only 4 to 5 planes...

Which planes would you have?

edit: please include maker and year/type/model/etc if your including older planes. And if you can, average price if older.

[gary Zimmel]

My 5 would be

1. # 60 1/2 adjustable mouth block plane

2. # 140 skew block plane (left handed)

3. # 4 1/2 smooth plane

4. # 5 1/2 bench plane with york pitch

5. # 8 jointer plane

Just me but they would all be LN

[Jameel Abraham]

1. #7 jointer
2. #4 smoothing
3. Low angle block plane
4. Medium-size shoulder plane
5. Bevel up bench plane (164 or LV equivalent) for smoothing difficult grain or larger end grain work (shooting board or miter shoot work)

[Mike Henderson]

1. Good low angle block plane. I like the LN 60 1/2 and the 102.
2. Medium shoulder plane. The LV is the absolute best.
3. #3 bench plane. I have a couple and use the Vaughan & Bushnell the most. I grab this one when I want more than a block plane but not a smoother.
4. #4 or #4 1/2 for smoothing, or a low angle smoother from LN or LV
5. #6 or #7 for jointing

Mike

[Stephen Shepherd]

Wooden Toothing plane, which I have
Small wooden coffen smoother, do
Wooden Jack plane, do
Wooden Scrub plane, do
Early metal miter plane, which I don't have.

Stephen

[Jim Koepke]

If all but 5 of my planes had to leave the shop, the ones to stay would be

No. 7

A hard choice here for a smoother from No. 3, 4, 4-1/2 or a 5.

Would then have to choose between the 60-1/2 or the 65-1/2 for a block plane.

Now it gets hard.

No. 90

A No. 55.

There are a few family heirlooms that do not get used.
I like my 45s, but the 55 can do all they do and more, it is just handy to be able to set up for different cuts with different tools.

IMO, 5 is not really enough. Of course, I am still occasionally buying planes and it is not because they are absolutely needed, but they are not bought if it isn't thought they can be used.

jim

[Dan Barr]

1. LN rabbeting block plane
-- This will serve for a block plane, rabbet plane and a shoulder plane. (most versatile)

(hold any plane at a skewed angle if you need a skew plane. no need to buy an actual skew plane.)

2. LN 4 1/2 smooth plane with high angle frog

3. LN 5 jack plane if youre prepping wood by hand, if not, a 5 1/2 bench plane.
4. LN 7 or 8 jointer

5. This on is up to you.

I think these four will do you just fine for most things. if your more neander, then maybe you'll want a LN iron miter plane.

ciao,

dan

[Billy Chambless]

Hmm... I can answer in terms of which planes spend the least time on the shelves:

All

1. #5 (type 19, probably mid-1950's, $30 or $35, Hock blade and chip breaker, another $55)
2. #60 1/2 (not sure of the age, $40)
3. #3 (type 13, 1225-1928, $30)
4. #7 (type 7, 1893-1899, $60 + Hock chip breaker, $25)
5. #4 (type 17, 1941, $25)

I'll qualify the above by saying I've never used a shoulder plane (which most people seem to be listing), and suspect I'd find one pretty useful.

And... as others have said, it's a tough choice, especially as I plan to accumulate a number of molding planes before long. The 5 listed above, though, are the ones that are sure to be used on every project, at least the way I've been doing things lately.

[Kevin French]

5 #1s, Then sell them amd I could have all the planes I wanted.

[Phillip Pattee]

Budget has driven my tool acquisition more than numbers, but if I had to limit my planes to 5 I would buy versatile ones.

Lee Valley Veritas bevel up smoother,

bevel up jack,

and bevel up jointer.

The blades on these are interchangeable and you can get different pitches that will eliminate the need for a specific plane with a high angle frog.

I would get the Lee Valley Veritas low angle block plane.

And for number 5 I would get the Lee Valley medium shoulder.

[Tim Sgrazzutti]

1. 60-1/2R rabbet block plane - LN
2. #4 smooth plane - vintage Stanley with Hock iron
3. #5 fore plane - vintage Stanley
4. #7 jointer - vintage Stanley with Hock iron
5. Wild card - candidates include #40 scrub, BU jack, or shoulder plane. Depends on what kind of work you plan on doing, and what other tools you have. My choice would be the #40.

[Alfred Cole]

My choices would be

H N T Gordon smoother with HSS blade. This is a great wooden plane with a very thick blade.

H N T Gordon try plane. As above

H N T Gordon jack plane. As above

Beauty of these planes is they are wood which has a beautiful action. The blade is set at a high cutting angle. 60 degrees, which can handle even the worst of hardwood and here in OZ we have some so hard that a nail hole has to be predrilled. The other great feature is that you can turn the blade around to ninety degrees and use it as a scraper plane. I have used them on newly laid veneer.

A block plane, either LV or LN. Mine is a mark one LN which I'd like to upgrade but it still works extremely well.

A LV low angle bevel up jack plane with two blades, the 25 degree and the fifty degree.

If I could sneak in just one more it would be the Clifton three in one. A shoulder plane, bull nose and chisel plane in one unit.

Jerry

Everyone is entitled to my opinion

[Narayan Nayar]

Grant,

It would really help to know what you want to do with your five planes. Dimension rough stock? Prep highly figured stock for finishing? Make model airplanes or fly fishing rods?

There are probably only 1 or 2 planes which should be in everyone's shop. After that the list gets more and more specific to the type of work you do.

If, like perhaps most of us (just guessing), you want to make furniture and prep already-dimensioned stock (stock dimensioned with a jointer and a planer and maybe a table saw), I'd recommend the following:

1. A block plane. Almost everyone above recommends a rabbet block plane; I'd agree with this, as it's very versatile. That said, I generally reach for my smaller low angle block plane first.
2. Low angle jack plane. This too is very versatile. Depending on how you sharpen or set it up, it can be used to take off a lot of material, flatten smaller pieces, or even smooth many different surfaces. It can also be used as a shooting plane quite nicely.
3. #7 or #8 jointer plane. I have an 8. I use this plane probably more than any other except for:
4. a 4 or or 4-1/2 smoothing plane. No surface looks as good as a planed surface. If you do highly figured wood, get a high angle frog and stick with a #4, which would be a little easier to work at a higher angle.
5. I'm going to cop out like everyone else and say this is your choice. Again, telling us a little about what you do would help immensely. Lots of mortise and tenon joinery? A shoulder plane. Lots of mitered picture frames? A shooting plane. Lots of profiled edges? A moulding plane. None of the above? How about a sharpening system for the first 4?

[Grant Vanbokklen]

Narayan, that list pretty much sums it up. I'd like to replace all my existing furniture with stuff I've built. And I've got some built-in's and doors that like to redo. I have done a handful of completely power project over the past couple of years. I'm just really interested in learning how to incorporate more hand tools. Block, Smoother, Jointer, Scraper, Rabbit would be nice.

[Stu Gillard]

1. 60 1/2
2. 4 1/2 - I just seem to grab this for lots of smoothing jobs
3. 6 or 7 for jointing
4. 90 variant
5. Would have to be a 45 or 55 for all the other odd jobs