"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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.
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.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.
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
Last edited by Jim Koepke; 10-11-2020 at 1:24 AM.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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.
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
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Well said Jim. We often forget tool utility is a matter of context.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
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.
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
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.
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.
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....