Hand Plane Poll...

[Aaron Hamilton]

Hey Creekers with Callused Hands,
I am a weekend warrior type woodworker and have an extensive collection of powered cast iron tools. With every project I complete, I find myself needing hand tools to increase the quality of my work. The number one thing that I find myself needing is a few good planes. I often have a glue up panel that just needs the slightest of tweaking to level out a seam or a cope and stick or frame door that needs the slightest trim off the end grain of a stile to even things up for an edge profile rout.

That said…I know NOTHING about hand planes. I’ve read a lot but there is so much random info that I’m overwhelmed. So, I want to poll the professionals. I have determined that I think I need one block plane and one smoothing/jack plane (and a shoulder plane down the road). My questions are these.

1. Can anyone point me to their two favorite planes (for the purposes listed above).
2. Assuming that I don’t want to spend more than $200 each for these, which ones would you buy?
3. What is a good sharpening system for under $150 to accompany these bad boys.
4. If I were to buy a 3rd plane, would a shoulder plane be my best choice? (I do a lot of mortise and tenon work)

Thanks in advance!

[Brian Kent]

My 2 cents:

Block Plane: $20 to $179
Old Stanley 60-1/2 or
Lie-Nielsen 102 or
Lie-Nielsen 60-1/2 or
Lee Valley Apron or
Lee Valley DX60

Lee Valley Low Angle Jack: $219
or an Old Stanley #4 & #5 ($20 to $50 each)

Lee Valley Medium Shoulder Plane (but only by everyone's recommendation - I don't own one): $179

Have fun.

Brian

[Jim Koepke]

I will second most of what Brian said.

My suggestion is for a 60-1/2 or 65 equivalent block plane. The particular model would depend on your hand size. The 65 is bigger. I have not used one, but the 60-1/2R rabbeting block plane from Lie-Nielsen might help at killing two birds with one plane.

A smoother recommendation would depend a bit more on knowing your needs. A few swipes over a small area to clean up a glue line, a #3, #4 or a #4-1/2 depending on your hand size. These planes are about the same length, but they get wider and heavier as the numbers get higher.

Look here for links to more information about planes and such to get a better understanding:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=103805

If you need to plane pieces longer than 20 - 30 inches, then a #5 or 5-1/2 may serve you better. The 1/2 sizes are wider.

If you are buying used, I would suggest Stanley planes from about 1920 or earlier.

A shoulder plane is handy for mortice and tenon work. They are also useful in a few other applications such as cutting half laps and when trimming an edge. I got lucky on an old Stanley 93. It is not as good as what is available today from LN or LV, but it does the job for me. I tried out a Bridge City shoulder plane and was very impressed, but for the money, the Stanley was about $80 and the BC is about $600. Bells and whistles are nice, but I'll just turn up the radio and sing along if the money is not in my pocket to spend.


For sharpening, there are a lot of systems. For you price point, you may want to learn sharpening with the scary sharp method. Once you work out the kinks, then you may be better able to decide if you want to use diamond, ceramic, oil stones or water stones. Each of these can be an investment that will take you close to the $150 you mention.

I have tried all but the ceramic stones. Each system has its benefits and its short falls.

jim

[Sean Hughto]

Okay, here's my dos pesos:

Let's start at sharpening: While a little ($20) over your budget, I recommend this (Norton's waterstone kit):

http://www.nortonstonesstore.com/Sto...&productId=157

I'd also recommend you pick up one of these:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...072,43078&ap=1

or if you're feeling wealthy, one of these (with the camber roller):

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...072,43078&ap=1

Now, for planes, you have lots of choices. If I were you, and didn't plane anything too gnarly (highly figured or exotics), I might just buy a vintage Stanley 4 (Sweetheart - 1930s - or earlier) and a Lie Nielsen Stanley replacement blade. That will get your feet wet just fine, and nice ones can be had for well under $50 on eBay and elsewhere.

Another good choice in my experience is the LN low angle jack (Stanley 62), but that's $245.

As for a block plane, my very favorite because of its quality and versatility (it can do a ton of things for you INCLUDING shave tenon cheeks well) is LN's rabbet block at $165. It does everything a regular block does too, of course.

As for a shoulder, my go to is the LN Large shoulder plane (styled after the Record 073), which goes for around $250.

Frankly though, a good bet for tenon cheeks (and a ton of other stuff) is Lee Valley's router plane:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,41182,48945

Well, those are some of my favorites, hope that helps.

[Sean Hughto]

By the way, I won't offer an opinion on any plane I haven't used. Here are mine - feel free to ask about any of these:

[David Keller NC]

Aaron - A couple of thoughts. Based on what you said you needed to do, I'd buy a smoother first (this gets you the smoothing of glue lines on a panel, trimming small cabinet doors, etc..). While you can do this with a block plane, their small size means more work, and I find the grip on most any block plane not ideal for fairly large planing jobs - you want a "toted" plane.

There are tons of choices, but you can narrow it down by looking at a larger perspective - do you want to spend time on tuning up a plane, or have one that's ready to go out of the box (so you spend your time learning to sharpen the blade and use it)? If the answer is the former, a Stanely (I'll expand Jim's suggestion and say that a pre-1960's Stanely may do what you want - the late models and current production are junk) will do the job, but everyone I know (and myself) finds them to be far better users with a replaced blade - I would recommend a Hock.

If the answer is the latter, then you've a choice between Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley's offerings. They are not as cheap as an antique Stanley, but they are pretty cheap on an absolute scale. Frankly, I would avoid the "paralysis by analysis" that can result in parsing out the #3, #4, #4-1/2, Bevel Up vs. Bevel Down, etc... debate and just pick one that appeals to you. Any of them will certainly get the job done, and will be leagues better than a random orbit sander.

For mortise and tenon work, you've lots of choices, but again, any of the L-N/L-V offerings will get the job done - just match the size to the size of work that you do most often. If it's large pieces, buy a large shoulder plane. If it's small pieces, buy a smaller one.

Regarding the block plane - I guarantee that if you decide you need planes based on the smoother and the shoulder, you'll wind up with a block plane (and a good deal of other ones besides ).

[Aaron Hamilton]

I'll clarify a couple of things you guys asked.

I do not want to have to do any "work" on the plane straight out of the box besides putting an edge on the blade.
As far as planing/smoothing large boards, I have a 20" planer right now so the big stuff I can even out. I'm talking about tiny misalignments on edge glueups that aren't worth the risk of sending through the planer.

So, I'm hearing a #4 low angle jack plane and a block plane would be my two best bets? I really like the idea of the LN rabbet block. Anybody else have this plane? Also, for a #4, is there any better plane between a LV and a LN?

Also, is there anything wrong with the motorized sharpeners like the Sheppach Tiger or the Tormek or is a wetstone just better all around?

[Sean Hughto]

I do not want to have to do any "work" on the plane straight out of the box besides putting an edge on the blade.

For your purposes, you would not likely have to do anything significant to a vintage Stanley. Some guys take fettling to extremes, but that is not really necessary to have avery good worker. I'd also ask you whether you expect your table saw, jointer, band saw, etc. to work without periodic upkeep? Why would you expect a plane to be different?

As far as planing/smoothing large boards, I have a 20" planer right now so the big stuff I can even out. I'm talking about tiny misalignments on edge glueups that aren't worth the risk of sending through the planer.

This may not be a realistic expectation. Handplaning, just like machine planing, risks tearout too. Also, you often can't work on one localized (even tiny) "step" ona panel without working a much larger area, at least if you want to keep the panel flat. If panel work is a main thing you'll be doing, you may prefer a 4 1/2 for it's extra width.

Also, for a #4, is there any better plane between a LV and a LN?

It's just a matter of personal preference really.

[Aaron Hamilton]

I totally get what you are saying on the localized planing. I intend to learn the method on how to properly do things with hand planes. I just want an alternative to running the board through the big planer.


I assume I'll probably pick up these first two and then start collecting like all the other guys I see on the neander side.

[Richard Dooling]

My $0.02

For slight adjustments to glue-ups with low tearout risk you might want to consider the Veritas (#05P29.01) or another brand of scraper plane. I find mine very useful and more versitile than might be expected. Maybe you just need a card scraper and a holder.

I see you have the Veritas Sean. What do you think?

I have picked up a couple of pre WWII Stanley/Bailey #4s in very good condition fro $15 each from a local antiques dealer. great planes.

My LN low angle block with adjustable throat is largely responsible for opening my eyes to what a quality tool can do.

Even the best of these will likely need a little tuning. I just spent 20 minutes flattening a Hock blade. Not bad but not much is just right, right out of the box.

I can't speak to other ceramic stones but if you get the Spyderco stones you will need a diamond stone, some elbow grease and too much time to flatten them. Having said that, my understanding is that they should stay flat for a very long time and they do give a very nice edge.

[Sean Hughto]

Richard,

I like the Veritas scraper fine. I bought it after reading a FWW article about it, and decided to see if it was better than an 80 or a card. It definitely is easier on the hands, produces a more regular surface (probably just my own poor technique with the cards), and works well. It saved my butt on some really curly cherry that tore out no matter what direction of plane I came at it with (I {gulp} was almost ready to reach for the shoed belt sander!). ;-)

[Todd Bin]

Lie=Nielsen planes are ready out of the box. The blade will cut. That said I do always sharpen them on waterstones. If you watch the video on plane blade sharpening by David Charlesworth he will show you how easy it is to sharpen a plane blade with only 3 waterstones -- 800, 1200 and 8000 grit. You will also want go get some wet/dry sand paper and a granite block. All of this should be at about the $150 mark.

My first two planes were the LN 5 1/2 and the 60 1/2 Low angle block plane. The 60 1/2 is THE low angle block plane. Everyone raves about it. And I confirm that it is marvelous. Works great on end grain. As one poster stateed you could get the rabbet block plane and this would work for your shoulder trimming as well.

The 5 1/2 makes a great smoother and is long enough to be useful for jointing and flattening boards. You could also get a second blade and put a large camber on it and use it as a scrub plane.

So in summary, the 60 1/2 rabbet and the 5 1/2 represent a lot of bang for the buck in that they can perform a great many tasks. I also prefer the LN over the LV but I do own some LV planes because LN doesn't make them and they perform well.

Beware the slipperyness of the slope you are about to step on.

[phil harold]

I use a cabinet scraper by sandvik or crown tools to remove, glue flattening, dealing with wavy grains, and genral smooting instead of sand paper ( I use a 5" 100 grit wheel to put my bur on )

for sharpening plane blades I would use the " scary sharp" method to start

then I would go to japanese water stones when you got some bucks to spare

I use old stanely planes just make sure the blade is not pitted and you can produce nice cuts

for info on old stanely planes Patricks Blood and gore is a great
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

[Graham Hughes (CA)]

The party line here is "It depends", and for good reason. Roughly in order:

• There are two kinds of block planes: standard angle and low angle. Most people gravitate toward the low angle variety as they're more useful for planing end grain. Standard angle block planes are very useful but not necessarily something you want to go after. Good candidates here are a Stanley #60 ½, any of the Lee Valley low angle block planes, the Lie-Nielsens, hard to go too far wrong. The antiques are dime a dozen and the most fettling you'll usually have to do is sharpen the iron and maybe squirt WD-40 in a couple places (never a bad idea with an antique anyway).
  
• The bench plane is much more complicated. You don't indicate if you intend to use your bench plane for final smoothing--if you do, and you want to use an antique, it will require fettling. If you just want to use it for a first pass and follow it with a random orbital sander later, I would recommend an antique Stanley #5, or possibly a #5 ½, but basically whatever jack plane comes your way. The low angle jacks from LV and LN are excellent choices here but may be overkill. I only have the LV one and it is a very, very nice plane, worth the money, but you can get in deep trouble using the low angle iron on curly maple. (DAMHIKT)
  
  If you want to use it for final surfacing, that's a different kettle of worms. Almost all antique Stanleys can be fiddled with to make them excellent for this purpose but it sometimes requires a lot of effort. I notice LN has a 4 ½ with a high angle frog, which would be absolutely delightful if not for the $335 price. I hear excellent things about the LV Bevel-Up Smoother but have no personal experience. One excellent step, if you have an antique in mind, is to buy a replacement iron, be it from LV or Hock or wherever. There's nothing inherently wrong with the stock irons but these are usually better.
  
• For sharpening I use Norton waterstones. I started with the 220/1000 and 4000/8000 combination stones, and had to buy a replacement 220 due to excessive wear trying to lap antique tools. It should last you years if you don't develop a fetish for flattening chisels. I also use a felt wheel and buffing compound. There are much more complicated ways to go. There are much more expensive ways to go. There are ways to go that have a lower up front cost but wear quickly (sandpaper, for example). This is what I do.
  
• I have one shoulder plane, the LV bullnose, which is quite servicable. Usually I use chisels, or rarely my float. I don't feel competent to recommend something here.

[Danny Thompson]

The problem with the Rabbet block plane is that the blade can't be cambered, so it is more prone to leaving plane tracks..

I'd go with the LN or new LV adjustable mouth low-angle block plane.

You could go with a smoother, but the jack would provide greater flexibility. If you don't plan on buying more than the three planes, then I'd go with the LV Low Angle Smoother or Low Angle Jack, which are both bevel-up and can accommodate a variety of micro-bevels to achieve a variety of effective cutting angles.