Hand planes collecting dust - is it just me?

[Cody Colston]

I would rather remove my eye with a spoon than use a hand plane.

Now that's an unequivocal statement!

I have three planes, all Stanley's...a block, a #4 and a #5. I use the block plane a lot, the #4 occassionally and the #5 hardly at all. I prefer my ROS to a plane for finishing the surface.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have a couple planes and am trying to learn to use them and when. I still have a lot of power tools that get done what I need to get done.

[Bob Marino]

Roger,

I am in the same place as you - with pretty much the same line-up of planes. I do find I use my LN block and shoulder planes though. I think it takes a fair amount of practice to plane a table-top or some other large area smooth and flat and most are not willing to go that route, as there are quicker and easier ways to do so.
But for those who can do so, I sure do see where there is way more satisfaction in using that smoother than a power tool.

Bob

[Josiah Bartlett]

Using a sharp, well tuned hand plane is a joy. Using a dull hand plane is an exercise in frustration. Its like trying to use a flat blade screwdriver on a phillips screw.

[paul cottingham]

For me planing=no sanding (or very little sanding) this alone makes planing worth the price of admission. That plus planing gives me a very visceral sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. It also takes less time, and leaves a better look, IMHO (very humble.)

[Todd Bin]

Wow Bob, I didn't know Festool made hand planes. Just kidding. I get a lot of satisfaction out of using a well tuned tool, either power or hand. I love my LN planes. But, they do have to be sharp and tuned up properly to work properly. It's kinda like if you wanted to sand something and the only sand paper you had was 320 grit. You would think "this takes forever. What do people see in this. This Festool sander sucks." but in reality it is just not "tuned up" by using the right grit of sandpaper first.

Maybe the OP can find someone or a wood working show where the planes are really tuned up and sharp. Get the guy to show you how to "do it". And that would give you confidence to use your planes more. I am certainly no expert, but everytime I use a hand tool I get a little better.

~Todd

[Keith Christopher]

....I would rather remove my eye with a spoon than use a hand plane.....

*WoW* what a statement....I wonder if they are properly setup ? But again different strokes.


I guess it is not for everyone. But for me, the sound of a plane shaving off -just the right thickness- is awesome. to get a perfect fit on a tenon I personally think there is no better tool.

And as for the OP using the block more than any other, agreed it's probably the most used plane anywhere. So versatile and when tuned properly can make 'see thru' shavings. and in one stroke save 10 minutes of sanding.



I find most peoples frustration with planes come from:

1) not being sharp enough
2) not being setup properly
3) not using them correctly or for the wrong job.

[David Keller NC]

So my question is whether I am alone here in not utilizing these smoothing planes or did I fall for a neanders dream? And for those of you who use them, is there something I am missing and what helped you turn the corner in effectively utilizing them – a video, tutorial, article, or trial and error?

Input welcome as I am thinking about pitching these up on Ebay to clear up room for sanding pads…

Roger

Roger - much depends on you. Many folks would rather put in a lot more time with a sander than expend the calories required to flatten, true and smooth a surface with a jointer plane and a smoother. I'm not poo-pooing that approach - there is no doubt that the muscle power required to use a handplane on a large surface is considerably higher than any power tool.

However, many of us (including me) are physically capable of the task, and much, much prefer not having to wear a dust mask nor get micro-fine dust all over our shops, and in my case, all in my house since my shop's in the basement.

So these are the reasons to use handplanes for the purpose that you're describing rather than a ROS or Belt sander, leaving aside aesthetics or satisfaction (which may not apply to everyone):

1) Handplanes are generally far, far faster than sanding or scraping if there are irregularities in the surface. Particularly on table top glue-ups, there is often a small step where the boards are edge-glued, and this can generally be corrected in one pass with a jointer plane. Note that this applies to well-behaved grain. Spectacularly figured wood usually doesn't handplane so well, so those of us without a wide-belt sander or stationary drum sander resort to scraper planes.

2) Handplanes of the proper length automatically flatten large, wide surfaces - they will skip the low spots and plane the high spots. In contrast, it's dang near impossible to flatten a surface with a ROS, and inexpertise or inattention can leave significant divots in the surface. A belt sander with a frame can somewhat allieviate this issue, but they are very aggressive, and it's still possible or even likely to dig out a large depressed area in a table top with this approach.

3) Handplanes are scalable. If you know how to 4-square a board with a foreplane and a jointer, you're really only limited in width by the size of your bench, or in some cases your garage floor. Most of us neither have the room for, nor can afford, the gigantic machine necessary to flatten a table-top glue-up, or a 25" wide mahogany board for a special project. And ripping such a board into widths that will fit into your planer is a crime. Generally speaking, large surfaces on the sides of casework or table tops always look better the wider one can go with the boards necessary to make it.

If you want to use your handplanes, and need some instruction, I'd suggest the local WW club - there will always be a few neanders lurking about that can get you started to using these efficiently. Failing that, buy Rob Cosman's handplane sharpening and "rough to ready" videos. While not as ideal as having someone show you what to do, you can figure out what you need from these two DVDs.

[Cary Falk]

I find most peoples frustration with planes come from:

1) not being sharp enough - Not an issues since I got a good sharpening system.
2) not being setup properly - I wouldn't be surprised.
3) not using them correctly or for the wrong job. - Since I never had anyone show me how to properly use one I would vote all of the above.

[Dave Sharpe]

I was always in pretty much the same boat as most of you who've posted here. I had a block plane and an old Sears (sorry) #4 lying around in a drawer, but rarely attempted to use them as each attempt ended in failure as I tried to force the wood into submission. But last winter I took a two day handplane course at the Port Townsend Shool of Woodworking taught by Jim Tolpin and Tim Lawson. The class began with some demonstrations of different types of planes and proper use of them, then each student was given a well-tuned LV #4 and a plank of wood to practice with. Wow! I'd never seen shavings that thin, much less produced them with my own two hands! It felt like driving a sports car for the first time after riding around in an old rusty VW bus. I was so excited that on the first day's lunch break I ran down to Edensaw and plunked down a sack of money in exchange for a nice new LN low angle jack plane. Over the next few months I started hanging out in antique shops - much to my wife's amusement. I found several old planes and now have a modest collection - some junk, some quite nice - that have all been tuned, sharpened and are usable.

I have found that I probably don't use them as much as I should - I learned woodworking as a power tool guy and I still instinctively turn to power tools first. But I am learning to use more hand tools, and now that I'm mentoring a group of kids in woodworking I find it much more relaxing to teach them to use hand tools than to shout over the noise of my big power machines with the large rapidly spinning blades hungry for little fingers.....

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I have a set of planes I got a long time ago. I rarely use them but when I do, nothing else will do the trick.
So I keep 'em in good shape and handy.

[Sean Hughto]

Handplanes work well. Excellent and fast results are not a Neander dream, as you put it. So, in short, yes, it's you, not the planes or the idea of working with planes. I don't mean that as an insult, but rather merely as a direct answer to your direct question.

We all have preferred and familiar methods of work. It might be hard to spend the effort necessary to master new methods when we already have a tried and true one down. If you are a virtuoso with a belt sander, perhaps you don't see a need to pull out the jack plane. That's a choice, not a reflection on the planes.

I sort of have your experience in reverse. I learned planes and then bought a Powermatic jointer later on. I can't stand the thing, and now it sits in a corner of my shop gathering dust. I can't imagine ever working with it again. I know it would be a sweet tool in some one elses hands, but it's not for me. I get inconsistent results, snipe, tool marks (that have to be planed off), not to mention that it can't face boards of the width I generally work.

Despite these personal feelings, I would never to think to suggest that in buying a jointer, I somehow fell for a power woodworker dream. If you really want to try incorporating planes into your work, you will have to learn to use them, just like I would have to learn to use my jointer.

[Roger Barga]

My thanks to everyone for their candid and helpful replies. I was encouraged to see that many people have good results with smoothing planes, so there is something there (other than an alternative to sanding). It seems worthwhile to seek out a class or some other kind of training because just hacking away at it like I have been simply isn't going to do it. I also realized from a personal exchange that setting up (adjusting) a smoothing plane is more critical than a bench plane that I am familiar with, so I am going to 'thin the herd' a bit and go with one smoothing plane for now.

roger

[Steve Rozmiarek]

In my shop there is a shelf full of sanding tools, a rack of sandpaper, and five new boxes of random orbit pads that have all been just sitting collecting dust. I'm not keen on sanding. It rounds the edges, potentially scratches the surface, makes a dusty mess, and is loud. The planes and scrapers are the go to tools here.

To make a plane work well, learn to sharpen. I suppose they are not for everybody though.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Roger,
I'll give your planes a good home. I'll care for them and keep them rust free.
I'll even make shavings with them. Just send them to me!