Hi all,
I know I am in "Neanderthal Haven" and I am a "Normite" loving my power tools. But I would like to add a couple of hand planes to my list of tools. I have a small block plane and a "Bench plane" that I bought from the Borg a number of years ago ( I think the brand name is Buck), but I would like to move up some. Lee Nielson's are WAY out of my league, but I would still like to buy some reasonably good planes.
I have two big problems and one of them is that I don't really know what to get. A better block plane might be a good place to start, but what else? #4, #4 1/2, #5 . . . . Jack, bench, smoother, low-angle . . . my head is already spinning just typing that much and I haven't even asked which brands to look for and which to avoid.
You may also be wondering what I would be using them for. Well, so do I and that is the second big problem. I have been using my block plane more lately for removing sharp edges on projects, etc. The bench plane I have not used in several years and I think a lot of the reason for that is because it is a crappy plane. At least the iron is crap. I dragged it out just the other day and sharpened it up. I tried planing a sample of Brazillian Cherry and after just about 10 passes the blade was chipped. I have been watching some woodworking shows on tv lately and see where it looks like they would be good for jointing small pieces, flushing dovetail and box joints, etc. If I had a reasonably good plane I could probably find all sorts of other uses too. I will definitely NOT be using planes to joint larger boards, or flatten any sizeable pieces so I don't think I would have much use for . . . say . . . #7's or #8's (Although I do intend to build a nice workbench and it will need to be smoothed and flattened, I can't see spending gobs of money for a plane to use for one job).
So with that in mind, which two or maybe three should I be looking for, where should I look, and what do I look for, what brands should I look for and which should I avoid? I have started looking at Craigslist and ebay, but I don't really know what I am looking for or at. There are a lot of Stanley/Bailey planes, but from what I have been reading there is a wide range of quality even in those.
You can probably tell that I am totally lost by the way I have been rambling here. Please help.
Thanks,
Wayne