#3 vs. #4 bench plane

[Rob Matarazzo]

I'm planning to buy a WoodRiver bench plane but am a little undecided between a #3 and #4. I already have a couple of block planes that I like and a #5 jack plane, so this will fill the gap between them. I don't have a Woodcraft store near me, otherwise I would just go and see which one feels right. Any advice?

[Chris Griggs]

Get a No. 4. 3's are a great size, but if you have large hands they can be a little cramped behind the handle. Plus I just subjectively feel that the No. 4 is the perfect all around size smoother. It's got enough weight to plow through hardwoods and difficult grain, but its small enough that you can still smooth a surface pretty easily that isn't dead flat.

[Ben Beckham]

I'd say it depends mostly on your hand size. Giant mitts may have trouble with a 3, and tiny hands might be overwhelmed by a 4 for smoothing. I have average size hands, and I have a few of each of the #3 and #4 in old Stanley Baileys, and I reach for both sizes about equally as often. I use the different sizes depending on the scale of work I'm doing, or if one happens to be sharper than the other, or if one is closer to me when I need it, or if I just feel like using a low knob/high knob plane, or...

Cliff notes: doesn't matter much.

[David Weaver]

I'd also get a #4. There's probably a good reason you see more of them than anything else. I've been through just about everything stanley, LV and lie nielsen have to offer (except I've never used a #1....and have no interest in it either), and the 4 is by far my favorite smoother to use.

[Gary Hodgin]

A matter of preference but I'd go with the 4.

[Joe Leigh]

Another vote for #3

[Stanley Covington]

(except I've never used a #1....and have no interest in it either).

The No.1 makes a great little paperweight! People's first reaction is interesting here in Japan.

Stan

[Russell Sansom]

I do a bit of small scale work and some pattern-making in bass wood. The #3 is good for that. It does make an excellent block substitute as well. Otherwise I concur with the four-crowd.
Russ

[Prashun Patel]

i have a couple #3's (Stanley and LV small BU smoother). I love them, but the narrow base make them a little tricky for smoothing larger things. I just like them because they can be used like large block planes. If you are looking for a strict smoother, i'd pick a #4. Even for the small handed, #4's are not heavy. Further, smoothing isn't as sweaty work as flattening and thicknessing.

[Jim Koepke]

My vote is on the #3.

My reason is if you purchase a plane at a yard sale or flea market it will likely be a #4. The #3 is rare out in the wild.

My current set up is one #3 in my shop and three #4s. For small work, the #3 is often my choice. The #4s also get a lot of work.

If a #3 popped up at a yard sale or other venue at a decent price, it would be invited to come home with me.

jtk

[steven c newman]

My #3s are getting most of the work. A Union #3, A Millers Falls #8, and even a Handyman#1203. I do have (at last rollcall) four #4 smoothers. Been wanting to try out a Union #5A as a panel smoother. Might do it this weekend...

[Lloyd Robins]

I don't really have enough experience to give a reasoned preference, but I did just want to note that Old Street Tool and other wooden plane makers use a 1-5/8 to 1-3/4 iron in a smaller smoother which is close to a #3. (They also use a 55° angle, but that is another story). So, smaller smoothers seem to have a place in the world.

[David Weaver]

It depends on how you use your smoother. I don't think most people would be very happy with a smoother of that size for general furniture work when something else is available.

There is a difference in philosophy between how Warren Mickley has described smoothing (straight through strokes on a surface), and IIRC Larry described historically accurate smoothing as being more of a spot removal issue, at least sometimes.

Most users are practicing something much closer to what Warren describes. The last time I saw warren mention anything, it was a plain stanley #4 - a plane he won a WIA smoothing contest with against a quantity of very expensive planes.

[Michael Ray Smith]

It depends on how you use your smoother. . . . There is a difference in philosophy between how Warren Mickley has described smoothing (straight through strokes on a surface), and IIRC Larry described historically accurate smoothing as being more of a spot removal issue, at least sometimes. . . . .

I think David is spot-on in his description of the different uses for smoothers. The slightly wider No. 4 is easily the better choice for straight through strokes, but a smaller plane works better to smooth areas of tear-out and other spot issues. As a novice a few steps ahead of you in assembling tools, I predict your immediate needs will be more along the lines of smoothing sections of tear out, but eventually you'll need to deal with both issues.

So, I suggest that you think about not only this purchase but also the next. If this will be the last smaller plane you buy for quite a while, I'd go with Jim Koepke's advice and buy a No. 3 because, IMO, it's a little better at dealing with both issues than the No. 4 and because it will probably meet your immediate needs a little better. However, if you think you're going to continue to fill in the gaps (somehow our estimate of the size of a gap in tools that needs to be filled gets smaller and smaller as we go!), I suggest you get a No. 4 for straight through stokes and consider something even smaller than a No. 3 for spot removal -- either a Stanley No. 2 (if you can spring for the bucks) or a low-angle block plane from Lee Valley and add the tote and front knob and an extra 38 degree blade so it can serve not only as a block plane but as a bench smoother. I have all four -- a Stanley No. 2, the Millers Falls equivalents of a No. 3 and No. 4, and the LV low-angle block plane with the accessories. With those choices, the No. 3 is probably the one I use least. I use the No. 4 for straight through strokes on a surface and the No. 2 or the LV block plane for areas of tear-out and such.

[Stew Hagerty]

I think David is spot-on in his description of the different uses for smoothers. The slightly wider No. 4 is easily the better choice for straight through strokes, but a smaller plane works better to smooth areas of tear-out and other spot issues. As a novice a few steps ahead of you in assembling tools, I predict your immediate needs will be more along the lines of smoothing sections of tear out, but eventually you'll need to deal with both issues.

So, I suggest that you think about not only this purchase but also the next. If this will be the last smaller plane you buy for quite a while, I'd go with Jim Koepke's advice and buy a No. 3 because, IMO, it's a little better at dealing with both issues than the No. 4 and because it will probably meet your immediate needs a little better. However, if you think you're going to continue to fill in the gaps (somehow our estimate of the size of a gap in tools that needs to be filled gets smaller and smaller as we go!), I suggest you get a No. 4 for straight through stokes and consider something even smaller than a No. 3 for spot removal -- either a Stanley No. 2 (if you can spring for the bucks) or a low-angle block plane from Lee Valley and add the tote and front knob and an extra 38 degree blade so it can serve not only as a block plane but as a bench smoother. I have all four -- a Stanley No. 2, the Millers Falls equivalents of a No. 3 and No. 4, and the LV low-angle block plane with the accessories. With those choices, the No. 3 is probably the one I use least. I use the No. 4 for straight through strokes on a surface and the No. 2 or the LV block plane for areas of tear-out and such.

Michael, you mentioned the LV Low-Angle Block Plane. Well, I have one all decked out with the tote & knob and I absolutely love it. While it is about the size of a #2 in most respects, it has quite a bit more hand room. I have mine outfitted with the standard 25 degree blade for most of the things I use it for. However, I have a 50 degree blade and a 38 degree toothed blade for working highly figured woods and dealing with tearout. It's an amazing piece of iron, and I use it all the time. I have a Stanley Sweetheart L-A block plane that I use for more typical block plane things.

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