What to buy for $300?

[Hovey Moore]

The Narex chisels will be much better than your Buck Bros. How much better is an interesting question. I would say that there is a diminishing return on increased spending. Any decent chisel should last through a set of dovetails though.

Plane Comparison:
LV apron plane: $89, has a Norris adjuster (allows lateral adjustment), it is made from cast iron and is 5.5" long.
LN 102/103 block plane: $115, does not have a lateral adjuster, it is made from cast bronze and is 5.25" long.

Functionally the two are basically identical. Both have 1.25" blades. Neither has an adjustable mouth. Both have optional toothed blades if you needed one. Both are very nicely made and should last a lifetime or two.

[lowell holmes]

Plus 1 for the apron plane.

If you get some rare earth magnets while you order, you can make a wooden block to make a chamfer plane out of it as well.

[Bill Houghton]

So I've got $300(I know, not a lot) extra in my budget...

Oh, I don't know; some people think $300 is a lot of money:
http://giantcypress.net/post/1487152...lsen-hand-tool
(warning: some rude language here).

Look up one of the sellers of reconditioned vintage planes and get a No. 4 or 5 bench plane. Then get some decent chisels. While I haven't used them, the Lee Valley O-1 chisels seem nice, or the Narex bench chisels, or others.

[Mike Dowell]

Oh, I don't know; some people think $300 is a lot of money:
http://giantcypress.net/post/1487152...lsen-hand-tool
(warning: some rude language here).

Look up one of the sellers of reconditioned vintage planes and get a No. 4 or 5 bench plane. Then get some decent chisels. While I haven't used them, the Lee Valley O-1 chisels seem nice, or the Narex bench chisels, or others.

Yikes! Hope I didn't offend. I'm not rich - let me put that out there right away! I suppose I meant that $300 doesn't seem to go very far when you are considering shop tools.

that video was hysterical!!

[Brian Holcombe]

That is a laugh riot bill.

[Jim Koepke]

that video was hysterical!!

+1 on the video

$300 doesn't go very far if one is thinking of new tools.

It is always interesting to see how people would choose to spend other's money. Even more so when the person asking the question isn't sure what they want.

Then there is the question of what you have on hand and how much rehabilitation you are willing to do to get tools into a useable state.

There is a lot of money to be saved if you are willing to work with older tools. Finding them is part of the work. If you get good at finding old tools, lots of times you can buy low and sell high to build up a tool acquisition fund. It also makes it easier to bid on a group of tools as is often found on ebay. Then you resell any extras. Though if you do a lot of molding or carving you will want duplicates so you can have an in cannel and out cannel blade for at least a few sizes.

jtk

[Mike Dowell]

Ok, so let me single out planes for a moment. Lee Valley - Apron plane, Standard block and low angle standard block. I can see that the apron is small so it fits in an apron. I can also see that it is low angle and $60 less than either of the standard block planes. Besides an adjustable mouth(which doesn't seem to be a necessity), what are the benefits of the standard block vs the smaller apron?


Also - http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/pag...=1,43072,45938 any good?

[Sean Hughto]

Typical general use block planes are a convenience for things like easing edges and taking a bit off drawers or door - going where larger planes might be awkward - and maybe doing typical planing work on small/miniature scale projects. Handy, sure, but not really all that crucial. Find one that fits your hand and holds a nice edge. The details of bedding angles and adjustable mouths are really not that important day-to-day.

The ones I find most useful are the specialty block planes, like the LV fitted with the chamfer guide and the LN rabbet/block.

[paul cottingham]

Ok, so let me single out planes for a moment. Lee Valley - Apron plane, Standard block and low angle standard block. I can see that the apron is small so it fits in an apron. I can also see that it is low angle and $60 less than either of the standard block planes. Besides an adjustable mouth(which doesn't seem to be a necessity), what are the benefits of the standard block vs the smaller apron?


Also - http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/pag...=1,43072,45938 any good?

The regular LV block is really big. I have big, bass player hands, and it feels big, almost too big, to me. I find the apron plane easier to control. That being said, I really like my low angle block plane as well, but on a budget, the apron plane is a great value, and a great plane.

[Bill Rhodus]

Mike, lot of good advice here; the challenge for you will be sifting through it to use what you need for now. What you need will change as you gain experience. I have been working with several nephews over the last several years that have begun woodworking and have been working through many of the issues you now face. However everyone has to tailor their approach to suit their particular needs. With this in mind, contemplate, use and/or discard my comments as needed.
1) Several people have referenced the Narex chisels. I have found these chisels to be more than adequate and the price would enable you to purchase more than one set. I believe this is important to address the edge failure you referenced in your post; example - buy 2ea of the Narex 4 piece sets and sharpen one of the 1/2" chisels to 20-25 degrees for paring and the other to 30 degrees for chopping (may vary slightly depending upon your chisels, materials being worked, technique, etc). A chisel cutting edge needs to be tailored for the intended use. As you learn how to sharpen/use these chisels you can decide if you want a more expensive set or a set with a different handle shape.

2) I believe the sharpening guide is important for new woodworkers as it helps them develop proper sharpening technique in a shorter amount of time. As you become familiar with sharpening techniques, you can transition to sharpening by hand without a guide.

3) Several people have referenced buying a pre-war Stanley plane and I believe this is a good approach for the woods typically worked in your area of the country if you have someone to help you get the plane working properly. If you are going to figure it out on your own, buy the Veritas #4 so you will get a plane that is ready to work, will need little initially as far as sharpening, and will provide an example as to how a plane should really work. I would then buy the pre-war Stanleys as needed starting with the block and jack.

4) Scrapers are cheap; buy a couple and a good burnisher. Start practicing with both as it may take a bit before you get the hang of it and realize there is a great benefit to scraping.

[Bill Houghton]

Yikes! Hope I didn't offend. I'm not rich - let me put that out there right away!

No, no, I'm sorry I got you tense. I was teasing! I've been cutting the pennies in half to make them stretch farther for my entire tool-using career (age 19, my first motorcycle), so I really sympathize with the problem of limited money and the need to buy tools if you're going to work in your shop. While this isn't woodworking, my toolkit years back was so small that I once rebuilt a VW motor using, pretty much, just the toolkit from my BMW motorcycle, a set of metric sockets, and a flex handle for the sockets. No ratchet because I couldn't afford one.

You might look up, at your local library, one/all of the introduction-to-woodworking books. They all have lists of the basic toolkit, and the older books propose a noticeably smaller basic kit. You might find it helpful as you get started.

[Mike Dowell]

@Bill - thanks for that thought. I never considered grinding chisels for different purposes. By the way, if you "hollow grind" a chisel's bevel, doesn't that negate any "bevel angle"? Effectively, there is no angle because you ground it off - no?

OK, I have placed an order with both Lee Valley and with Woodcraft(had a gift card) - all based on the suggestions here, and also one impulse buy. Total gift amount was $325(including Woodcraft gift card) and total spent was $392. Not bad! I'll be right back here when my new stuff arrives and I'll post pics!

Geez, getting new tools excites me like toys did when I was a kid. These are like Nintendo games to me at my age(36).

Be back in this thread next week! Hey - I sincerely thank everyone for their input. I know threads like these are loaded questions at best, and I really appreciate the fact that everyone chimed in with an opinion and not some "how are we supposed to know what you need?" stuff. This is a wonderful community.