Flight Decks

[Howard Skillington]

I do not yet own a jointer plane and, again, would value the perspectives of you plane gurus in The Haven. In particular, from those of you who have a full suite of planes from which to choose, I’d like to hear which one you actually end of using. I’m guessing that most people who own both a No. 7 and a No. 8 end up using one or the other most of the time, but which one? And, for that matter, are there any advocates of the No. 6 out there who have come to believe that a fore is enough plane to flatten and straighten boards in the real world?

I get the impression that it has become less difficult to find a good deal on a No. 8 than a 7 these days, but that wouldn’t necessarily determine my choice.

[Stew Denton]

Howard,

I don't have a #8, so can't comment on that part, but there are a whole lot less #8s out there than #7s, so years ago, the plane makers obviously sold a whole lot more #7s than #8s. Part of that may have been due to carpenters. Back in the hay days of jointer planes, carpenters had to carry their tools to work, I think, so the #7, being lighter than the #8s, might have been a factor. I think that the primary market for planes would have been carpenters.

That said, since the tool manufactures made a whole lot more #7s than #8s, it seems likely that the folks that used jointer planes a lot used a #7 a whole lot more than a #8.

Concerning the second point, from what I have seen, looking at planes a lot on Ebay, the #8s typically go for a significantly higher price than do the #7s. You will find it significantly more difficult to find a #8 at a reasonable price than you find a #7 for, and you will see quite a few #7s for each #8 you find.

Stew

[Tom M King]

I keep a camber on the 7 iron, and none on the 8. The 7 is used for flattening, and the 8 for edge jointing. I'm sure the 7 doesn't have enough camber to matter to amount to anything on an edge, but I just think better about using a straight iron on an edge. It could easily be done the other way around, but the 7 is a lot easier to handle for the longer time in use for flattening over what edge joining requires. The way we can tune a plane these days to take really thin shavings, either will have plenty of length for either use.

For non-important reasons, I ended up with a couple of 6's, and keep different cambers on each-both deeper than the 7, but not nearly as deep as the 5. I use one or the other when a 5 is too aggressive, depending on what I'm doing. They could easily be done without, but I just wanted them, and do end up using them.

[Jim Sevey]

I use a 6 for most of my plane work. No specific reason. Just feels right. It a WR.

[James Baker SD]

I have a #7. Hasn't been used since I got a #8. I just like the #8 better for some reason.

[Howard Skillington]

Thanks for your reports. I think "no reason" is actually a perfectly good reason - if it feels right to you, then that's all you need to know.

[John Vernier]

The #8 is quite a lot heavier than the #7, enough so that I really feel it in my shoulder and elbow after using it for a while. I don't use the #8 much, and keep it with no camber for the final kiss pass when flattening or jointing edges. I find it is usually unnecessary, as I can generally get a decent glue joint off of my #7 or #6, even though they are slightly cambered. I had no real interest in having a #6 until I came across a nice WWI-era Stanley at a price I couldn't say no to, and now I find I use it rather than the #7 most of the time. If I need to pack up tools to work on site, the #6 is the one to carry.

[Mike Cherry]

I have a # 8 LN and a 607 and the only reason I bought the # 8 was because I had a gift card to Highland Woodworking and I just wanted one. Having said that, I'm a big fan of being able to use multiple blades for multiple planes. The 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 all use 2 3/8" blades if I'm not mistaken. That might help you make a decision. Also, the #8 can be hard to get get moving but once you do you better move out of its way!

[Jim Koepke]

My #7 & #8 get about the same amount of use as my #6s. Just depends on how much is being taken off of how long a piece. Sometimes one of the long planes is set up with a sharp blade to take a smoothing pass after the other did the flattening. The long nose on the #7 or #8 helps register on an edge and is effective at removing any snipe or dog legs on the end of a piece being worked.

jtk

[Hilton Ralphs]

This is what Paul Sellers had to say about the #7 and #8 in an answer to a reader's question.

I have yet to meet any craftsman that ever used them in my 50 years continuous woodworking. That includes the old craftsmen I worked under as an apprentice. None of them had a #7

Here is the article.

He does have a point about that most of the second hand ones are almost never abused so maybe that's a sign of less use? Interesting that he says the soles of the metal planes tend to move more than the wooden equivalent.

Anyway, if you want to buy new then the new Veritas Custom Jointer is awesome.

[Jim Matthews]

The longest plane I can comfortably, and reliably use is an ECE Jointer.

It's 23" long. That's roughly the same size as a #7, and about half the weight in German Beech.

I use it once, maybe twice in any project.
Mostly I use a plane about 10" long.

[Brian Holcombe]

I use my #7 LN all the time. It practically lives on my bench. It's setup with a medium thickness shaving and a tight chipbreaker and does everything from roughing to fine work then I take a few swipes with my #4 to finish.

I do this because often times I'm sawing to thickness and do not have enough material to cut across the grain first. I simply check for twist against a flat reference on my bench and bias cuts to eliminate it until it's flat. I like flat and smooth to happen all at the same time, so when I'm making parts I dont bother to follow with a #4 plane since the work off the jointer is usually smooth enough and tearout free.

For flattening panels or roughing large timbers I'll cut across the grain first with a heavy cambered jack plane, then do the remainder of the work with a jointer.

[steven c newman]

I seem to use the #6 size more than most.
IMAG0107.jpg
In fact, now have two of them. As for a Flight deck..
IMAG0108.jpg
This is most of my users. There is a couple 22" long wood bodies around,mainly an Ohio Tool Works #81. There is a Stanley #31 trans. plane. 24" long, like a #8, just about half the weight. Instead of a 2-5/8'' wide iron, the 31 has a 2-3/8" wide one.
I also like the trans plane jacks, and even a #3 sized Liberty Bell #122. Just depends on what size of lumber I am working with.

Have an old junker of a jack plane, cambered it iron to about 8". Tis now a Scrub Jack. There is also the Windsor #33 with a 3" radius camber for smaller scrub work. Again, depends on what the project is.

[Judson Green]

I have a # 8 LN and a 607 and the only reason I bought the # 8 was because I had a gift card to Highland Woodworking and I just wanted one. Having said that, I'm a big fan of being able to use multiple blades for multiple planes. The 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 all use 2 3/8" blades if I'm not mistaken. That might help you make a decision. Also, the #8 can be hard to get get moving but once you do you better move out of its way!

The early 5½ used 2¼" irons, iirc.

[Judson Green]

I keep a camber on the 7 iron, and none on the 8. The 7 is used for flattening, and the 8 for edge jointing. I'm sure the 7 doesn't have enough camber to matter to amount to anything on an edge, but I just think better about using a straight iron on an edge. It could easily be done the other way around, but the 7 is a lot easier to handle for the longer time in use for flattening over what edge joining requires. The way we can tune a plane these days to take really thin shavings, either will have plenty of length for either use.

I've a 7 and 8 and pretty much do the same as Tom. I think its nice to have two jointers one for flating one for edge joining.

Just yesterday the rust was calling and got another 7 and a Sargent 6 size, but haven't cleaned em up yet... Post on that later.