My first plane!

[Judson Green]

i certainly hope you're using protection

[Frederick Skelly]

In all seriousness, that's a nice tool. I love mine.

And your girlfriend sounds like she just might be a keeper!

Fred

P.S. Don't rollover on the plane while sleeping with it.

[Mike Holbrook]

Another nice thing about the Veritas LA Jack, eluded to above, is the BU Smoother and the BU Jointer both use the same size plane irons. You can have a smooth (fine), jointer (medium) and a jack (coarse) plane all of which can share blades. If you read Derek's article on sharpening BU plane blades you will find a simple method for adapting a few of these blades to match exactly to specific needs. Of coarse, each of these planes can be adapted to do multiple (fine, medium or coarse) jobs if you so desire. A versatile system using premium planes and maximum bang for the money.

That is maximum bang for three premium planes, both in terms of the economy of money spent and brain strain necessary to get and keep the whole system working. Certainly one might save some money restoring old Stanley type planes vs any of the premium plane offerings. However, among premium planes, I think it is hard to find a more versatile, easier to use system. As many others on these pages have posted it is hard to beat that three plane system for cost, versatility and most importantly for a new user ease of use.

[Glen Canaday]

P.S. Don't rollover on the plane while sleeping with it.

Or you might smother your smoother.

Ar ar ar.

Why not get any other iron and put the bevel on it yourself? It's killer-easy to do.

[Patrick Chase]

Another nice thing about the Veritas LA Jack, eluded to above, is the BU Smoother and the BU Jointer both use the same size plane irons. You can have a smooth (fine), jointer (medium) and a jack (coarse) plane all of which can share blades. If you read Derek's article on sharpening BU plane blades you will find a simple method for adapting a few of these blades to match exactly to specific needs. Of coarse, each of these planes can be adapted to do multiple (fine, medium or coarse) jobs if you so desire. A versatile system using premium planes and maximum bang for the money.

That is maximum bang for three premium planes, both in terms of the economy of money spent and brain strain necessary to get and keep the whole system working. Certainly one might save some money restoring old Stanley type planes vs any of the premium plane offerings. However, among premium planes, I think it is hard to find a more versatile, easier to use system. As many others on these pages have posted it is hard to beat that three plane system for cost, versatility and most importantly for a new user ease of use.

Another thing to consider is that the vintage Stanley #62 is fairly rare (insert snarky observation here about what that says about old-time woodworkers' opinions of BU planes) and commands high prices on the used market. They also didn't make equivalents to the BU jointer and smoother at all. If you're going to go the BU route then this is a case where buying new is more cost-effective.

[Jim Koepke]

Another thing to consider is that the vintage Stanley #62 is fairly rare (insert snarky observation here about what that says about old-time woodworkers' opinions of BU planes) and commands high prices on the used market. They also didn't make equivalents to the BU jointer and smoother at all. If you're going to go the BU route then this is a case where buying new is more cost-effective.

The materials used to make the original Stanley #62 were also a bit less than ideal.

Production on the Stanley #62 didn't start until 1905 and ended in 1942. It was originally advertised for heavy use across the grain. Most likely it didn't appeal to a lot of folks with limited income.

How many people back then has as many different planes in their workshops as we do today?

jtk