What Plane do I need?

[Dan Kirkland]

I have a slab of Pecan wood that I'd like to turn into a coffee table, it's my first furniture project.

I need to level it but I'm kind of at a loss as to which plane would best help me accomplish this, I know a bit about the different sizes and numbers of the Stanley ones, I have a few nice block planes but I just need something I can level with easier. Power tools are out of the question due to my apartment.

I'm on a pretty tight budget being in grad school, so I'd need to find something under 50$ (tall order I know). Any advice?

[steven c newman]

Good place to start would be a Stanley #5 Jack plane. They are plentiful, and fairly cheap.
IMAG0010.jpg
The one in the back is a little larger, a #5-1/2

Without knowing the size of the board you are working on......However, when you get above the #5s...price shoots right up there. Like for a #7 ( $80 and up!!)

Get an older Stanley or Millers Falls Jack plane for starting out. Be careful though, these tend to get addictive...
IMAG0011.jpg
A very slippery slope, indeed.....heheheheheheh..

[Dan Kirkland]

I did forget to put up the size of the project. It's a 4'L 16"W slab. Thanks for the information steven

[Normand Leblanc]

Just like Steven I think a no. 5 would do the job. A longer plane would be better but with your budget... I do hope that you have what it takes to sharpen the blade.

Good luck!

Normand

[Jim Koepke]

Hi Dan,

Are there any pawn shops in the DFW area?

You might be able to find a #6 in good condition for a reasonable price.

I mention pawn shops because they are often willing to make a deal to move a piece. Take a screw driver with you to take apart the blade and chip breaker to make sure the blade isn't all pitted.

In such cases if they do not want me to take apart the plane or they do not want to deal, unless they already have a very low price, I will smile and say thank you and walk away.

I might come back a week later and see if it is still in the shop and see if they are ready to deal.

jtk

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I am a big fan of hand tools, but tackling a pecan slab that size is a large project if this is your first foray into planes. Do you have a decent bench? A local shop might be willing to run it through a drum sander for you.

[Prashun Patel]

I hate to sound glib but:

Take the slab to a mill and pay them $25-$50 to flatten both sides for you.

You don't need to spend $400, but you will need at least a good used plane with a good blade, and a good way to sharpen. Finding this on a budget may take some time.
pp

[Patrick Chase]

I hate to sound glib but:

Take the slab to a mill and pay them $25-$50 to flatten both sides for you.

You don't need to spend $400, but you will need at least a good used plane with a good blade, and a good way to sharpen. Finding this on a budget may take some time.
pp

I've been holding back because I didn't want to spoil the party, but I agree with Prashun : A unique workpiece that you're targeting to a specific/immediate purpose probably isn't the right place to learn a new way of woodworking.

As Prashun says sharpening will probably be the most immediate barrier. Any plane you can buy on that sort of budget will need tuning before it can be used to good effect on your Pecan slab, so if you're not set up to do that then you're going to have A Bad Time (tm).

[Skip Helms]

Since you are in school, see if you have privileges or connections to a campus woodworking shop. Some schools teach industrial arts and most have facilities to make or repair all the cabinets. You're looking for a wide-belt sander -- failing that, a wide planer. It might be worth it even it you only find a place to make sawdust.

If all else fails, a #5 plane is the first one you need for almost any project. Get a scraper too -- especially if you can't sand. sh

[lowell holmes]

The 5 1/2 is wider and longer than a #5. At least mine is. The 5 1/2 makes a pretty good shooting plane.

[Patrick Chase]

The 5 1/2 is wider and longer than a #5. At least mine is. The 5 1/2 makes a pretty good shooting plane.

Yep.

The 5-1/2 has the same 2-3/8" wide blade as the 4-1/2, 6, and 7. The 5 has the same 2" wide blade as the 4, so that accounts for the difference in width.

The classic Stanley 5-1/2 is also 1" longer than the 5, at 15" vs 14".

[Jim Koepke]

The 5-1/2 has the same 2-3/8" wide blade as the 4-1/2, 6, and 7.

Unless it was made before 1939. The early #5-1/2 planes used a 2-1/4" blade.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

Unless it was made before 1939. The early #5-1/2 planes used a 2-1/4" blade.

jtk

You're right, as usual.

My 5-1/2 is modern, and I'd forgotten that the original version used an oddball width. The interesting thing is that the 4-1/2 came out before the 5-1/2 but used the same 2-3/8" blade as the 6 and 7 from day one. Maybe Stanley believed the 4-1/2 was unwieldy and was trying to split the difference?

[Jim Koepke]

You're right, as usual.

My 5-1/2 is modern, and I'd forgotten that the original version used an oddball width. The interesting thing is that the 4-1/2 came out before the 5-1/2 but used the same 2-3/8" blade as the 6 and 7 from day one. Maybe Stanley believed the 4-1/2 was unwieldy and was trying to split the difference?

If you look at the specs for the #27-1/2 transitional jack you will see what likely happened.

jtk

[Jason Dean]

Dan, I am working some pecan right now using a #5 for all the grunt work. You are going to need a pretty stout work holding setup to keep it still unless you take really light cuts. Once you have it held down it goes pretty easily. As was already mentioned, your $50 price point means you are going to have to shop around for a good candidate for restoration.