I have been doing woodworking many years, and consider myself very average as I have great machines and can make some nice things, but I have not really invested time into buying and using hand tools. When I get better at that, then I will consider myself an above average woodworker. I have had a LN #4 and #62 and block plane for many years along with my Craftsman from high school, and some Marples and old Japan Woodworker chisels, but used machines or reached for sanders or roundover bits when I should have used a plane on many occasions, which would have saved on time, noise, dust etc. Yea, I can make nice dovetails with my Keller jig, but nothing like what a delicate hand dovetails looks like.
I am now focusing on improving my hand tool skills, and am on the wait list for a 4 day precision with hand tools workshop with Garrett Hack. A friend recently showed me the advantages of the Veritas Hinge plane over a template jig for a router when trying to fine tune the mortises on a door for a better fit and one is on order. I was able to buy 2 used Holtey planes at such a low price I feel it is unfair, but for sure I have gotten rid of things of value for way less than what I paid many times. After reading the thread on the shooting boards, I purchased a LN #51. Went to a sharpening class at Woodcraft this past month.
I am in no hurry to start buying a lot of tools. I will buy only what I anticipate using. Maybe a shoulder plane would be next. Anyhow, for just having several more planes and a plan to maybe buy better chisels, I am needing to re-do the storage space around my old Diefenbach workbench. I do not want to keep re-doing my layout, and want to within reason plan space for the possibility of some future additions.
As I look at other shops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BAWNOi86FQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyfvygylyJg
I see impressive numbers of hand tools, and a lot of shop real estate was needed to organize and store them. I was wondering how many of those planes and chisels actually get used and how many are for a collection.
On the cover of the Toolbox Book is the amazing tool cabinet of Andy Rae, and I see far less tools. I count 14 planes including I think a shoulder, a router plane, and several block planes. Maybe he has others. Maybe not and that is all a master craftsman needs.
I was wondering in a shop where one does not use only hand tools and does not use wood planes to create a variety of profiles in wood or to flatten boards in situations where a planer will do that, just how many planes and chisels (not counting turning or carving) can one have before some of them are no better at a task than another one that is owned. I am thinking part of it is the collection bug, and I understand that and nothing wrong with that. Not for me. If any of those guys actually use all of those planes and chisels, I am thinking wow, what a skill level to appreciate so many distinctions.
I know now many planes one "needs" is influenced by how one defines "need" but I was just trying to think about my space.