Hand Planes

[tim walker]

Didn't see a category for hand tools, so sticking it here. Move if needed. I have accumulated a few planes over the years, including some Lie Nielsen and Veritas. They have mostly been collecting dust but now that I am retired I want to start using them more. The problem is I am not really sure what I should be using them for so I have posted a few pics of them collectively together and separate. With these plane, what would I need to add to my collection? There are two low angle block lanes and one that the blade goes from edge to edge. There is also a #4 1/2 from LN Thanks IMG_0790.jpg IMG_0792.jpg IMG_0793.jpg IMG_0794.jpg IMG_0795.jpg IMG_0796.jpg IMG_0786.jpg IMG_0787.jpg

[John Kananis]

Tim, this would be better in Neanderthal Haven. That said, don't buy any more until you figure out how to use what you have.

[Richard Coers]

Tim, this would be better in Neanderthal Haven. That said, don't buy any more until you figure out how to use what you have.

+1. You'll have to tell us what you want to make before we can tell you what planes you need. You plan on 100% hand work, or just some touch up on power equipment prepared? Lots more information please.

[Rob Luter]

By the looks of the photos you have everything you need to get started. You actually have some redundancy. Those shown below are a great basic kit. Clean them up, sharpen them, and start making stuff. The others can be used as restoration projects or to keep dust off shelves.

[Michael Rutman]

These are a great set to help you build stuff but they are not the primary tools you are going to use to make something. Let me give you an example.

You are making a cabinet and want to take the edge off the trim, you'd grab a plane and knock it down a bit.
You have two boards you want to glue together, you would use your longest plane to get the edges flat then take a smaller plane to knock a bit off the center to get a spring joint.
You finish your sanding and want to get rid of some swirls, again, a plane.
You make a joint proud (1/32" sticks up) and want to clean it up, again, a plane.
You just like how planed wood stains vs sanded. They look very different.
You have a wobbly table and need to shave a hair off the leg, planes can take paper thin cuts.
You want to put a twisted board on your planer, it helps to use a plane to knock off the corners first.

Here is what I did, well, I first did a class where we used planes a lot, then I learned what they are good at and how much effort hand planes are. I put them in an easy to grab spot, all sharpened and ready to go. Then I just figured out when I naturally grabbed one to fix something. I use them about once every 2-3 projects, but when I need one I love having them.

[Jim Koepke]

Tim,

The plane with the blade all the way to the edge is a rabbet (rebate) plane. Very useful when one wants to make a step along the edge of a piece of wood.

The Veritas plane looks to be a bevel up smoother. Very useful for working on end grain and the bevel can be ground steeper to work on woods with swirling grain.

A good site for general information on planes is > http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan1.htm < There is a lot to read there.

Here is an old post with general hand plane information > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?148076

There is more information in the Neanderthal wisdom & FAQs archive > https://sawmillcreek.org//showthread.php?103805

A plane with a sharp blade can smooth a saw cut faster and much smoother than sandpaper.

As my hand plane skills improved, sandpaper has had much less use in my woodworking.

Last night with a little help from the missus, we trimmed our back door using a hand plane. The weather made it stick to the point we could barely open or close it. Adjusting it with a shim under a hinge helped. It took more time for me to walk out to the shop to get the plane and set up our kitchen ladder than it did to remove a few shavings of wood to make the door close smoothly.

jtk

[Reed Gray]

For me, learning to sharpen them was the easy part, especially with the new sharpening stones and the jigs. the hard part is figuring out how to use them. There are plenty of videos up on You Tube. They show a few things and after that, you are on your own. Some good about that, and some bad. There are so many helpful hints that they could give about simple use tips, but you kind of have to figure them out for yourself. Start with short boards and try to make them flat and square edges. I like poplar and alder. Plane them down till they are nothing but shavings, and repeat.....

robo hippy

[Prashun Patel]

The Lie Nielsen and Veritas planes are very good to start with. The reason is that they are built very well and will require minimal (or no) tune up to get them functioning well.

Your planes all appear to be the "smoothing" or "block" variety. Both are great entry points into the world of handplanes.

You can use these to smooth flat boards in lieu of sandpaper. A perfect project would be a small table or a box. If you have access to a machine planer, or table saw to do your rough cuts and thicknessing, you can use these planes to smooth the faces and edges.

[Jimmy Harris]

In reality, you could do pretty much anything you need to do with that 4-1/2 and a chisel. The only reason to have a bunch of planes is to make work easier and quicker. Or, you know, to collect them.

So I say stick with what you have and add more as needed. Don't try to anticipate needs before they arrive. Only you can say what kinds of planes you'll need as everyone has a different approach. And you'll only know what you need once you get into working on some projects and realize a new task would be a lot easier with a different tool. Otherwise, you'll wind up collecting a bunch of stuff you don't use that you thought at the time you would. And that's not only a waste of money, but a waste of time that could be spent in the shop doing more productive things.

As for an introduction on how to use them and what they do, there are a million videos on YouTube that will make more sense more quickly to you than anything in a forum post. And while there's a lot of contradictory information out there, it's because everyone has their own way of doing things and preferences. You just need to explore and find yours. Educate yourself and then decide for yourself. Have fun with it.

[John Kananis]

Sorry about my abbreviated answer earlier but I meant it in a good way. I learned woodworking with hand tools, eventually got a bandsaw, tablesaw, etc, etc. I built my collection of hand tools over years by purchasing what I needed for my current project, learning the techniques and how the tool itself worked at the same time. Having an arsenal of never used planes on the wall will not make you more efficient, better, etc. Unless you like collecting, there's nothing wrong with that. I have a mid 80's LN #1 that my wife gave me as a gift and its function is to sit in the credenza of my desk and look pretty. Everything else is used practically though.

Good luck going forward and in your quest.