Need Help Choosing Hand Tools

[John Buzzurro]

I was asked by my g/f what I wanted for Xmas, and my first thought went to hand tools. Specifically, general-use chisels and planes. I really don't know much about hand tools, so I'm looking for some guidance. Quality is the main consideration, but of course I don't want her to spend a fortune.

I mainly use power tools, so the hand tools would be mainly for cleanup or to do smaller jobs.

I currently have some cheapo bevel-edge chisels which I'd like to replace. They range from 1/4" to 1" width, and from 7.5" to 9" in length. I'm thinking that a good quality set similar in size might be nice to have for general chisel work - something that can take occasional pounding with a mallet. I'm mainly looking for a recommendation on brand for the chisels.

As for planes, I currently have the ones pictured below. The largest plane is a Buck Brothers (9.5" x 2"), the middle is a Stanley block plane (6" x 1&5/8"). The smallest is 3.5" x 1" I'm not sure whether these are worth replacing or not. I'd also be interested in knowing whether I should add a plane that I don't have. Typical uses would be for leveling and smoothing.

Just a side note: I also have a couple of Bahco card scrapers (and a burnisher), and a set of 3 Norton oil stones for sharpening the chisels and plane blades.

Thanks in advance.
John

[Jim Becker]

John, there have been some very good threads here in the Neander forum about chisels and planes, including quite a few "what first" type threads. You might play around with the "Advanced Search" in addition to the commentary you get in this thread.

For the record, I puchased a set of Ashley Iles chisels from Tools for Working Wood awhile back as well as an Adria dovetail saw. Couldn't be happier with them. I also have a LN low angle adjustable mouth block plane, Veritas medium shoulder plane and a Stanley #4 smoother that another creeker fixed up. As a largely non-Neander woodworker, those tools still really get a lot of action in my shop and I find myself doing things with them much more. Good tools tend to encourage that!

[Jeff Borges]

Hey John, Perhaps you have a project you want to build first? If so, think of what tools the piece would require to build, those would be the most used starting tools....

As Jim said, good chisels (do a search, the opinions vary here, but all come from personal experience, and budget) and a decent saw (again, there are a few types to consider before brand)

You will find one thing rings true: buy the best you can afford, it pays dividends in your work.

Have fun!!
Jeff

[Mike Henderson]

I don't want to talk you out of a gift, but if you only use hand tools occasionally, why do you want to spend a lot of money on them? Almost any modern chisel set has decent steel - I would bet that your problem(s) with your existing set have more to do with sharpening than with the chisels themselves. If you want to use the chisels for both paring and pounding, I would recommend getting another modest priced set and sharpening one set for paring (maybe 20 -25*) and the other for pounding (maybe 35*). The Irwin blue handle chisels are a good modest priced set. The Hirsch offered by Lee Valley are a step up. If you want to try Japanese chisels, the set offered by Grizzly is good.

For planes, the sizes you have are good, although you probalby don't use the small plane very much. A block plane is a workhorse in the shop so I would recommend getting a good quality one. Both the LN and LV low angle block planes are excellent - the blades will hold an edge much better than the blade of a modern Stanley block plane. The choice between them is how it fits in your hand. I prefer the LN. The lowest prices on LN planes are at the Fine Tool Journal (and free shipping) - google for it.

Tune your Buck plane and I'll bet it will do a very good job for you.

If you later decide to start working more with hand tools, I might make some different recommendations. But for someone who works mainly with power tools, I think the above will do you well.

Mike

[Henry Cavanaugh]

I would consider using the tools you have and not upgrade them until you have some other tools. The better chisel may mean sharpening less often but thats not the worse thing. What tools next depends on the projects you like doing. A veritas medium shoulder plane is great for fine tuning tenons etc. A small hand saw is a must. A rasp is great for shaping. My next tool will be a LN beading plane but only because the project I am doing now could use it. The tool I use the most often is a Starette 12" combination square. easy to read scale in 1/8, 1/16 1/32, 1/64.

[Terek Johnson]

Howdy John! I think someone somewhere here once made the statement about starting along the "slippery slope" of tool collecting. There's a ton of fun and cool handtools out there... so many tools, so little time.
Anyway, you mentioned doing leveling and smoothing work with your handplane. There's no better canidate than a #5 (also called a jack plane). Long enough to do a decent job leveling and jointing, but small enough to do a decent job of smoothing too.
If your girlfriend has the tenacity, send her into the addictive world of e-Bay where she could find you a snazzy old-school Stanley #5 for under $50: with Stanley, older is better.
As far as chisels, I agree with the above ideas about modern chisels: I have a set of Marples I picked up about 12 years ago for around $30. I use them for everything from cleaning and trimming as well as pounding out mortises in everything from fir to cherry - no problems at all. 1/4' is good for mortises and dovetails; 1/2" is good for all-purpose cleaning and trimming; 1" is good for mortising hinges and cleaning tenons.
Keep it simple and have fun!