Hi,
What bench or other planes would you start your collection with? I know this is related to the type of work you do. I’m still defining my style and retooling a shop that was lost last year.
So far I’m making due with an odd combination:
Lie-Nielsen No. 73 Shoulder Plane
LN No. 103 block plane
Looks like I need a bench plane of some sort wouldn’t ya say. I can’t which to get as the “collection” kinda hinges on what you start with.
I figure #4 1/2,#5, #7 and lean towards the #5 first but maybe a #5 1/2…maybe even skip the #7 and get an #8 or perhaps a #6 would suffice and skip the #5…or #5 1/2….
My next major project will be some custom kitchen cabinet for my home.
Most of the Bedrocks around here rival LN in price so disregarding any miracle finds I’m spending $250-$300+ per plane.
And yes Baileys are an option but have you side by sided a Bailey, I mean a fine tuned Bailey even with the Bedrock types…hard to go back I tell ya. Decent examples get towards $100 there too, a #7 even more
Thanks,
10saw
Replies
I'm often amused by how many handplane enthusiasts will talk about planes as though they are like some tempremental sports cars that must be ever so fine tuned to achieve decent results. In my experience, decently manufactured planes are not so sensitive or moody for the vast majority of daily planing tasks. Smoothing is perhaps the exception, but even there it's really only on difficult figured wood where the finest tuning and highest quality planes stand out from the average. No doubt the LN pretties are a joy to use even if hogging or doing routine edge joining, but the vintage Bailey's do just fine even with their factory blades.
The only part of tuning that is a drudgery in my opinion, is also an often unnecessary part - getting the sole absolutely flat from toe to heel. Again, for the smoother, it makes some sense. For a Jack, not so much.
In short, I'd say, take your $200 to eBay and buy a host of vintage Baileys to try out. Here are some price points for decent - excellent users:
5 - $30
4 - $35
3 - $35
7 - $75
6 - $55
5 1/2 - $65
4 1/2 - $65
10 - $85
After using 3 or 4 of these for a while, buy the LN version of the one you use most.
I agree with folks like Ian Kirby that a 7 and 4 1/2 will together do alot of good work for you. I personally like the 5 too as a very handy all arounder.
Thanks,I've been down that road and while not really and elitist (eegads maybe I am<G>!!!) I made a huge gamble last year and the pay off was to be the LNs and other high end tools.Everything was a loss so this is just a thumbing my nose at fate.10saw
One of my favorite planes is an old wooden scrub plane. You don't see many folks recommending a scrub as the foundation of a plane collection, but I use mine a lot. Not very glamerous, but if you are doing much hand work, it's almost essential. In fact, it's the first plane you use in the process of turning a rough board into furniture. They are a blast to use -- eat up wood and make a lot of shavings fast -- and are probably one of the easiest planes to master. Other than that, are you planning on jointing by hand? If so, the #7 would be next in the stable for me. It's pretty tough to run a long edge with a short plane. If not, I'd pick the 4 1/2. I have the LN and I like it a lot.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
10,
If you plan to do a fair amount/lot of hand work (specifically with planes), here's what you need to cover about 90% of your hand planing needs:
Low angle (adjustable mouth) block plane
Standard angle (adjustable mouth) block plane
Jack plane (#5 or #5½)
Smoothing plane (#3, #4, #4½, or #5½)
Jointer plane (#6, #7, or #8)
Scrub plane (if you intend to prepare your stock by hand from raw/rough-sawn lumber, otherwise not needed)
Some comments and observations:
Adjustable mouth block planes give you much more flexibility and generally handle gnarly/uncooperative grain better than fixed-mouth BPs.
The #5½ is a very versatile plane: you can use it as a slightly longer and wider jack plane (with the mouth opened up), as a long, wide, heavy smoothing plane -- a.k.a. a panel plane -- (close the mouth up), or as a short jointer/trying plane (adjust mouth as necessary). I use my LN #5½ mainly as a panel plane/large smoother; my Stanley #5½ gets used mainly as a trying plane when dimensioning shorter pieces of raw lumber.
The #3 is handy for smaller projects like jewelry boxes and such. The #4 is a great all-round plane for smoothing and other misc planing jobs. The #4½'s a real work-horse of a smoother and can generally -- with the extra width and heft, and a tight mouth -- handle most domestic and some of the exotic hardwoods, especially if you also have a York Pitch frog.
The #5 is also a very versatile plane: it can be used as a long smoother, a jack plane (DOH!), and (with a heavily cambered iron) as a scrub plane.
For jointing edges or flattening the faces of panels, "longer is better" is the general rule of thumb. If most of your boards are going to be longer than about three feet, then you'll probably want a #7 or #8 (or you could go with a 30" or longer wooden jointer....). If you'll be working mainly with shorter boards, then a #6 will work just fine.
_____
For your kitchen cabinet project, if you're going to be using a lot of plywood, then hand planes are not going to be of much help to you: IME plywood does not plane very well, and is also very hard on irons. OTOH, if you're making your cabinets mainly out of solid wood, then planes will help a lot.
If you're looking for the most versatility with the fewest number of planes, then take a look at a #5½ and a #7/#8. As mentioned above, the #5½ can serve as a smoother, jack plane and short jointer/trying plane, while the #7/#8 will take care of panel flattening and straightening (long) edges. Combined with the block plane you already have, you've gotten most of the common planing needs covered.
(FYI, the LN York Pitch frog for the #4 also fits the #5, and the YP frog for the #4½ also fits the #5½, #6, and #7.)
_____
Since you've already been spoiled by LN's fine tools in the form of the 103 and the 073, I'd say just go ahead and spring for the LN bench plane(s); you won't be disappointed. My suggestion, based on your stated up-coming projects -- if you can only buy one plane right now -- would be the LN #5½. Get the YP frog separately, if you'll be working with figured woods -- that way you have the flexibility of two planes for the cost of slightly more than one.
Tschüß!
Mit freundlichen holzbearbeitungischen Grüßen aus dem Land der Rio Grande!!
James
Edited 12/5/2006 5:00 pm by pzgren
I have several planes already in my tool set (I won't call it a "collection"). My next buy will be a shoulder plane, as I lack one. I expect to get the veritas medium one.
After that, I'd like to supplement my stanley 207 block plane (from my granddad) with a new LN low angle adjustable mouth one.
10saw
You are looking to get far too many planes (all at once?). The one plane that will compliment the two you already have is the LV LA Jack. This will function as a shorter jointer, a smoother, and for shooting ends. Note that the LN version is a different beast (it is smaller for one thing).
Regards from Perth
Derek
I'm starting to see bench planes as the bland "meat and potatos" of the plane world. The really interesting ones are the wooden molding planes, plow planes, fillesters, dados,...someone just gave me 18 wooden molding planes. They are beyond cool,...they are just unbelievable. Now I have 30 total (that work) and I can see already that I will have a lifetime addiction to working with them,....
Just two cents from the peanut gallery,...
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled