Thread: First jack plane for an apprentice carpenter?

Apologies for the derail, the other day I bought a few planes and a cheapie I got was a No5 that had the front lopped off not far in front of the blade.

Has anyone seen this and would it be from a breakage or just to get the cut as close to a corner as possible?

Originally Posted by Ubernoob

Apologies for the derail, the other day I bought a few planes and a cheapie I got was a No5 that had the front lopped off not far in front of the blade.

Has anyone seen this and would it be from a breakage or just to get the cut as close to a corner as possible?

almost certainly the result of a fall.
"Bull nose" Stanley #4s and #5s turn up regularly on ebay -- and inspire a bit of quite chuckling, especially when they are described as "super rare" or "user modified"

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Ken, the goalposts have certainly moved far from the LN and Veritas planes you first had your sights on.

You originally asked about a #5, and now a #5 1/2. They are quite different planes in size and heft. My first plane was a Stanley #5 1/2, which I used for a few years before acquiring others.
snip
There are those that like the #5 1/2 as a jack of all trades. I am not one. I much prefer a #3 or #4 as a smoother, a #5 as a roughing plane, and a #7 as a jointer. The #5 1/2 is too wide for comfortable roughing, and too long for smoothing, and not long enough for jointing.

Ken

take heed of Derek's comments. You are at risk of falling down the acquisition-because-it's-there "rabbet hole".

my own perspective ...
my current workspace has no tailed apprentices, I have a
#5 set up as a scrub -- it's a great upper body workout
#4-1/5 set up for smoothing
#6 set up for medium work -- between the scrub and smoother -- and edge jointing
#40 (scrub) which I use when I've a fair bit to take off an edge or the face of a relatively narrow piece.

If I was limited to ONE plane it would be either the #6 or #5
the #6 doesn't need as much care / checking (compared to the #5) when jointing
the #5 is lighter -- important when you carry your tools everywhere -- and shorter (which makes it better when used as a smoother)

the #4-1/2 is too wide / short for jointing

BUT
you really need to know why your tutor specified you get a "Jack plane" as this reason will greatly influence your selection

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Ken, the goalposts have certainly moved far from the LN and Veritas planes you first had your sights on. When you started this thread, from your comments I was under the impression that you already had a few planes - hence my comment to you to not alter your grandfather's plane. Now I understand that you have little experience with planes, and so I agree that having this #4 in service is a good idea ... but practice on the eBay purchase first.

You originally asked about a #5, and now a #5 1/2. They are quite different planes in size and heft. My first plane was a Stanley #5 1/2, which I used for a few years before acquiring others. That was nearly 20 years ago, and I have not used it since. It is a real "bitsa" (bit of this and a bit of that). There are those that like the #5 1/2 as a jack of all trades. I am not one. I much prefer a #3 or #4 as a smoother, a #5 as a roughing plane, and a #7 as a jointer. The #5 1/2 is too wide for comfortable roughing, and too long for smoothing, and not long enough for jointing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I've kinda been convinced by all the suggestions that I should get an old Stanley, especially after receiving my grandfathers plane, there is something special about a well broken in tool. And because they're pretty cheap (unless you're cooking dinner and miss out on a bargain... THAT I'M STILL SEETHING ABOUT! :P) grabbing one and having a play isn't going to cost the earth.

No matter what I buy, I always intend to buy once. It's the whole owner vs consumer thing.

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I'm sure I'll invest in a Veritas or LN sooner or later, but if I get something now that isn't disposable, a waste of money, and has the ability to be used in a different role when/if I purchase a replacement, then that makes sense to me.

After all, I was asking advice When my trainer said "Get a jack plane", I was like, sure... One of those... *googles jack plane*.

Ken, Castlemaine Vic. Swap Meet. may be the place to go this Sunday.

Well my eBay purchase has arrived with the pieces to repair my gdad's plane.

planeparts.jpg

Few things of note, the lever cap seems heavier, might be a slightly earlier version.

The part on the far right that from what I can tell connects the frog to the adjustment screw on the base was actually missing from my gdad's, so unintended bonus!

The iron has a 'little' more meat on the bone than the original, and it's a made in the usa version (not sure if that makes it better).

The tote has been repaired, not a big deal as I do intend to make a replacement, but restoring an original one may have been fun (I mean, I wouldn't have minded that it was repaired... if it was glued on straight!).

And of course, I have the correct nuts and rod to attach the tote, excellent!

I might start a new thread about my little restoration project that I will no doubt get wrong and incur the wrath of the 'ONLY USE TRADITIONAL LACQUER PAINT' crowd

Thanks again for all your advice here gents, really appreciate the time and effort you took to confuse and bewilder me!

This thread kind of got away from me, so this may have been mentioned, but another thing you achieve in repairing and restoring an old plane is a fundamental understanding of the way it works and the ways in which each part need to be tuned in order to make the plane perform in your desired manner.

I think you've made a good decision. Post photos when you get it up and running.

Cheers,
Luke

I've started a new thread specifically for the restoration I'll report back when I actually find myself a jack! Times running out, next class is in two weeks, so I better get a move on.

Originally Posted by Luke Maddux

Post photos when you get it up and running.

Here you go

IMG_2160.jpgIMG_2156.jpg

Nice job Ken

Have you sharpened the blade and taken a shaving?

Regards from Perth

Derek

As soon as I got it back together I ran out to the shed like a giddy school girl! I've never seen timber come up so shiny with such minimal effort... I think I'm addicted

IMG_20160416_192248.jpg

I think a lot of us have had that moment.
It's a great feeling

Originally Posted by kenour

...... I've never seen timber come up so shiny with such minimal effort... I think I'm addicted ....

Yep - get yourself into re-hab now, or there's no hope of turning your life around!

Nice job, particularly for your very first plane. Grandpa will be tickled pink when you show him his old clunker brought back to prime life.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by ian

you really need to know why your tutor specified you get a "Jack plane" as this reason will greatly influence your selection

Because as general carpenters we need to be able to do a variety of things apparently He's from the old school where apparently the carpentry course was carpentry/joinery and it was 5 years. So he always had a jack with him to take a single shaving off a door after buzzing it to size to remove machining marks, do other 'jack planey' type activities. So yeah, made sense as to why we would need a jack over a smoother. Also, because he said so!

IMG_20160419_111950.jpg

Anyway, had great success with it today, we had to dimension some timber, then shape a finial. Worked extremely well, even with it's pitted soul

IMG_20160419_142329.jpg

The lecturer had a look at it and was impressed with the restoration, he said he would ask the guys in engineering to mill the bottom flat for me if I wanted. I was like... I'll ask the guys on the forum first! I suppose it all depends on the skill of the operator, they don't need to take much off, would be nice to have a completely milled flat surface. I would have to really let them know how much the plane means to me, and make sure they get the guy that's been in the trade 50 years does it personally!