Thread: New member with a dilemma

Buy the lot, keep them in all different cupboards & only ever have 2 out at once.

Problem solved...

What ya gunna build?

White Beech is carving timber.

If only I could get away with it.

So far I have built a hallway table using beech as the centre of the tabletop, surrounded by a frame of Darwin stringy.

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

....................What ya gunna build?

White Beech is carving timber.

White Beech is the premium timber for boat decks, so obviously you need to build yourself a boat

Mick

Gidday Stevo

Heres what really works for me ...................... I truely haven't found any need for any further Handplanes

HNT Gordon Palm Smoother (This is the pocket hercules of my arsenal great for work in cranky grain - If I've got a critisism though the mouth tends to get blocked to often BUT LOVE IT)

Lie Neilson LA Adjustable Block Plane (For me this little baby is the greatest Plane ever made. It continues to impress and is the one I keep reaching out for)

Lee VAlley LA Smoother (I love this smoothing plane too................worked effortlessly straight outta the box. Hasent got that special feel or majesty of the Lie Neilsons BUT performs without question when asked particularly when doing jobs it does best)

Lie Neilson No 4 Smoother (Perhaps the greatest Smoother ever made..............You haven't lived till you've pushed one of these simply a fantastic finishing Tool)

Lie Neilson LA Adjustable Jack (The most versatile HAndplane in my Shop Hard not to reach out for I'm always using this one got my roughing out work once again up there amoungst the best planes ever made)

I'm certainly not saying that this is the be all end all of handplane lists or that its this way or ther highway.

I'm clearly stating that FOR ME this combination of Handplanes has to date been able to handle with ease finesse and excellence every job I've thrown at it.

Must admit though I'd also love to get my Hands on a Lee Valley Bevel Up smoother too Just in case...............

REgards Lou

The most recent Fine Woodworking magazine went through the function of the different planes.

From what I read, I would be getting the LA Jack and Smoother. Then the Jointer when she's not looking

Hi Stevo,

I reckon if you are only getting 2 planes a block plane and a jack plane would be the most useful. You can use the block plane for trimming, final fitting etc. and a jack plane can be used for jointing and smoothing. You can either go down the path of buying new planes or you could get hold of a pair of old Stanley's (pre WWII is preferable from what I've read) and do them up yourself.

You should note that a jack plane won't perform the jointing function as well as a jointer plane (e.g. a No. 7 or 8, or the Veritas bevel up jointer) but it can perform as a jointer if you have a limited arsenal of planes.

I have both the Lie-Nielsen low angle block plane and the Lie-Nielsen low angle jack plane and they both do the job nicely. I believe the Veritas versions of these planes would also perform just as well.

One advantage of the low angle jack plane is that you can easily open up the adjustable mouth and use it much like a scrub plane, this feature might be useful given that you are starting with rough sawn white beech.

I have a book by Aldren A. Watson titled "Hand Tools - Their Ways and Workings". It is a good book by the way. In it the author basically answers the question you've asked. His suggestion is to buy a block plane and a jack rabbet plane. In addition to what I've outlined above, this gives you the option of cutting rabbets. Although the jack rabbet plane is specifically a rabbet plane you can pretty much use it for all the things that you would use a jack plane for, it is not limited to just cutting rabbets.

Your options for buying a jack rabbet plane are to buy an old stanley or you could buy a new one from Lie-Nielsen. Unfortunately even the old Stanley's (10 or 10-1/4) can be quite expensive due to their scarcity. You can check out the Lie-Nielsen one here and you can read about the old Stanley ones here.

I don't own a jack rabbet plane so I can't speak of them from experience.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Mirboo.

Tell her you are getting 2 Lie Nielsen planes and get 4 Lee Valley planes instead.

I have a LV low angle smooth plane and a high angle blade. I love it. Another standard block plane, a shoulder plane and a cabinet scraper won’t hurt either.

Sorry Stevo, I misread your initial post. When I gave my answer above, I hadn't picked up that you already own a Veritas block plane and want to buy two more planes.

That being the case I would go for a jack plane (or jack rabbet plane if you want to take Aldren A. Watson's advice) and a smoother. The Veritas low angle smoothing and jack planes that you mentioned in your initial post would do the job just fine. If you go this way though, make sure you take Wongo's advice and get some extra blades so that you can hone some with a higher bevel angle than the standard 25 degrees. This will allow you to handle some of the trickier grained timbers.

Regards,
Mirboo.

Agree with LA Jack but I would get the BU smoother as it has a wider blade ( same blade as LA jack) than the LA smoother. This also allows you to buy one high angle blade that can be used in both planes.

The BU smoother does not have a smooth side that you can use on a shooting board but you could use the LA jack for that purpose anyway.

PS Also the same blades as LA jointer if this may be a future purchase.

bugger the hand planes - get a jointer or go to a community toolbox and run the bastards thru a buzzer - bring the lot back and say "look dear" isnt it pretty = what do you want me to make for you ? Oh.. I'll need some other tools for that.....

Agree with Zed... wise monkey he is!

I have those, and my recommendation would be the #6 and the Jack plane - with a couple of alternate bevel angle blades. With this combination you'll be able to joint, general plane and smooth timber.

If you want the timber dressed quickly, the best alternative is buy a cheap thicknesser (ie GMC, or the $289 Ozito from Bunnings), get the job done, sell it on ebay and get your planes.

You are unlikely to lose much money if you sell it quickly and the job will be done quick.... if on the other hand you have time and are patient I'd do for the LV LA jack and an LV smoother. You can make a scrub out of any Stanley 4 and it will be adequate for most jobs.

regards

Marios

Thanks for all of your imput so far. SWMBO keeps looking over my shoulder at the responses, laughs and walks away shaking her head.

NewLou,
Thanks for your examples of the planes you have.

Mat, Mirboo,
I think the LA Jack plane is definately on the cards, and i s'pose using it for end grain shooting, general work, etc. would lead me to get a dedicated smoother as well like the BU Smoother.

Wongo,
unfortunately I used the price of the Lie Nielsen planes to show SWMBO that the Veritas planes were indeed good value for money. Bugger.

Zed,
I tried to find a place that hired out thicknessers but to no avail. I did get a good suggestion (thanks Clinton1) of taking the whole lot to a local cabinetmaker and have them run it through their's for a fee. I prefer to use hand planes, also keeps the neighbours happy at night due to it being a quiet process.

Steve B,
would it be better waiting for the #7 LA jointer to become available in AUS? I remember reading in these forums that a #7 plane was more preferable to a #6. Besides, my birthday is only a few months away and she does keep asking me what i would like.....