Thread: Beginner hand planes

I would not consider most of the rabbet and skew planes as a good place to start as a beginner.

I would start with a Stanley 9 1/2 or 60 1/2 block plane. The new old stock units made in the UK before they moved prodction to China/Mexico are good quality units. Block planes are super versatile and find a use in nearly every project.

Another good choice is a standard Stanley #4 or #5. I think for the money - a post WWII Stanley is hard to beat.

Originally Posted by truckjohn

I would not consider most of the rabbet and skew planes as a good place to start as a beginner.

I would start with a Stanley 9 1/2 or 60 1/2 block plane. The new old stock units made in the UK before they moved prodction to China/Mexico are good quality units. Block planes are super versatile and find a use in nearly every project.

Another good choice is a standard Stanley #4 or #5. I think for the money - a post WWII Stanley is hard to beat.

Hi John,
the "beginner" in this instance has two very specific uses for hand tools, including planes
1. a desire to use a plane rather than sanding to level the miter joints after gluing up a picture frame,
2. as a means of cleaning up and finessing the fit a machine cut tenon or half lap joint (The OP has a concurrent thread about chisels.)

these two very specialised uses has led the thread to get where it is.



If we want to return to a discussion of what planes are SUITABLE FOR A BEGINNER I'm prepared to go out on a limb and state that a beginner should look at purchasing a plane from an upmarket maker like Lie Nielsen or Veritas.
Please read to the end.
The premise here is that the offerings found in the local home centre are generally so far from workable as to be a cruel joke perpetrated on the uninitiated.
That our beginner does not have the knowledge to tell if a second hand or flea market Stanley (or Record) is worth the time and effort required to restore and fettle the old plane to full functioning perfection.
And lastly our beginner doesn't have the knowledge or skill or equipment to successfully fettle a flea market find.

For a beginner, the objective should be to take a plane out of its box, spend a maximum of 2 minutes honing the blade and then put the plane to work.
This is achievable with a Lie Nielsen or Veritas -- I can't comment if it is so with a Luban or Wood River.


Once a beginner has developed some skill and knowledge -- i.e. they are no longer a beginner -- I would encourage them to explore the world of second hand planes, their restoration and fettling.

I was thinking the same thing, I have come across it with plane blades and also with some leather working knives and re tempered chisels . They seem to get a hard brittle shell over thin areas. On the leather knives initially the first sharpening resulted in a badly chipped edge from the coarse stone, the chipping decreased when I went to a finer stone and after I got back a mm or two from the original edge it took an edge as it should. I suspect very thin areas of steel do not react the same way as thicker areas do during hardening and tempering processes. All the best.

Hello Qwertyu, You pose a big question and from what I have read in this thread you will require at least two planes. The scale of your work will also impact your plane choice. you can do an awful lot with a couple of block planes for smallish type work. My suggestion would be to get first a 60 1/2 block plane with two extra blades. the original blade with a 30 degree micro bevel and another with a 30 degree micro bevel but a very small curve to allow for smoothing and the third with a 38 degree micro bevel for difficult grain. The second plane would need to be able to cut full width of the sole so you can get into corners. My preference would be for a rebate block plane in the first instance or alternatively a record 788 rebate plane or even a veritas medium rebate shoulder plane. There was talk at one point of grooves there you would need something like a Record 044 plane and then a Stanley 79 side rebate plane to adjust the fit of grooves. as your work gets larger you may need any number of additional planes. Also do not discount spokeshaves, a well tuned spoke shave will do a lot of this tasks and you can for a small amount of money get rebate spoke shaves. They are brilliant tools but do not command the high prices of some planes.All the best.

I'll put in my two cents as well. If I had my time again, I'd settle to close to what I have now, but I'd ideally start with these two:

35812621_10155979529866185_782985345653276672_n.jpg
The jack is an old Stanley, and if you want to use it on Australian woods, I'd recommend one of these blades.
35746961_10155979521766185_3444211072972619776_n.jpg
I've put a slight camber on the blade and use for 75%on my planing. You can put a straight edge on the original iron and use it for smoothing. Sharpening wise I use a double sided 400/1200 EZE-lap diamond plate and green honing compound on MDF. Sharpening and setting up a bench plane isn't rocket science but does take a bit of practice to become proficient at it.

Originally Posted by ian

Hi John,
This is achievable with a Lie Nielsen or Veritas -- I can't comment if it is so with a Luban or Wood River.

I bought a Wood River block plane and am very happy with it out of the box apart from a quick hone. The blade holds it's sharpness well so all up I would be more than happy to buy another of this brand.

Originally Posted by safari

I bought a Wood River block plane and am very happy with it out of the box apart from a quick hone. The blade holds it's sharpness well so all up I would be more than happy to buy another of this brand.

That would indicate that Luban could also be a safe purchase in this regard.

My understanding is that WoodRiver are sourcing their planes from the same factory that is turning out Luban.

I'm a beginner, to be sure, but the Luban shoulder plane I picked up the other day certainly seems a good bit of kit.

As far as I know the factory behind Luban and WoodRiver is Qiangsheng Tools Co.

Originally Posted by Fergiz01

I
The jack is an old Stanley, and if you want to use it on Australian woods, I'd recommend one of these blades.

What is that blade?

When I first started my apprenticeship (Joinery)the foreman told me to buy a jack plane first before anything else. His theory was if I can get used to that I will be able to use any plane on the market. I did and he was right. Since then I have had 7 apprentices and I have given them the same advice, and they intern have done the same. My advice to any beginner is, get to use one correctly and then move on. I still use my jack plane I bought 43 years ago and it is my favorite in by collection. Sure there are planes more suited to one job more than another, but unless you master one type/style you will always struggle and blame the tool, not the person using it. Good luck

Hi code4pay,

The blade is a high speed steel Stanley / Record replacement blade from Mujingfang.

Cheers,
Zac

After reading through this thread I took a gamble and bought my first 2nd hand plane, a Stanley no4 via Gumtree ($77), made in England.

It seems to been previously restored with a slight crack on the torte being the only flaw I can see. The sole seems perfect, at least to me.

Aside from honing, are there any standard steps people do when they take on a 2nd hand item?ad_1529625457125.jpegad_1529625440941.jpeg

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Hi, Rather than a long description there is a three part you tube video that shows the process and has clear descriptions. It will also guide you to the second and third parts as well as other people showing various ways to achieve similar results.Hope this helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ZUbyNhsLE

Originally Posted by labrat

Hi, Rather than a long description there is a three part you tube video that shows the process and has clear descriptions. It will also guide you to the second and third parts as well as other people showing various ways to achieve similar results.Hope this helps.

and this one also

Originally Posted by ian

thoughts on your theory?

It's crap.

Sorry to be so blunt.
If you need to trim the shoulder of a tenon and you don't have a shoulder plane, then your best tool is a wide very sharp chisel. If the chisel won't take end grain shavings it's not sharp enough.

Sorry to be so blunt - but the comment about crap is crap

There are many ways to achieve a similar result.

I agree - trimming shoulders will be best done with a shoulder plane, but it's not the only way. And yes, chisel will work well for shoulders if a shoulder plane s not available. However the poster did not say they were specifically cleaning shoulders - a rabbeting block plane works quite well for cleaning up cheeks on machine cut tenons, and you CAN use if for trimming the long shoulders in a pinch (but arguably better done with a chisel if you have good chisel control. On the narrow shoulder, where there is little registration even for a shoulder plane, chisel would be my preference over a plane of any sort). However IMHO shoulders are usually not the issue when the tenon is machine cut - cleaning/finessing the cheeks is.

Rabbeting block plane is a very versatile little tool. If I could only have one small block plane, this would be it. It will also work OK to clean up a half lap that the OP mentions. It will also function well for all the other little tasks we use a block plane for, and would be invaluable for someone who is using machine predominantly.

Given the uses that the OP has mentioned, I don't think a router plane would be high on the priority list. For dipping the toes in the hand-plane waters as a machine tool user, a low angle jack & a rabbeting block plane still make a lot of sense to me. Only two planes to buy, they cover the stated use cases, and the versatility to experiment. Others can be added later once the need becomes apparent or desire is there.

Ian, I agree with your comments below about acquisition - as the OP is just starting out with planes, buying these from one of the "premium" makers will provide a far less risky path than buying an old plane and hoping it is well set up - or having to try & fettle it if its not.