Thread: hand plane v belt sander

The number of times I have touched (not taken out of the cupboard or thought of switching on) my belt sander in the last ten years is far far less than the number of hand planes I have purchased in the last ten years.

I don't use that noisy dusty destroyer - I tend to use hand planes quite a lot.

There aren't too many (any?) situations where I'd make a choice.

I use the belt sander for knocking off bumps in epoxy after I've used the angle grinder, or across joints with epoxy dags on them.

After that, I plane. Now that I have a couple of decent planes I even like doing it!

Cheers,

P

what plane do i use for a large table top...

Originally Posted by la Huerta

what plane do i use for a large table top...

A #5 (or maybe a #7) followed by a #4.

Longer is better, so at least 5.

As an expert in making wavy tops, even a #4 will do the trick better than a belt sander in my hands!

cheers,

P

Originally Posted by la Huerta

hand plane or belt sander...i am inviting all those who use both to state there opinion on which one they prefere to use , taking into account speed and energy involved...

Prefer? hand planes, of course. Use mostly? Still hand planes.

But I have and will probably still use a belt sander from time to time. Heck, I've been known to use a router in a frame to flatten large surfaces if time is critical and the timber really twisted.

If I have the time, which is most often, I do use the hand planes, though. Depending on the table top and how much wind or bow there is to take out, you might want to make a pair of winding sticks and perhaps use a scrub plane on it prior to the bench planes, though.

What's that? Do I hear Derek approaching with his scrub plane review???

Mike

I have 2 electric planes, a belt sander and a number of hand planes. Their use depends on what I'm doing, to remove a large amount ot timber quickly there's nothing like an electric plane, followed by either the belt sander or hand plane depending on the situation

Don't even own a belt sander, and I'm not short of tools either.

I use my belt sander when I need to sand something and I use a hand plane when I need to plane something.

I use my beltsander upside down to grind axes, mower blades and paint opening chisels.

I cant understand the concept of using a tiny router bit to flatten a board. It must take forever. If you saw how quickly a scrub plane can remove wood, it's just downright scary.

I'm feeling rather stunned, sitting here reading this post. No, not at any of you, but at myself.

On the weekend, I had a job that in the past would have immediately resulted in me picking up either a power planer, or belt sander. The reason that I am stunned is that until right now, neither of these options even vaguely crossed my mind. Instead, I had picked up my HNT Gordon Trying Plane, and did the job, easily and quickly, and it didn't occur to me that there was another way.

Far out - that transition (from relying solely on power tools to incorporating handtools into my work) was as sudden as it was seamless!

Originally Posted by MikeW

Prefer? hand planes, of course. Use mostly? Still hand planes.

But I have and will probably still use a belt sander from time to time. Heck, I've been known to use a router in a frame to flatten large surfaces if time is critical and the timber really twisted.

If I have the time, which is most often, I do use the hand planes, though. Depending on the table top and how much wind or bow there is to take out, you might want to make a pair of winding sticks and perhaps use a scrub plane on it prior to the bench planes, though.

What's that? Do I hear Derek approaching with his scrub plane review???

Mike

Mike

Excuse my ignorance, but what are winding sticks, and how are they used ??.

Robert34

I use the belt sander when the risk of hitting something metal exists. As LineLefty says, they are a nice sharpening tool.

Power plane to remove rubbish (The solid blades with brazed on carbide still don't cope with nails

Belt sander to remove the old paint (after assessing the lead problem as not)

Hand Plane to finish ... sometimes the belt sander with a fine belt

Originally Posted by Robert34

Mike

Excuse my ignorance, but what are winding sticks, and how are they used ??.

Robert34

Straight sticks with parallel sides used to amplify any twist in a board, making it visible. You put the sticks across the board at each end, then crouch down while closing one eye, and look at the tops of the sticks. If they're parallel, you're happy, if they're not, you make a mental note of where the high spots are. High spots can then be attacked with a plane. A brilliantly simple technology, and very effective alternative to a multi-$100 planer/jointing machine.

This link explains the winding stick concept, despite the crappy graphics:
http://www.shavings.net/WINDING.HTM

and



at http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00009.asp

BTW, I don't have a belt sander, and am not aware of any desire for one.