Thread: Hand Plane Jointing

Hi Eric and welcome to the forum.

For what you are describing a Number 5 jack plane would be perfectly fine; and I'd also look for a Number 3 smoother as well. Over on your side of the world these are both readily available and cheap; try to get pre-WW2 Stanleys if you are looking to buy 2nd hand. Fit them with Veritas PMV11 HSS irons and you'll never regret it. You will of course need to sharpen them; this is an area that can get very highly debated and argued but some diamond stones and a GOOD jig like the veritas MkII honing guide are a pretty foolproof method of getting fast, consistent and repeatable results.

Concentrate on practicing planing timber to get it straight at first; then try to get the edge at 90 degrees. An often quoted ideal length for jointing is 2-1/2 to 3 times the length of the plane but it really all boils down to technique; I've jointed 6' long timbers with a basic smoothing plane to prove the point; a proper jointer just makes it easier and quicker. 3' long timbers are well within the "range" of a jack plane. If getting edges true at 90 degrees is a struggle you can buy a specialised plane for edge squaring; the Stanley 95 and the modern Wood River/Luban/Quenshang equivalent are relatively cheap but Veritas and Lie Neilson make a premium version. Thing is they only take the last skim off the top to square the edge; they WON'T straighten the timber first hence why that is the bit to initially concentrate on.

I wouldn't bother with an entry level table saw if you are only working on small stuff; a bandsaw is much more versatile and if I'm reading your post correctly you already have one of those or are getting one.

I won't mention anything about handplanes as I'm an absolute newbie at them, but as to that particular table saw, please do not buy it.
I had it, and there are so many issues with trying to get a straight cut that I ended up returning it to Bunnings after a couple of years of collecting dust (luckily there was another issue with it that couldn't be fixed except with a new one and they offered me to return the money).

The next cheapest table saw, and the one I then got, is the DeWalt 8 1/4 inch TS and I'm happy with it (though a bit more depth of cut on a 10inch would come in handy frequently).

Addy

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I'd go for the wider no 5 1/2 anyday.
Whilst looking, try finding one in which you can see the front and rear of the plane to see the thickness of the sole.
along with a close inspection for hairline cracks, mainly can happen on the cheeks.
chipping of the mouth, so another photo of the sole (underside) needed,
hopefully some amount of cutting iron left which will do just fine on even the toughest timbers,
and hopefully no broken totes, not a big deal for me.

A cheap 5 quid eclipse knockoff and some stone of some sort.

A lot of benefits to going for cheap diamond hones bonded to really hefty nickel coated steel plate,
can get these cheaply nowadays say under 20 quid, I don't like double sided myself for stray grit reasons.
Two of those for the rougher work (most part of the maintenance job) has done me well, and strop or fancier hone of choice (good deal of choices here) for finishing (polishing the edge)
Those cheaper (monocrystalline) diamonds which stay flat and are super aggressive/less faff/cheaper than many other options,
but about 50 quid for that option for finishing, i.e fancier (polycrystalline) diamond like Dia-sharp 4000g will produce mirror polish,
you can weigh up your options there, even just use a strop if you're skint.

David Charlesworth will teach you how to accurately plane better than anyone without picking up any bad habits.

Have fun
Tom


Hopefully you can get an idea of what I mean by seeing the thickness of the castings with a pic of these Stanley Bailey 5 1/2's.

SAM_2351.JPG

I 100% agree with nixing the TS. They take up a lot of space, especially if you get one with long fence rails like my Rigid. As much as I like mine, I generally use it as a flat surface/bench. The bandsaw is all I really need and I wish I had a better one. Sell your bandsaw if it's inadequate and get a better one with re-sawing capabilities and you'll never want for a TS. One more thing, tablesaws are much more dangerous in my opinion, especially cheap ones. You don't need a SawStop to get a good quality tablesaw if you feel you have to have one.

Hi Eric.
For the type of sized work you want to do on boxes you could look into using planes on shooting boards.
You can make / set them up for all the angles needed and they make joints much more easy and accurate. They are not just used for squaring up ends . They do 45 degree ends or any angle. And they do a good job of jointing pieces together. Its How straight joined Marquetry veneer is pieced together before taping together and pressing down to a flat surface . You can use a 4, 5 or 6 size plane or even an old wooden Beech Jack plane with a wedge holding the blade depending on what sized work you are doing . Their a similar size in length to a 5 or 6 and can be bought cheap. They can need work flattening soles and re mouthing with a filler patch though if you get a worn one. And checking its sitting square on the shooting board as well.

Welcome to the forum Eric.

Hi Eric

I’m setting up myself in a rental now primarily based on handtools. I can’t do every task within reason purely with hand tools so the only machines I have are a 14”bandsaw and a wood lathe. Lathe because I enjoy turning pens bowls etc the bandsaw assists me with the rip resawing that I do on hardwoods. I then turn to my jointing plane which is approx 700mm in length for when I’m flattening long pieces or my trying plane which is approx 480-500mm again great depending on the length of stock I’m preparing. I then have all my other joinery planes etc once I’m past the stock preparation phase

It’s not realistic for me to do absolutely everything by hand so I’ve found those two machines are essential to my workshop. I’ve owned entry level and significantly sized table saws in my past and am fine without one now. I’m not asking for the machine to give me the mirror finished surface straight of their blade. I much prefer the fine tuned approach and speed of hand tools for nearly everything except the lathe.




Cheers
Nathan