Thread: Iv'e caught the Plane bug

The legendary Alan Peters in his book Cabinetmaking indicated that he only used a No. 7 in the workshop for bench planing.

Cheers
Peter

ps as you are in Sydney you should get along to The Traditional Tools Group , have a look at the website. The Traditional Tools Group (Inc.)

There is a regular workshop programme on hand tools, and also on some power tools, eg the last workshop of 2010 is on routers. Hand planes are the topics for February and March workshops.

Hi Andy,
If you want 'flat', a jointer is the way to go, although I could argue that a #6 is better than a #7 because it is easier to wield all day.
You can get away without a smoother, because in the process of flattening, the jointer will also be smoothing, but it will be slower than a smoother because it will be flattening as well as smoothing (just to confuse you)

A smoother will shortcut the time to a finish-ready surface by riding in and out of the imperfections taking shavings and leaving a smoothed but not flat surface. A jointer must ride over those imperfections until all the surface is gradually lowered to 'flat' and finish ready - just takes longer.

Cheers
Michael

Andy

There is a lot of good advice in Alan Peters book " Cabinetmaking The professional approach " which I recommend

The LN #7 is a very nice plane. However, for less dollars you could purchase a Veritas #6 Fore plane and a Scraper plane, this would set you up to flatten and smooth surfaces with even the most difficult grain and improve your health and working area by leaving the ROS in the cupboard. Veritas may not have the Bling of LN, but they are very good quality and very functional.

Unfortunately neither option will resolve the psychological problem of plane addiction for which there appears to be no cure once smitten. You should also be conscious that this affliction is frequently followed by a craving for tool cabinets and larger workshops, which then accentuates the original affliction.

Regards

I can confirm all the above and tell you honestly Andy...you are now buggered !

Originally Posted by mic-d

A smoother will shortcut the time to a finish-ready surface by riding in and out of the imperfections taking shavings and leaving a smoothed but not flat surface. A jointer must ride over those imperfections until all the surface is gradually lowered to 'flat' and finish ready - just takes longer.

Cheers
Michael

I must be misunderstanding you, but I thought the smoother was the last plane you use before the finish?


I know i'm prety much buggered, and it really doesn't help when I love quality tools. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about sharpening though, as a plane would be not as effective if you have a blunt blade.

Thank for the link Peter, i'll be checking that out shortly.

Andy

The smoother is the last plane, but a finely set jointer will give you a surface that is both smooth AND flat at the same time.

You cannot go wrong with a LN Bench Plane, I would recommend a No. 6 over a No.7 as a general bench plane. Its long enough to do virtually all flattening work however not so heavy to tiered you out.

In regards to the Lie-Nielsen versus the Veritas argument, the only way to settle it is to hold and use both tools in your hands. The Veritas planes have a more upright angle to their totes, with a much squarer profile. The Veritas frog is light aluminum were the LN is solid bronze. The Veritas No.6 also has a thinner blade at 3.175 mm versus 3.5 mm on a LN No. 6. The Veritas No. 6 also has a Norris style adjuster which means you cannot adjust the plane during a cut.

Is the no.6 a jointer aswell?
Would it be a suitable plane for a shooting board ?

I'm using my No. 6 on a shooting board. It works well.

I would say go get an old Stanley - pre WW2 - and stick a thicker iron in it. There are enough around to pick and choose for a good one and you'll pay well under half a LN and, in the greater scheme of things, I don't think there'd be a massive performance difference.

That being said, if you like to have the best and have the disposable income to fund it go shopping

And feel free to look here: www.holteyplanes.com for real plane pr0n

Originally Posted by groeneaj

Is the no.6 a jointer aswell?
Would it be a suitable plane for a shooting board ?

Originally Posted by NCArcher

I'm using my No. 6 on a shooting board. It works well.

Funny, I got given a #6 recently and I'm thinking of using it as a shooting board plane.

Any hints?

A No.6 makes an excellent shooting plane, a No. 7 tends to be to big to be used as a shooting plane.

Also a No.6 is 18" long which makes in long enough for jointing most jobs. Remember no plane will meet all task's equally. In the end you will end up with a lest three of four planes. A No. 6 however is a good entry point, you can then get one bigger and one smaller at a letter date.

I have a No.6 and I am looking getting a No. 8, because I am a big fellow and can handle the beast. My other choice would be a No.5.

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

A No.6 makes an excellent shooting plane, a No. 7 tends to be to big to be used as a shooting plane.

Also a No.6 is 18" long which makes in long enough for jointing most jobs. Remember no plane will meet all task's equally. In the end you will end up with a lest three of four planes. A No. 6 however is a good entry point, you can then get one bigger and one smaller at a letter date.

I have a No.6 and I am looking getting a No. 8, because I am a big fellow and can handle the beast. My other choice would be a No.5.

And a 4 or 4 1/2 for smoothing, maybe a 3 for smaller jobs (see how the list of planes you 'need' keeps growing)

To be honest you do not need every plane size.

Modern planes are made to such high tolerances, their is no reason why you cannot smooth with a No.8. Modern planes all come with thick blades and ability for tiny mouths. It all depends on how you have the plane set up.

What you need to look at is not the number the planes has but for what role you have set the plane up for. Three planes will do the job just as well as 20 planes. Also the more planes you have the more blades you need to sharpen and keep sharp.

The question is do you want to maintain tools or make furniture?

An advantage of a LN over a vintage plane is you can get higher bedding angle frog with the LN. So you can have 50º bed plane for general work say in a No.6. A 45º in in a No.7 and a 55º in a No. 4 1/2.