Thread: Newbie - looking for advice on planes

Geoff

First of all - welcome to a fascinating and absorbing hobby.

If you have been reading some of the stuff on this Bulletin Board and you're still around then you must already understand that hidden among all the p!ss-taking and lunacy, there is a lot of genuine ability, experience and goodwill.

You've asked a big question. There is no single right answer. Any one of a number of different hand planes would make a good choice for use in general woodwork. Most of those of us who use them frequently have several - each capable of a set of different tasks.

However, a good starting point is a jack plane. Here are some thoughts and approximate costs for different jack planes

Stanley or Record #5 - don't bother with the new ones, they're not well made and you'll have to spend a great deal of time tuning and fettling them. Old ones are a good buy from flea markets etc. You should be able to pick up a decent one for less than $50. You'll certainly need to spend time tuning and fettling but the effort will be worthwhile.

HNT Gordon - Terry Gordon is an Aussie plane maker. His planes have wooden bodies and they are superb tools. They're different from the metal-bodied planes and they require adjusting with a hammer. People who are unfamiliar with the technique are sometimes daunted by it but it's not that hard to learn. Cost: less than $150.
http://www.hntgordon.com.au/


Mujingfang - Chinese planes. Also wooden-bodied and adjustable with a hammer. Not as good as Terry Gordon's planes but still pretty good and significantly less costly. You can pick them up new for a lot less than $50.

Lie-Nielsen - superb metal planes, made with enormous attention to detail and great care in the US. Traditional design - with improvements (thicker, chatter-free blades, bronze components etc). Expensive but magnificent tools to own and use. Available from Lie-Nielsen's new Aussie outlet in South Australia. Cost: a bit less than $500.
http://au.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1262

Lee Valley / Veritas - also superb metal planes. Made in Canada. New and different design from the traditional metal-bodied planes. Beautifully-made and superb in use. Cost - about $250.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...urrency=2&sid=

That'll give you a bit of a start in your search for a first plane. I hope it helped. Good luck!

Col

Do not buy a new Stanley or Record plane. They are no longer built to the standards of yesteryear and take too much effort to get working properly.

I see you are in Sydney. Try going to (or calling) Paul's Hardware in the City. They might have some MujingFang planes. These are wooden planes but for around $20 represent terrific value.

If you really want a metal plane, then unless you can afford several hundred dollars for a Lee Valley, Lie-Nielson or Clifton plane your best bet would be to get an old Stanley from ebay.


PS
And while I was typing that I see that Col also gave you some excellent advice.

Craig,
What about the older metal planes?
I mean those pre the 60s
even pre WWII

Or pick up a couple of those eBay [VERY] elcheapo
and play with 'em, and set them up, then go on to better ones.

I have a few planes
The ONLY newer ones I have are the HNTGORDON ones

Originally Posted by Ivan in Oz

Craig,
What about the older metal planes?
I mean those pre the 60s
even pre WWII

Yes . See my post . He says he's reluctant to get an old plane off ebay though.

For me, a ' jack' size and a low angle block. These two can sometimes do the job of the other, but it's not fun doing it.

So, that's two planes. Sorry.

But those two are, for me at least, the two I most often pick up and use. The two I will wear out someday. I don't think I am alone in that, I figure most folks who use planes use their jack and a block more often that anything else.

That's what I would get were I back and square 1 again.

Where to get them, no time to make suggestions right now but later on, I will.

Hi Geoff

A big welcome to the forum. Especially another would-be Darksider (heh, heh ...)!

You don't specify a budget, so ..

Buying new: The LV LA Jack - this can work as a smoother, jointer, jack, and shooting board plane. Buy an extra blade so you have one for face grain (say, a cutting angle of 50 or 60 degrees), and one for end grain (cutting angle of 37 degrees).

Add a smaller smoother next, when you are ready.

LV or LN Block plane - this is a often-used plane for trimming, and counterbalances the larger LA Jack. Again, get a second blade (high cutting angle) so that it can be used as a mini-smoother.

Buying second-hand: Stanley #5 - jack plane
Stanley #60 1/2 low angle block plane

I do like the Mujingfang planes very much, but I do think that the above are easier to learn on, certainly the "new" selection above would last you forever.

Regards from Perth

Derek

I disagree derek. Spending that much on a plane when you don' treally know what you're buying is a bit dangerous. Also, -and correct me if I'm wrong-, but the bevel up planes require a higher degree of sharpening and geometry knowledge.

I'd get a simple HNT Jack or an old Stanley/Falcon #5 thats been restored by somebody else. It's nice to know what a good, sharp plane feels like before battling with a swapmeet special.

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I'd be starting with a smoother plane, they're very easy to learn with and you can pick a stanley or Record up in a garage sale easy enough. Don't pay more than $60 for a perloved one for you can buy one for that price from a second hand tool shop with some sort of warranty.

G'day Geoff.
Basic Bench Planes:
The Jack plane is a good start, from there you will probably want to work up and down the sizes - a smoother and a fore plane later. Yes, they are addictive.
From my experience - The question that I should have asked myself at the start was "is it worth going 'entry level' and putting up with poor quality?"
Now I am replacing my 'entry level' stuff with good quality planes. I didn't get too much from the basic tools except aggro and lost time - and now lost money.
Lee Valley (Veritas) (their Jack = the #5-1/4 model) is my choice now, at least twice the cost of the basic tools - but cheap over the life of the tool, and great value for the quality. I also don't lose time trying to fiddle around fixing and setting up low quality tools.
I thought that buying and restoring old planes might lead to hurt due to my knowledge base, a sort of "don't rebuild a motor till you know how a motor works" thing.
Mujingfang planes are little wooden elcheapo's that work well, up to a point - disproving the cheap = poor quality rule.

Once your Bench planes are sorted - then your addiction will branch out into Block planes and all the other wierd and wonderful.
It may pay to start a saving and investment plan to help with this addiction.

There are many more qualified than I to comment - mine is the 'starters' opinion.
Cheers,
Clinton

8 replies posted while I was writing mine - love this Board!

AuspiciousDNA.....You should have added a warning note with your last post...."don't buy the plane in this picture unless youre after a boat anchor".

I spent hours trying to tune up one of those bldi things recently. I managed to get the sole flat in the important places and then ended up stripping the cheap ar^e plastic blade adjustment nut.....the thing is a bad buy.

Cheers

Martin

I've got an old one and have never had a problem with it? No plastic parts on my unit! Might even be a record can't remember haven't used it in while. I'll have to dig it out of the back of the ute and check.


P.S. The pic was to give our new friend an idea what they look like not a recommendation of this product!

All,

Firstly let me say WOW! Thanks for all the positive input - I'll review some of the products here and start my search.

Some feedback from an absolute beginner: sometimes I have noticed on the board you use terms that you assume we all understand what they are

For example - I started to read some of the sharpening threads (even the ones aimed at beginners) and got lost in the terminology... I guess I will need to do some research so I can truely enjoy my hobby )

Is there somewhere I can read about all the terminology?

Cheers
Geoff

Geoff.

As a starter plane, I wouldn't buy new. Good quality = pricey.

I have 3 planes, all bought at auctions or flea markets and all over 20 years old, two Stanleys and one Record. The whole lot cost me less than $50. I don't have much to lose if one is a dud or if I don't get the hand tool bug.

You learn a great deal in the process of making the old stuff work properly. There are plenty of sites on the net that tell you how how to clean up and set up an old plane. Just searching this BB will provide you with heaps of information.

Welcome to the forum and good hunting.

Rob.