Thread: Which plane should I get?

I'm going to guess that most will suggest you look for a second hand #5 (Bailey/Record etc) and refurbish it. I've found refurbishing old tools a lot of fun and especially rewarding when they're clean, sharp and functioning correctly.
Another reason to consider second hand tools is you could, potentially, find a #5 and (at least) another plane for the kind of money you're looking to spend. More tools and more bang for your buck!

Firstly, I still consider myself a novice so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

Secondly, I believe it is generally accepted that low angle planes are better as shooting planes. I've only ever used a purpose-built shooting plane (Veritas, which is has a low-angle and skewed blade), so I cannot say for sure. With this in mind, you may want to try this modern Stanley or this Luban version. I've no experience with either brands let alone those actual planes, but I believe the Lubans are more highly regarded. YMMV.

Thirdly, if you think woodworking is a hobby that you'll get totally hooked on, then I would suggest "buying once, and crying once". In other words, invest in quality right from the start. It'll end up saving you money in the long run.




Cheers,
Mike

Hi J62. I try to spend as little as I can and fix it up myself. I also found it hard to get a reasonably priced #5 and had a fellow forumite come to my rescue. Have you thought about a #6? For some reason, people seem to avoid these, and this can mean they are cheaper to get. And they are a good heft for a shooting plane.....just make sure the sides are square to the sole.

Older planes can be fun to bring back to work.
There are brands other than Stanley and you might consider Record, Falcon Pope, Turner or even Carter if you can find a good one.
Number 5 and 5-1/2 are handy sizes for shooting boards - a number 6 might do but could be a trifle large.
There are plenty to choose from for less than your budget on the popular online sales sites
Tom

Your 4’s will work on a shooting board just fine; you just need to get them sharp and set up properly. I have a doggy old Australian made Stanley 4C that is truly hideous to behold but I demonstrate with it to prove you don’t need to buy a premium hand plane. I still use the original blade in it too; just sharpened well and honed with a back bevel produced using the “ruler trick”.

A low-angle bevel-up plane is superior for shooting though; either a Luban LA jack or the Melbourne Tool Company LA jack are the most budget friendly options but you can also use a low-angle block plane; even brand new from Bunnings they only cost about $130.

If your looking for a No 5 there's these planes advertised on gumtree... Record #5 Jack wood plane | Hand Tools | Gumtree Australia Melville Area - Melville | 1310834751. He a regular advertiser and the planes he advertisers appear well fettled... but call first, he's a long way from where you live...

Before spending $ take a look at the English woodworkers you tube particularly the bench top edge jointing tip... I tried his method and works well IMO. You watch the underside of the plane and watch what's happening, on the pointy edge.. keep square is easy when your whole bench is supporting your plane . With this style and straight panel as a guide you could joint long planks accurately with a number 4 plane. This abegating one of the drivers for more planes and the time and effort to fettle...

But a 5 is good for traversing and flattening boards ....

Seconding Chief Tiff comment on block planes and low angles planes for end grain work..

get a 6 or 7. You'll appreciate the weight for shooting, and if you stick with woodworking with hand tools for long, you'll find that you don't do that much shooting as you can either cut stuff to length with a stop on a TS, or if you work by hand, you'll mark those boards and plane the ends in a vise.

Shooting large square ends really doesn't have any historic precedent, but having a longer plane on hand for intermediate work or truing longer edges definitely does.

If you can get vintage planes in your area, it'd be a better use of your time, enthusiasm and money to learn how to refurbish them. At the same time you'll learn how they work and use them. Also, keep in mind that shooting is not an essential nor common activity in hand tool woodworking, although a very popular topic with influencers.

(don't let us rain on the shooting board parade too much - we all or almost all of us went through it. I have a pretty primo shooting board plane that never gets used because it seemed interesting to make. it's a hammer, but the nail that it's used for went away.

I think it's actually a good exercise to get better at work and see the shooting board phase out - if you should get to the point with your hand work where shooting anything but long edges of thin boards, or very small items is no longer the best way.

it happened gradually for me and in the context of working by hand and becoming more accurate hand sawing. It's almost uncanny how many things sort of change with experience and then you go back and look at older texts and find out that you're not paving new ground - you're just getting to the point of paving the same roads people did when efficiency in hand work was a big deal.

But i don't regret doing hand tools "the power toolers" way, it's still nice to know and be able to compare and do it based on experience and feel rather than just rely on quoting texts. I wouldn't have gotten much from the historical texts without making a "here's how to do it step by step" from the discussions in them, and that's not really the same thing as learning some and then seeing how it applies - you learn it much more deeply.

David, I do agree that in some contexts, shooting has become redundant - TCT blades & decent tablesaws are a boon. In many instances you don't need micro-accuracy anyway, joinery rarely depends entirely on square ends, it's square shoulders that matter so you can get by perfectly ok without dead-square ends. For long ends like the side of a carcase, I also agree it is usually easy enough to up-end it in a vise & hand-plane to square, I do that frequently.

However, I don't accept that shooting is totally unnecessary. Every now & then I still haul out my dilapidated, crude shooting board & am grateful for it. There is no better way I know to refine pieces that need to be a press-fit, like internal dividers for drawers or boxes, for example. Sneaking up on the perfect fit a couple of thou at a time is kind of relaxing.

To each his own preferred work style....

Cheers,

Hi, Ian - I think the texts of nicholson and holtzapffel and others give us a clue that shooting is more discretionary than necessary. I think if you asked the average person how an iron miter plane should be sharpened...well, what do you think they would say?

Holtzapffel makes a strong direct statement that an iron miter plane (or a striking plane) is for striking edges and should be sharpened to have a total angle into the wood no less than 60 degrees, for it has the job of striking long edges and those would be spoiled in fine work if the edges were torn.

the rest of the work in anything large enough to plane can be done faster by a skilled craftsman without a shooting board.

so, discretionary, and I wouldn't discourage someone who loves shooting boards from using them, but this is like the fishtail chisel discussion - history generally gives us an idea of what's efficient by hand because it would've mattered at that time. It doesn't so much now. it's up to us to figure out why if we care to. I suspect it would always have been faster for a bench worker 200 years ago or 175 or whatever to have the wood in front of them with no extra planes and trim in the vise. Same principle as having to deal with another specialty chisel when a narrow chisel already at hand will do the job at least as well in dovetails.

The case for small pieces can definitely be made, though even in frame shops, the miter trimmer dominates. Probably the very large majority of us doesn't work with anything small enough to need shot on a regular basis. I know I don't.

Personally I shoot almost all my edges; either by hand or using a shooting board. I can saw by hand and shoot to a knife line very quickly; usually quicker than the time it takes to drag the workpiece over to one of the SCMC saws/set the saw up (locking or unlocking sliders, adjusting platten and fences, setting saw stops etc etc etc)/put on PPE/make the cut/return SCMS to safe condition/remove PPE/take workpiece back to bench...

I've come to regard most power tools now as only really useful where speed is the primary objective. There are exceptions; I've yet to meet the man who can out perform a drill press in accuracy!

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

...... I've yet to meet the man who can out perform a drill press in accuracy!

Yup. I have to say that's the last powered tool in my shop that would get the heave-ho, I could manage (albeit not as comfortably) without everything else.....

Hello Jaded 62

I am a bit of a heretic with planes. My goto all purpose plane is increasingly a low angle jack plane - albeit a Lie Nielsen #5 - just checked its replacement price, so won't recommend it. I like its low centre of gravity, stability, that it fits my hands and that I can instantly change the effective bevel angle by changing the blade. I use it as a smoother, jack plane or small jointer, and on the shooting board. Works for me.

On the shooting board I use:

• Bigger pieces - LN #5 LAJ, and
• Small pieces - Luban low angle block plane.

In my view, Luban is about 90% of the quality of the premium brands, LV & LN, at less than half the price. Their blades are particularly good value for money, though not as good as Ron Hock or LV PMV11.

Planes are one area where it is worth watching the second hand market. With Stanley planes the following probably applies:

• If made before WW2 it is probably very good,
• If it has a plastic handle then it is probably crap quality, and
• If made post WW2 with a wooden handle then it might be OK.