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recomend starter wood plane

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mikeselky85

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been getting into wood working as a hobby away from working on cars. I have a table saw, chop saw, router etc.
im looking to get a bandsaw soon, but im really looking into getting some hand planes. ive seen a few at some estate sales near me, but wasnt sure if i should buy them or if i should get a few new ones. not 100% sure what im looking for when it comes to planes.
i have a butcherblock plan i wish to build soon and i know i could really use some planes to get the project rolling

thanks
 
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jrcampbe

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Hand planes each have a specific use. You do a single job with a plane and then switch to the next one. The typical progression for stock preparation is to use a "jack plane" which is set very rank and takes a big, thick shaving, to rapidly hog away material and get it close. This is a short-ish plane about 12-14" long, and the Stanley #5 is the typical example. This is used for the rough thicknessing. For trueing edges and faces, after the rough prep with the jack plane, you switch to a much longer plane called a "try plane" or a "jointer plane", which would be a Stanley #7 or #8. This long plane creates very flat faces and straight edges because of its length. Finally, one would use a "smoothing plane" to put a finished surface on the wood, even smoother than sandpaper. That's the standard stock-prep process.

Other planes exist to do the job of the modern router: rabbet & dado planes, plough planes for grooving, and moulding planes for moulding profiles. There is also a router plane for things like hinge recesses, but most people just use chisels.

The one "general purpose" plane that people use is a "block plane", sometimes called an "apron plane". This is a little guy you can use to trim something or out a bevel or chamfer or something. This is a rather modern invention but pretty handy.

These things only work well if they are outrageously, razor sharp, and shapening a plane iron is a whole thing.

The best book for an introduction to all this is the outstanding "Anarchist's Toolchest" by Christopher Schwarz.

First plane? Get a good block plane (check out Lee Valley), but you're going to need tools to sharpen it.

Jim
 
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jrcampbe

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Couple other thoughts:

A "cabinet scraper" is just a piece of metal with a straight edge that is used to finish wood. The finish from a cabinet scraper puts any sanded finish to shame. It is essentially a very fine smoothing or finishing plane that you hold by hand. It's easy to sharpen (it is actually burnished), and gives you an idea what is possible with hand planes.

A jack and jointer would be my choices for first "real" bench planes. With a these two planes (sorry, you need both) you can easily do stock prep on boards much larger than your power planer or jointer can handle.
 
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bubinga

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RivennHewn said:
Slippery slope.

I'd start with a 3, 4 and 5. Add more as you can.

Buy used Stanleys, as the new one cost too much.

Plan on doing your own cleaning and tuning.

Lots of resources on the interwebs for how to set them up correctly.

Do some research here: http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
this
Get your self an old 60 1/2 and tune it too.
Sweet little plane,
 
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Mohawk Dave

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Most will agree that a No 5 is the starter one. I have 3,5,7 so far. Use them all accordingly, but would take 5 if I could only have one. They are a dime a dozen.

Try to get the older Stanley one that has a key hole in the front, vs a kidney shaped hole. Better quality. but they are both good. 5-10 bux is good price. Evaporust, then flatten the bottom by taking a million passes on flat surface with sand paper. smoother the better..work to 2000 grit if you want.

Google how to sharpen planes. A sharp plane is fun to use, a dull one...not so much.
 
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Duker

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jrcampbe said:
Couple other thoughts:

A "cabinet scraper" is just a piece of metal with a straight edge that is used to finish wood. The finish from a cabinet scraper puts any sanded finish to shame. It is essentially a very fine smoothing or finishing plane that you hold by hand. It's easy to sharpen (it is actually burnished), and gives you an idea what is possible with hand planes.

A jack and jointer would be my choices for first "real" bench planes. With a these two planes (sorry, you need both) you can easily do stock prep on boards much larger than your power planer or jointer can handle.
Click to expand...

+1 on the cabinet scraper .... Stanley #80 or my favorite version a Garrett Wade clone.

Depending on your mastery of sharpening and burnishing skills the "hook" can be aggressive enough to take a shaving like a block plane or fine enough to take a shaving you can see through leaving a surface as was mentioned better than sandpaper can accomplish.

If I had only one choice of my hand planes ( and I have most Stanley/Bailey/Union) it would be my Lie-Nielsen #62 low angle jack plane. It is not a cheap tool but the most versatile of all the planes I own.
 
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DonPowers

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Don't know if you would call it a starter plane, but the one I use the most is the Stanley No. 90 Bullnose Rabbet Plane. It gets into a lot of tight places. I use it mostly for cleaning up and tuning joints and mating surfaces.
 

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Cope

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Mohawk Dave said:
Most will agree that a No 5 is the starter one. I have 3,5,7 so far. Use them all accordingly, but would take 5 if I could only have one. They are a dime a dozen.

Try to get the older Stanley one that has a key hole in the front, vs a kidney shaped hole. Better quality. but they are both good. 5-10 bux is good price. Evaporust, then flatten the bottom by taking a million passes on flat surface with sand paper. smoother the better..work to 2000 grit if you want.

Google how to sharpen planes. A sharp plane is fun to use, a dull one...not so much.
Click to expand...

I agree, #5 Stanley and a 60 1/2 narrow angle Block Plane also.
 
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rlitman

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Cope said:
Regardless of price, the new ones are junk compared to the old ones.
Click to expand...

Regardless of price, planes not setup right are junk compared to ones that are.

Yes, there are many asian cast planes that no matter what you do, cannot be made to work well. There are also plenty of Lie Nielson planes that are at least as good as anything made years ago, not that I can afford one.

What I reach for most now:
1) #4 jack plane. The #5 is too big for what I need.
Something like this is plenty usable:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-9-3-4-in-Bailey-Bench-Plane-12-904/203771412
The Buck version, not so much. This used to be sold as both Craftsman, and before that Sears brand, with a distinctive red lever cap. The later ones have a plastic handle and adjustment knob, but can still be made to work well.

2) Low angle block plane with adjustable throat.
As much as people swear that nothing is as good as a Stanley 60 1/2, I'll say this is just as good when tuned up:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000223QX/?tag=atomicindus08-20

3) Jointer plane. My current favorite is an old Dunlap that I spent some time getting just right. I recently had to make a door 1/8" narrower, and for the final passes I was getting beautiful shavings the full length of the door that were just about transparent their whole length.

Next on the list would be spoke shaves and a rabbet plane.
I have wooden ones (and prefer one with an angled blade), but something like this looks like it could be made workable:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009OYFU/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
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theoldwizard1

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RivennHewn said:
I'd start with a 3, 4 and 5. Add more as you can.

Buy used Stanleys, as the new one cost too much.

Plan on doing your own cleaning and tuning.

Lots of resources on the interwebs for how to set them up correctly.

Do some research here: http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html
Click to expand...

Great advice ! The most important thing you can do is learn how sharpen it and properly adjust it.
 
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ez-duzit

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The photo includes most of my planes, mostly Stanley and Record. The most used are the low angle block plane and rabbeting planes, which are the ones I'd recommend you start with.

planes-1_zpsea84c6e8.jpg
 
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pendragon1998

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I'd get a stanley no 4 or no 5 (or other vintage brand equivalent). The key with these, as others have stated, is to learn how to sharpen the iron and then 'tune' or adjust the plane properly. It's not too hard, but you'll need to plan on investing a little in the sharpening solution of your choice as well. I use the 'scary sharp' sandpaper method, but you can also go with water or diamond stones.

Look for Paul Sellers' channel on youtube and you'll find a lot of good information on planes and hand woodworking.
 
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McFarmer

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Get an old one cheap, learn how to sharpen and set it up.

Then you will appreciate a top of the line one once you master the old cheap one.
 
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PBCampbell

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Sandpaper over a flat surface, like MDF, works great while your building up your sharpening arsenal. I think "Scary Sharp" is a popular term for this method. If your not familiar with sharpening a honing guide like DonPowers posted a link to is beneficial. There are more complex designs and more money to be spent on these, but that's up to you. I'd suggest start cheap and evaluate your needs from there. The internet makes it all seem terribly complex, but in reality it really isn't.
Butcher block is end grain up, but laminated cutting boards are often termed Butcher block even though they're not. Block planes were designed for cutting end grain (blocking). These are probably the handiest plane for miscellaneous trimming and all sorts of things, so I'd start there. These have the blade positioned with the bevel up and come in normal (around 20 degrees) bedding and a lower angle bedding that is good for tougher to cut woods.
Bench planes are the next step and I think the most often use is smoothing broad flat surfaces prior to finishing. You wouldn't need anything particularly large for this. A Stanley No.4 (about 10" in length) is the most popular size, but I like a Stanley 5 1/4 sized plane (about 11" in length).
A regular Stanley No.5 (about 14" in length and a couple hairs wider) is a handy thing to have around for flattening (bringing a surface into plane).
Old brands that are numerous are Stanley, Millers Falls, and Sargent(rebranded as Craftsman for a number of years). Stay clear from painted ones as these were cheaply made. Look for glossy black (Japanning) on the top surface of the cast iron. There was a good 50 years of production of good quality products.
If money allows look at the offerings of Lie Nielsen or Lee Valley.
 
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alinc100

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There has been a lot of great info already in this thread.Another video I'd suggest is Chris Schwarz's Coarse,Medium and Fine. It gives a lot of info on planes and usage. Another great tutorial is a book that is a few years old written by a friend of mine "Choosing and Using Hand Tools by Andy Rae", great book, great photos ,covering many hand tools and really got me to a higher plane in woodworking.
Also start with older Stanley's and learn to sharpen,tune,hone,etc. These will be necessary no matter which planes you buy. Sharpening can be achieved many different methods. The best advice i was given was to choose a method and stick with it until it becomes second nature and achieves the desired results.
Depending on your location you may be able to find a guild or ww'ing club that you can get some help and a chance at seeing different types/methods.
 
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bloomingtonmike

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Veritas low angle jack is a great plane. You can buy three diff blades for it that really makes it three planes. Also those blades work with the bevel up smoother and jointer planes. The jack can shoot and does a good job smoothing.

Block plane first.
Low angle jack
Medium shoulder plane
Router plane

That is a powerful hand plane combo

Learn to sharpen - scary, worksharp, jet or other water slow wheel, waterstones.
Leonard lee's sharpening book is a bible.
 
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bloomingtonmike

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Also dont discout the new sweetheart stanley planes or even the india made woodriver woodcraft planes. While i will always steer you to lee valley veritas or lie nielson if you want to save a hundred bucks look at those first two. The ductile iron really stands up.

If you like fettering with planes the old stanleys are nice. If you see a corrugated bed rock plane in good shape they are very nice. I like Hock blades to really make them serviceable.

I also like low angle block planes with adjustable mouths. Mine is a Record plane - they are blue. So far it has kept me from buying a veritas replacement that i would really like to have.
 
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