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Hand Planes And Other Tools


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Hey theres been a lot of talk recently about planes, jointers vs planes etc and the general consensus seems to be that you should definately learn how to use and set up your own hand plane in addition to any power tools you have.

So is there any good tutorials around for choosing hand planes and how to set up and use them? Or a really good book on wood working that includes hand tools like planes and spokeshaves?

I'm relatively new to building but I'de like to do things right :D

Cheers

Neil

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Hi Neil

Glad to see you've got a new hobby since retiring from pro rugby!

I'm no expert on hand planes but this looked like a good place to start:

FWIW, just by typing 'how to set up a hand plane' into google you'll get more than you'd ever want to know.

What's the latest with the artificial reef over there?

Cheers

Buter

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I've got a block plane. I've only used it properly a few times. I've never used it for jointing, but I've used it for bringing a dowel down to the surface that its mounted on. I can't seem to get the hang of using it for jointing. Then again, I don't have a truely flat surface to tune it with :D It is a pretty handly little tool though!

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Several things to note about hand planes;

You get what you pay for (I guess that applies to every tool) with hand tools it is something you should not ignore. High end planes like Leevalley.com who makes Veritas and Lie-Nielson are top end planes which should be ready to go out of the box. They also cost an arm and a leg. Other planes like the Clifton may also be good to go but i have no knowledge of them as of late. Stanley is the defacto standard in a lower end plane which will do the job, however it will take some work on your end to get it where it will be that perfect plane.

Used brand name planes are a good deal as long as the sole is not pitted. Blades can be replaced but it requires welding equipment to fix a pitted plane sole. this includes knicks as well. I have several flea market stanley planes. make sure you are not paying too much as some dealers make a living ripping you off for a beatup hand plane. Chinese and store branded planes are garbage, stay far away they may never be able to do what you you need them too. Another lower end brand is Kuntz, I have passed them by many times, maybe someone has some experience to share. I was not impressed.

A block plane (low angle) and either a Jack or Jointer (my favorite) will do for the first two. Stay away from the mid sized planes as using them for glue joints is much harder work (longer is better).

There is nothing sweeter than knowing that last perfect shaving that came off your plane has created a perfectly flat edge. No need to look as you have been there before.

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A hand plane is absolutely one of the most usefull tools you can own. Once you learn how to use them and tune them there is no turning back. The feel of them gliding through wood is an addiction. They are easier to use and less finicky then the 6" bench top jointers. What is kind of humorous is the number of woodworkers that have a hand plane on their signs because it is an easy association, but how few actually use them. Think about the quality of antique furniture, they did not have power tools, and did not have sandpaper. It was all edge tools and rasps and files.

Woodenspoke pretty much nailed it. All of my planes are very old Stanley's. They needed some tuning work but nothing major. My main ones are the #4 smoother, which is great for small areas and I use a lot for scarf joints. The #5 Jack plane which can be used for pretty much anything and is in my hands more than my wife. The #6 Fore Plane, it is like a shorter version of the #7 Jointer. For body blanks it works great for jointing. If I had the choice I would have gotten the #7, but when it's free, I'm not going to argue. I've also found the rabbett planes are very usefull for touching up binding work on necks.

I bought "Working with Handplanes" from The New Best of Fine Woodworking at Woodcraft and found it very usefull. They go into how to use a handplane, how to tune them, the use and tuning of spokeshaves, how to use scrapers and even how to build your own planes. They discuss upgrades such as better blades, better chip breakers, better cap irons. A very usefull book. I highly recommend it.

Search Google for Patrick's Blood and Gore. As strange as the name sounds, he has a very in depth history of Stanley planes, but a lot of the information translates into knowledge about other brands of planes.

Also Google "Scary Sharp" it is a great in depth tutorial for turning your plane blade into a razor, literally. But that is the kind of edge you need for the plane to work at it's best. And it is not that hard to accomplish.

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Ditto to what they said. I would also throw out that Millers Falls made very nice planes, that's what most of mine are. I have a 9", 14", and 22" one as well as a lie nielsen block plane (which is amazing) and just got a veritas plane but have yet to use it (it's also a round bottom plane, so different from this conversation I guess).

I suggest Millers falls for at least a couple reasons. 1) they are not as well known as stanley so you can get them cheaper many times. 2) they are just as good as stanley and better quality after stanley's quality dropped during world war II when they started casting larger pits in the frogs. I guess that's all I can think of.

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