best plane as gift for 2nd year carpentry student

[davlo]

Hope you don't mind me asking on here. My son is in his second year at college doing carpentry and is desperate to get an apprenticeship.
He wants to start getting some essential tools and I would like to buy him a good plane as a gift.
Could anyone suggest a good one? I understand there are various different types he will need but just wondered what you would suggest as a first one. Would like something good but can only go up to about £100, not sure if that is realistic as I see some can be hundreds?
Many thanks for any suggestions/advice

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Buy something he'll use, not worship. Go to Pool market and look in the tool store. You'll pick up a quite nice No.6 or No.7 for £60 - £70, or sometimes a nice No.4 1/2 for £30 - they might not look new, but they are good. Try to get a deal - Frank is a robbing son of a thousand fathers. You might even hit it lucky - I picked up a really nice No.4 for £12 and a beautiful wooden Marples jack for £5. Try to find someone to go with you if you're not sure what you're buying.

 

[Ttrees]

May I suggest a Stanley no 5 1/2 (an old one with a thick sole)
I like that size so much I bought two of them
I am happy to have a quick look for an expensive one (buy it now price on the bay if you wish)
It might cost about 50ish quid or a bit more
You could get these for 35ish but it might be a lemon

And the means to sharpen it
My choice for the newbie would be a nice fine ultex stone 1800 grit or higher for polishing ...
and old oilstone if you can find one, or those really really cheap DMD stones at over 2 quid each
A 400g and 1000g should run to about a fiver or less.

And a cheap eclipse style honing guide for about a fiver to get started.

Happy to give you my opinions, unable to give direct links on this forum

Tom

 

[G S Haydon]

For a carpentry student, a vintage #4 Stanley/Record is great. You'll need to spend about £25.00. If he's working at the bench a Quangsheng or Clifton #4 could be worth a look.

 

[Bodgers]

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[Phil Pascoe]

I'd buy the best plane at the best price on the day (if "preloved" )- no one will ever agree on what to buy first. I had a 3, two 4 1/2s, a 5 1/2 (my first), a 6, a 7 annd an 8 for years before I owned a 4 or even later a 5.

 

[mr edd]

At the risk of taking flack for this comment,
A second year CARPENTRY student will not use a plane beyond completing practical coursework projects which would be challenging at least for some of the most skilled woodworkers on this forum with the abused planes available at most colleges, in which case i concur with the above no4/5/51/2 etc.

However in construction employment the kindest boss will ask when you pull out a hand plane ''what are you going to do with that''

At most a CARPENTRY student will need a block plane and there is plenty of advice on this this forum from those far more knowledgeable than i as to which block plane to buy
(i take a No4 to site to remove electric planer marks from hardwood doors i have made and then fitted but i am told i am OCD by everyone else, sometimes the decorators thank me tho)

It might be better to know which sector of the construction industry he intends to enter and then to save money for tools he will be expected to supply once he has found an employer.

Regards

Edd

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Could you try rewriting the first paragraph, please?

 

[mr edd]

Sorry phil.p is that me that needs to rewrite the 1st paragraph?, have tried to do so it makes more sense! have i missed the something?? i do apologise if so, has been a long day, hanging fire doors 4th floor etc.

Regards Edd

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

No rewriting necessary Edd, I agree with you. A carpentry student probably would benefit from a block plane, or a set of chisels - unless he is spending time building furniture.

I would go for a small block plane along the lines of a #102 - LN make a great one, but it is expensive.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[G S Haydon]

Interesting to read the thoughts of those who are, to my knowledge, not trained as or earning a living as a Carpenter/Joiner.

 

[Paddy Roxburgh]

Davlo, I would recommend a Quangsheng No,4 or block plane from Workshop Heaven. I don't disagree that a vintage Stanley or Record could be fine (indeed I only have vintage stanley and record bench planes) but a QS will work perfectly out of the box and he can avoid getting too deep into tool restoration on his first plane and they are within (or close to) budget.

 

[mr edd]

There are relatively few types of work where a hand plane is best tool to use for site carpentry.
Certainly not in 1st fix, and most 2nd fix work now seems to be in MDF or oak veneered blockboard skirt and arc. Block planes are nice for putting a small bevel/chamfer on or breaking the edge like on airing cupboard slats, door linings, door stops etc

To be honest most of the composite wood doors do not respond well to hand planing, just as they do not respond well to traditional auger drill bits. The timber if you can call it that is awful hard and tear out prone and filled with glue so hard that it will deeply score the sole of a plane or chip the edge of any chisel.

I know how to use a chip breaker and can get totally straight shavings to spring from my bevel down planes on a good day but the fact is many modern materials respond better to a power plane and router

Joinery is another matter and i still prefer a plane to a belt sander but i have the benefit of being self employed and do not have someone else looking over my time sheet for each job anymor

 

[mr edd]

One area where i do use a lot of hand tools is on site joinery repair, but to be honest having seen the state of most carpenters idea of splicing in timber -read hiding a splinter in a cricket ball sized lump of 2-part it is work best left to a joiner, I make replacement parts in the workshop then use hand tools to fine tune the fit on site.

Give him some money towards a track saw, router/ router bits, power plane, multi master, etc