A Plane Question

[wcndave]

I have a stanley plane that is about 8" long and has TB3 written on it. It's a real cheap piece of rubbish from B&Q for £15, however i figured if i tuned up the iron, it might do ok (previously i had (gasp) used straight out of the box...)

I then watched some woodsmith magazine video, and it was noted that a plane with a 45% angled bed would have the bevel underneath.

I have mine on top, and that means 45 + 25 = 70 deg to the wood. Doesn't sound very effective angle to me, however if i turn it over, the mouth gap is so tiny, it's almost gone. Am I going the wrong way?

Next, I would like to get 2 good planes. I doubt i will try to flatten big boards with them, however small pieces, edges, possibly shooting boards and mitres.

so I figured a #5 Jack and a low angle block would be a good place to start.

i wanted to know.

1. If low angle #5 was really going to be bad, as i hear it tears out hardwoods, and i mostly work with hardwoods...?
2. do all modern bench planes have a iron depth adjustment that is a single wheel, as opposed to mine which has two threaded bolts, so it's never flat...?
3. does anyone know if Qiangsheng are any good? I was looking at Veritas, however way expensive for me, and the Qiangsheng is £40 off now at £90.

I have rarely forayed in to the hand tools section, so I hope this will be a new and rewarding experience for me

 

[Jacob]

Oldish Record or Stanley no5s are excellent.

 

[wcndave]

Oldish Record or Stanley no5s are excellent.

If you're offering me one, that's great :ho2

 

[AndyT]

I take it you mean an SB3 like this:

with the spokeshave style twin screw adjustment - as you say, it's not likely to give you a very satisfying planing experience. The blade does need to be bevel down. Do try sharpening the blade, withdrawing it so it does not show, then advancing it a little tiny bit, to just take a fine shaving. (You might need to widen the mouth with a file, but honestly it's not worth it for a cheap bit of rubbish like that.)

Your other questions come up fairly often and it would be worth reading back in this section a bit - a very short summary is that old Record and Stanley (ie up to about the 70s) are generally very good, but for a beginner it can be difficult to get an old plane into good working order if you don't yet know what a well set-up plane is like.

Among new options, QS are very good; most would agree that the wise buyer goes to Workshop Heaven and gets excellent service, even if Rutlands may sometimes appear a few quid cheaper.

 

[woodbloke]

3. does anyone know if Qiangsheng are any good? I was looking at Veritas, however way expensive for me, and the Qiangsheng is £40 off now at £90.

Short answer...yes! With £40 off the price you need to bite somebody's hand off - Rob

 

[Jacob]

Oldish Record or Stanley no5s are excellent.

If you're offering me one, that's great :ho2

Help yourself!
It's a good idea to have 2 or 3 at first so you can get your hand in and perhaps cannibalise to make one very good one, though you might be lucky first shot.

 

[wcndave]

Yes, that's my Stanley, bevel DOWN, that might make a bit of difference... I suppose with the #5 my question is, is that the right plane to have if I only own one, and I have no specific purpose. All i know is i'm not going to flatten a benchtop anytime soon...

I went to workshopheaven and see the low angle block plane, with 3 irons. I heard that low angle tears out hardwoods on long grain, however WSH have them with 3 irons included, 25, 38, 50. does that mean i could put in the 25 for endgrain and the 50 for long grain? and the low angle is effectively negated? ie a low / normal / high angle plane all in one?

Seems like the Q could be the right way to go, someone posted about pits and rust, I think on the home page here, for the #3, however with a 10 year guarantee, i think i will take that chance.

 

[wcndave]

I've been banned from the bay :-( they won't let me pay in pounds, cos i live outside Europe, however they won't let me pay euros, cos i registered my account in UK, and you can't change this. I owe them £1.25, they sent me about 200 emails, i said i was happy to pay, if the button that says "click here to pay now" would just work, but it never did... couldn't even pay with pay pal... sigh...

also as per someones comment, I am not sure about tuning one up, or how i'd know it was done right. I am more of a power machine person mostly, so just looking to get in to some hand tools really.

 

[woodbloke]

I've been banned from the bay :-( they won't let me pay in pounds, cos i live outside Europe, however they won't let me pay euros, cos i registered my account in UK, and you can't change this. I owe them £1.25, they sent me about 200 emails, i said i was happy to pay, if the button that says "click here to pay now" would just work, but it never did... couldn't even pay with pay pal... sigh...

also as per someones comment, I am not sure about tuning one up, or how i'd know it was done right. I am more of a power machine person mostly, so just looking to get in to some hand tools really.

If you're going to be in the UK for the AxBash on the 9th, would it not be possible to obtain the plane(s) of your choice whilst you're over here? Just a thought - Rob

 

[wcndave]

I can get them over there, however I still can't do it on ebay, unless i set up a whole new account, credit card etc... however I can order from workshop heaven and it's only £10 delivery to here, so think i'll do that and get some card scrapers at the same time.

I am thinking i should leave all methods of payment at home when I go to AxBash2012 ;-)

 

[woodbloke]

I can get them over there, however I still can't do it on ebay, unless i set up a whole new account, credit card etc... however I can order from workshop heaven and it's only £10 delivery to here, so think i'll do that and get some card scrapers at the same time.

I am thinking i should leave all methods of payment at home when I go to AxBash2012 ;-)

If you're going to order stuff from Matt at WH, think about the Scary Sharp 3M films and a suitable jig at the same time...that is unless you haven't already got a decent sharpening regime - Rob

 

[wcndave]

I wrestled with sharpening for a while, and know a lot of scary sharp people from my knife making (see my avatar to left), and i ended up with a worksharp, which is scary sharp with power. (actually when the deal was on i got two, so i don't have to change grits).

however i see WSH sells some nice stuff, and i like to support small independent caring quality businesses, so i will be back for something!

 

[Thomas Hayman]

I use the same cheap nasty plane as my scrub for green logs and it's a real treat to use. Ground a gentle curve and it really does a fantastic job. Cheap isn't ALWAYS bad!

 

[jimi43]

Check out THIS THREAD

Five pages of advice on starting with planes. Lots of good advice there.

There are hundreds of sharpening threads. It's a sport around here.......so I won't even bother linking to them.

Jim

 

[Vann]

... I suppose with the #5 my question is, is that the right plane to have if I only own one, and I have no specific purpose. All i know is i'm not going to flatten a benchtop anytime soon....

The No.4 plane is the usual choice for a single plane, although a No.5 would be 2nd choice. As you already have the SB3, a No.5 would probably be a good second plane. Then you need to decide what you're going to use it for. No.5s are usually for taking thick shavings (with a cambered iron), but do work fine as a smoother (iron with just the slightest camber or straight with rounded corners). Best bet is two irons, one for heavy and one for fine work. You might want a small back bevel for hardwoods.

I went to workshopheaven and see the low angle block plane, with 3 irons. I heard that low angle tears out hardwoods on long grain, however WSH have them with 3 irons included, 25, 38, 50. does that mean i could put in the 25 for endgrain and the 50 for long grain? and the low angle is effectively negated? ie a low / normal / high angle plane all in one?

Yes that sums it up. And you don't have to stick to the 25, 38 & 50. you can put micro bevels on to suit the hardwood you're work with. E.g. if you try the 38 and get tearout, try the 50. If that's not getting tearout but is too much like hard work - try a 43 microbevel on the 38 iron and if you still get tearout try a 48 microbevel (steps of ~5 degrees). Having a low angle block plane in addition to the SB3 and No.5 should cater for most needs (sez he who has far too many and only ever uses 3 or 4 of them :roll: )

My tuppenceworth,

Cheers, Vann.

 

[wcndave]

Check out THIS THREAD

Five pages of advice on starting with planes. Lots of good advice there.

There are hundreds of sharpening threads. It's a sport around here.......so I won't even bother linking to them.

Jim

That link doesnt work

 

[jimi43]

Check out THIS THREAD

Five pages of advice on starting with planes. Lots of good advice there.

There are hundreds of sharpening threads. It's a sport around here.......so I won't even bother linking to them.

Jim

That link doesnt work

I missed an "l" on the html...... (homer)

There you go...THIS THREAD

Ok?

Jim

 

[wcndave]

Thanks so much