Bench Planes for Beginner on a Budget

[quickthorn]

Hello all,

I don't have much experience of cabinet making, and i'd like your advice on planes. I have a Stanley block plane and 93 shoulder plane, bought from new, and a Stanley 5 bought reconditioned second hand..the sole and sides have been reground.

Now, I'm starting to make a work bench out of 8" - 10" wide sycamore boards, which I plan to join with double tongues. I'm not sure if my no. 5 plane will get these boards flat enough, or whether it will even get a straight enough edge to make a neat joint, so I may need to buy a jointer plane. I cannot afford any of the better makes at this stage, so I'm mulling over the idea of buying another reconditioned Stanley or Record for £80 or so, or spending a bit more on a new Irwin Record or Stanley model, which would be around £150 or so. I know some people say that modern records/Stanleys would not be as good as an older one, but the ones on sale at my local old tool dealer would be 1970s vintage. However, I don't remember that decade as being a particularly good advert for the quality of British manufacturing !

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[dunbarhamlin]

It is easier to joint and flatten with a longer plane, and the extra blade width and heft is nice. But it should be doable with a #5 - just take fine cuts and check often. So why not try with what you have first, and if the result isn't up to your requirement, then look for a #7.

Ray Iles (The Old Tool Store) is in your neck of the woods (Horncastle)
I'd give him a call for a reground vintage #7. I had a reground Stanley #5 from him a while back, and it's a goodun. (Actually, guessing Ray may have been the source of your #5?)

As quality control slips further, a new Stanley may well need more work than a fettler would have to put into a vintage tool.
From what I've read (i.e. no direct experience) Record clung on to high standards a little longer than Stanley.

Cheers
Steve

 

[woodbloke]

Agree with Steve here that a older No7 from someone like Ray Isles is the way forward. In that way you'd be within budget for a decent long plane. The other option is to go for something like the Clifton or LN versions, really excellent planes but beyond budget. What you may want to consider though is the equally good LV LA 22" jointer which works out much cheaper, round about £180 if memory serves - Rob

 

[quickthorn]

Thanks for the replies..yes, I got my no5 from ray, and I'm pleased with that. I might take your advice and get as far as I can with the 5.

One of the issues I have is that the boards vary in thickness, so there's up to 1/2" to come of parts of one. To speed things up, I'm thinking of getting a second iron for the 5 and grinding one with a slight radius, for more rapid stock removal - a bit like a scrub plane (not that I've ever used one! Do you think that would work?

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Unless just a bit of waney edge, half an inch I'd probably remove with a saw, but anyway:

It has been suggested that a scrub is from a separate tradition, and that in days of yore a jack plane (i.e. #5) would be used for just such a purpose.

I have the luxury of different planes, but alternative blades should work well. Adjust the frog forwards for fine work with your straight blade, and back* for hogging off material with your shaped blade.

Folks will sometimes say that this is a faff - but since the blade comes out regularly for honing, I really can't see it as an issue - and messing about with a tool is the best way to get familiar with its capabilities in double quick time.

* Can go back to the point where the bottom of the frog is in line with the back of the mouth, so it form a single slope. Any further back is counter productive. To give more space for the heavy shavings, also move the chip breaker further back from the blade edge for rough work.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Paul Chapman]

One of the issues I have is that the boards vary in thickness, so there's up to 1/2" to come of parts of one. To speed things up, I'm thinking of getting a second iron for the 5 and grinding one with a slight radius, for more rapid stock removal - a bit like a scrub plane (not that I've ever used one! Do you think that would work?

Yes, that would work fine. I have no machinery so do lots of planing. I have three planes, Record #7, Record #5 1/2 and an obscure #3, with heavily cambered blades for this sort of thing. Grind and hone a steep camber, set the cap iron back and open the mouth. Works really well because there is far less resistance and you can take off thick shavings relatively easily.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[bugbear]

Hello all,

I don't have much experience of cabinet making, and i'd like your advice on planes. I have a Stanley block plane and 93 shoulder plane, bought from new, and a Stanley 5 bought reconditioned second hand..the sole and sides have been reground.

Now, I'm starting to make a work bench out of 8" - 10" wide sycamore boards, which I plan to join with double tongues. I'm not sure if my no. 5 plane will get these boards flat enough, or whether it will even get a straight enough edge to make a neat joint, so I may need to buy a jointer plane. I cannot afford any of the better makes at this stage, so I'm mulling over the idea of buying another reconditioned Stanley or Record for £80 or so, or spending a bit more on a new Irwin Record or Stanley model, which would be around £150 or so. I know some people say that modern records/Stanleys would not be as good as an older one, but the ones on sale at my local old tool dealer would be 1970s vintage. However, I don't remember that decade as being a particularly good advert for the quality of British manufacturing !

Does anyone have any advice?

You might also consider a 22" wooden try plane - it's only 2" shorter than a #7, and available in good condition for 8-12 pounds at most car boots. They are almost always in excellent condition, since they are used for accurate work, not heavy work. Make sure the one you buy is very clean, and ALWAYS check the back of the blade for deep corrosion, especially where the back iron contacts (although you could simply grind 1/4" off the length of the blade :-( )

This assumes, of course, that you'd feel confident using such a thing.

BugBear