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Jeff

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Can anyone tell me what the different types of plane are used for. I am just getting into woodworking and i am gradually building up my tool collection. I'm sort of hooked on Norm but then again with the amount of tools he has I wood be in heaven. Hope someone can give me advice. :lol:
 
OK, here goes

737's are generally used for short-haul whilst 747's are used for long-haul

Smaller planes e.g. Cessna's are generally used for pleasure and are privately owned.

etc etc :p
 
Thanks Charley, a very informative site but what about block planes, bullnose etc.. by the way I am very impressed by ukworkshop and wish I had found it a lot sooner. Keep up the good work.
Jeff :D
 
Hi Jeff

This is a wonderful forum and you're welcome to it :) !

Norm does some very accomplished work with all his power tools but you don't need everything he's got in order to produce some very attractive woodwork. I think you're quite right to focus on planes as being very useful handtools that he could use to better advantage.

Planes can give you a finish that is simply not attainable with power tools. You'll get decent results quite quickly with almost any plane that is properly sharpened but to get the most impressive results you'll need to learn how to tune your plane properly. I would recommend "The Handplane Book" by Garrett Hack (available from Amazon.co.uk) in this respect.

It would be simplistic to say that the lower the numerical rating of a plane, the coarser the finish that will be produced; block planes which are particularly useful for end grain timber prove this. In fact, much depends on the width of the mouth, the set of the blade and a host of other factors. I've managed to produce some satisfactory smoothing using a block plane and ripped through loads of waste timber using a No 4½ Stanley smoother. It all depends on haw you set the plane. How's that for versatility, eh? :)

No hand planing techniques are difficult to master! Get yourself a decent manual then pick up a cheap second hand plane (or two, or three...) at an auction or car boot sale and amaze yourself with the quality of your finish. Eventually you might even want to throw all your sanders into the skip - but I haven't quite reached this point yet myself. When Jester gets her pooter back up online, I'm confident she'll be able to reveal the true slippery path to the Niravana of handtool use ;).

Yours

Gill

PS It's a myth that power tools save you time. They can, particularly when a job is repetitive, but often it's quicker by hand
 

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