Power or Hand

[Mike Vastano]

Ok I think I may be ready to take my skills to the next level. After making a few pieces for around the house my confidence is building and I am looking at cutting my timber bills by buying rough sawn timber rather than forking out for planed all round.

Besides the costs I am also finding that the Planed stuff while pretty good does come with machine marks that need sanding out and sometimes are even bowed or cupped.

Soooooo.

Planer/Thicknesser.
I don’t really have the budget for a High end machine but from what I have read some of the budget generic screwfix machines can be good. The draw back for me being that the machine marks will probably still be there and also the space, I would need to store and setup each use.

Hand Plane
Never used one but the results (from what I have seen are amazing) and for the price of a cheap and cheerful P/T I could get a really good one. Drawbacks for me are. Time to get things done and how long to get my skills upto scratch.

Any advice would be good.

 

[tomasg]

The best advice i can say is you should get some vintage planes off ebay first
with a p/t your'e gonna leave scallop marks which you would need to smooth out anyway.
Id look for the oldest ones you can find, as theirs not really a difference in price with most folks.
Look for stuff before the 1970s ones (the ones with the dark reddish paint on stanleys)
and make sure the soles have plenty of thickness i.e not ground to nothing because of cast iron movement
thicker is a good sign
Seek out a record or a Stanley bailey no 5 1/2 and and no.7 or 8 jointer aswell
throw in a smoother for good luck
this would be the cheapest solution apart from finding these at a market ....
Ive never had the pleasure to visit these mythical fairs but if you do find one and
if you've looked at the ebay auctions first you'd know how low these planes can go for.
From what ive read the fair can be half the price of auction stuff .
Hand planes ..best way to get into it , like really into it (hammer)
good luck

 

[Mike Vastano]

Thanks tomasg

Sounds like a plan

 

[Max Power]

Depends how much available time you have .
Do you want to spend your valuable time prepping timber or making things ? :?

 

[whiskywill]

Not enough information but worth a look. http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/show/ ... lanes.html

 

[Droogs]

There's a lot of arguments on all the sites about this subject. It's probably the 2nd most popular one after sharpening, whether to/not to use hand/power tools. My perspective is to look at it in a practical way. If, your end goal is to have a finished article/product as soon as possible then due to time constraints then power tool woodworking is the way to go. If, on the other hand you want to learn the processes that have been used for centuries, and to learn the skills to implement them properly and have the time to invest in that learning experience then hand tools are the way to go. Choosing either approach does not need to be exclusive of any other way of working. I use a mix of both from prepping on an industrial production line model panel saw, (owned by the joinery shop where I rent my studio/workshop) to cutting marquetry on a 17th century design Chevalet and all manner of tools in-between.
Use the tool you consider most appropriate for the job in hand that works for your circumstances. whichever route you take both have a learning curve to be experienced on the journey to building your skills for you to enjoy and be frustrated by. but on the whole whichever way I'm sure you will gain from experiencing it.

good luck with whichever route you take, but watch out hand tools are very addictive :lol:

 

[heimlaga]

I am a firm advocate of hand tools.....and also a firm advocate of power tools. Both have certain adwantages over the other. A few basic power tools plus hand tools in in my oppinion a very good combination when doing one off work as a hobby or otherwise on a small scale.

I hand planed all my wood for many years. I skipped the entry level machines and went directly from hand tools to good quality secondhand cast iron machinery. Looking back that was a good choice from an economical point of wiew as the resale value of entry level machines is close to zero. Any serious woodworker who buys an entry level planer/thicknesser is bound to get sick and tired of it and to want an upgrade one day. I just skipped that step.
Planing wood by hand requires a solid workbench preferably equipped with tailscrew and front vice and bench dogs and all. After a little bit of training you will be able to hand plane to better tolerances than you get from a low end planer/thicknesser. Hand planing is laborious so I had to work for my saved money. However I had more time than money at the time so that was a good choice for me.

I would suggest that you look for some good bench planes. A smoother and a jack and a long plane and a scrub is a set that would plane any wood smooth and straight.
The cheapest way to get such a set is buying planes secondhand. A number 3 or 4 sized smoother. A number 5 or 5 1/2 sized jack. A number 7 sized long plane. An old beaten up wooden smoother or jack with the blade reground makes a cheap scrub. Elderly Stanley Bailey planes tend to be expensive since most people want a famous brand. Record and Woden and Hellstedts and Nooitgedagt and Millers Falls and Sargent and Siegley and V&B and Ohio Tools are just a few other old time makers of equally good planes.

Good luck!

 

[toast]

id say you need a handplane or two whichever way you go.
im not sure how much you are looking to spend?
but i picked up a woodstar pt85 secondhand planer/thicknesser for 150.
so if you can stretch to that and another 20 you could pickup a second hand no4 bailey.

 

[Mike Vastano]

Thanks all some really good advice. I am going to have a good think and ponder all that's been said.

 

[NickWelford]

Bear in mind that to make the best use of hand planes, you really do need a decent workbench. Some weight in it, a decent vice perhaps, and bench stops. A workmate really doesn't hack it.

 

[Benchwayze]

Hand Plane
Never used one but the results (from what I have seen are amazing) and for the price of a cheap and cheerful P/T I could get a really good one. Drawbacks for me are. Time to get things done and how long to get my skills upto scratch.

Any advice would be good.

I wish you lived closer to me. I am scaling down at the moment, and I will be lightening the load of hand planes I have; mostly Stanleys from the 1960s onward. No doubt there would be something there that would suit you.

Alternatively, if you are prepared to pay for shipping, I'll sort out a Jack and a No. 4. If you would like?

Like Tom said. Hand Planes, will get you into it, right into it. You know it makes sense!

John

 

[No skills]

John has made an excellent offer there, very kind.

If you do buy some sort of machinery save up and buy something decent, I have some cheap and nasty machines such as the planer thicknesser - some will say it's ok for the money but really it's not and its a fifth of the money that could of gone towards something much better.

 

[dzj]

If time (or health) isn't an issue, then the swish of a sharp hand plane can't be beat.
Most people I know use them both. A hand plane gets rid of machine marks a surface planer might make
very easily. No noise no dust.
If you are serious about the craft, take the hand tool path first. Later on you can add the machines if you like.

 

[custard]

If you do buy some sort of machinery save up and buy something decent, I have some cheap and nasty machines such as the planer thicknesser - some will say it's ok for the money but really it's not and its a fifth of the money that could of gone towards something much better.

Excellent advice that stands repeating.

Unfortunately it's advice that most beginning woodworkers don't want to hear. With a couple of hundred pounds burning a hole in their pocket they WANT IT NOW, and end up with something that disappoints and frustrates.