Which Plane Next

[Woodmatt]

Hi All,

A young lad came to me yesterday asking my advice,( don't know what made him think I would be the one to ask) anyway what he wanted to know was which Plane he should get next,he already has a Stanley No 4.I suggested a Block Plane but was not sure what make he should get,he has around £60.00 to spend.

What would members suggest with both what type and make?

Thanks

 

[shed9]

I know this is an obvious response but it all depends on what he needs planes for in the first place.

That said, if this were a generic plane question I'd agree with your own advice in getting a block plane. £60 will pretty much define his options somewhat. Either way at that price point I suspect he is going to have to be prepared to fettle what ever he gets to some extent.

Perhaps a new Stanley Sweetheart or an Axminster Rider version.

 

[Woodmatt]

Thanks for your reply Shed9.

I should have said he is trying to head towards making good quality hand make furniture,all his work will be hand work as he has no space for any machinery.

 

[ED65]

A block plane I think makes an ideal addition for someone who only has a no. 4. But the same could be said for a jack or fore.

But he doesn't have to limit himself to just one or the other, he could get all of them. With a bit of patience using Gumtree he might be able to get a good handful of planes for that money. Going to car boots, with a bit of luck you can net the same for less than a tenner.

 

[Sam R]

Given a no 4 & will do almost everything a block will how about a rebate plane e.g. Record 44 & variants and/or a shoulder plane, bullnose, that can be used for tenon shoulder and drawer runners. eBay should see you right for both of these - I got a record 44c & Preston bullnose for around £30 each. I find the small bullnose more versatile than a 60 1/2 at any rate.

 

[BearTricks]

I rarely use my block plane, as a beginner. I tend to use two planes, my number 4 and a long, good quality wooden plane that I think is a jointer or a jack. It's generally a case of rough planing with the woodie, clean up with the 4, finish everything off with a card scraper.

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

[worn thumbs]

I would have recommended looking on ebay for a Stanley No 90.The ability to plane into a corner might be very useful.

 

[Roughcut]

A no.6

 

[knockknock]

...I should have said he is trying to head towards making good quality hand make furniture,all his work will be hand work as he has no space for any machinery.

Given a no 4 & will do almost everything a block will how about a rebate plane e.g. Record 44 & variants and/or a shoulder plane...

I agree, as he is going to be all hand tools. A plough plane can make grooves and rebates, which opens up the ability to make floating panels, drawers and other things.

 

[Sam R]

A no.6

Without wishing to be antagonistic, a no. 6 isn't going to enable the grooves, rebates and shoulders that the shoulder/rebate combo will afford and so won't expand the maker in questions capabilities which I think is the nub of the question being asked.

 

[Woodmatt]

Thank you for the replies everyone,as with lots of things different people with different suggestions.
I think I will suggest to him that he (and I ) try to get him both a block and shoulder/rebate plane of flebay for the sort of money he has to spend.Then if he wishes we could restore them together and both he and I will learn something new with the help of Youtube.

 

[ED65]

Is Caerphilly close enough to where you are? There's a current Gumtree listing which isn't at all what the lad is looking for (it's three smoothers, two iron and one wood) but I'm thinking they could be a useful purchase all the same so bear with me.

The Pibro no. 4 makes an ideal canvas to practice restoration techniques on, probably to eventually be sold on but it would make an excellent candidate for converting to a roughing plane which become surprisingly handy once you have one. The coffin smoother for him to try a woodie and see how he likes them. And the 4 1/2 to sell on immediately at a profit (I think it's quite early) to help fund future purchases.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Bearing in mind the intention to make furniture from 'proper' woods mostly by hand methods, it might be worth aiming for a basic kit of three bench planes - jack, try and smoothing, and three joinery planes - plough, router and rebate. A block plane would be handy, but the first six are pretty well the core tools of a furniture-maker's planing kit.

Once those are sorted, add a couple of shoulder planes, another smoother, then maybe later some specialist planes like side beads or a couple of pairs of hollows and rounds, and you've about covered all possibilities.

 

[BearTricks]

I'm in the process of making an old woman's tooth plane using an old, good quality allen key as an iron. I found a guide online, which purports to be as good as the veritas version. I got most of the way through making it today and I should be using it by tomorrow evening.

I'll then use it to build a rebate plane, which I'll then use to build my kerfing plane. Three usable tools out of a scrap chunk of beech, an Aldi chisel, a piece of an old saw, and a few nuts and bolts. My first homemade tools, and they've taught me more than I think I'd have learned if I'd just bought some.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

I once used an Allen key to make an emergency boring tool for a metal-turning lathe. It did a fine job of machining mild steel, and whilst the edge didn't last as long as a HSS toolbit would, it would certainly hold up well enough for use in a hand router plane working woods. Making stuff with tools you've made yourself is very satisfying, too!

Actually, making planes isn't at all a bad idea if the budget needs to be stretched. Krenov-type planes are quite simple to make well, and can be made in any length desired. All you need to buy is a double iron and some stock wood. That, given one bought plane to start with, would cover the jack and try requirements. Making a plough plane would be more challenging, though not impossible given a bit of determination.

 

[D_W]

Did we find out yet what the guy makes?

I have been making medium and small stuff the last couple of years, and don't remember the last time I used a block plane, but if the guy is making small boxes, he might not really need anything at all.

 

[Woodmatt]

Thanks ED65 I just had a look on Gumtree but cannot find them,maybe they are already sold ! I am about 90 miles away so a fair old trek but still do able.
Cheshirechappie I would agree with your choices as the basics, the problem is we are probably looking at 3 to 4 hundred for that lot and certainly at the moment he doesn't have that sort of money to spare but given time he will probably get them all, what he is trying to do is prioritise his choices.
D_W I think he really waants to make smallish cabinets,boxes,ect.He has seen some of Krenov's work especially this

http://www.tjgwoodworking.com/index.php ... y-cabinet/

and aspires to do this type of work (dont we all).

 

[Cheshirechappie]

A suggestion made by (among others) Chris Schwarz is that if you're only going to have one bench plane, the best option is a Bailey-type (or Bedrock-type, it doesn't matter) of number 5 size, but with two swappable blade and cap-iron pairs. The first is set up with a generous cambered edge and used for rough stock sizing and cleaning-up, the second is set up with a much straighter edge and closer cap-iron and used for trying-up and some smoothing.

Given that he already has a smoother, it may be best to set that up for dedicated smoothing tasks, and find a reasonable second-hand number 5. A second blade and cap-iron wouldn't break the bank - certainly cheaper than a decent number 7.

He'll also have to think about rebates, housings and grooves, but as Bear Tricks pointed out, budgets can be stretched with a bit of ingenuity. He'll also have to think about a few chisels, a saw or two, some decent marking and measuring equipment (arguably where the money should be spent - can't put a price on accuracy), and the usual bits and bats like hammer, screwdrivers, drills and cramps - and, dare I say it, some basic sharpening kit.

There's a lot that can be done to stretch budgets. A copy of Robert Wearing's 'The Resourceful Woodworker' would be a useful investment, as would a good rummage around the net looking for ways to home-make things. Gary Roberts' Toolemera site has an online copy of Charles Hayward's 'How to Make Woodwork Tools' which is well worth a shuftie - http://www.toolemera.com/bkpdf/haywardhowtobk.pdf

 

[MIGNAL]

5.5 would be my choice. Bit longer and can be used as a jointer. Also a Stanley 102 as a trim/block plane. Surely can be had for very little as a used example. Many think they are 'toys' but I can assure you that they are far from being a toy if you get the blade truly sharp.

 

[D_W]

Isn't a 5 1/2 1 inch longer than a 5? Its width might be more useful than extra length, though.

If smallish cabinets described above include boards three or four feet long, and planing will be done to true edges (as opposed to clean-up only duty), the friend can get a jointer or a jack at this point.

I don't know who Chris Schwartz's advice is really for, I think he gets credit for bringing people to the hobby with writing style and coordinating getting books printed, but his advice often doesn't make much sense. His hypotheticals waste peoples' time and cause people to consider false dilemmas.

The friend could get a #5 for now, or they could try to locate a jointer. Woodworking and being really tight on tools brings up a second question, though, which is how you get decent stock to build with if a few metal planes create a budget crunch.

At any rate, if money is tight, I think he should probably wait until he starts building things to find out what it is he really needs. it could be:
* a wooden fore plane if he's going to do some basic prep work (and he doesn't use a power jointer planer)
* a couple of spokeshaves if he's going to do most of his prep work with machines

...