As I’ve mentioned in a few posts, I’m a complete beginner. I’ve been reading posts on here for a few weeks now. Seems that most on here are pretty passionate about hand planing. I have one but haven’t a clue how to use it nor how to maintain it. I can’t even tell you what kind it is. Seems a bit overwhelming learning the craft let alone learning what each different type is used for. Can anyone recommend a good basic book to learn more about hand planes? I’ve also looked for planes on e-bay and have seen quite a number of them. I assume a good book will help to decipher which ones are good and which ones aren’t, but any guidance on differentiating the junk from the deals would be appreciated.
Thanks
Drew
Replies
Hack's 'The Handplane Book' from Taunton. It's an all-around great book. One of my all time woodworking favorites.
Matt
Plane Basics by Sam Allen - out of print but available used through Amazon and Alibris among others.
Look for the Stanley Bailey planes with 3 patent dates (1902, 1902, & 1910) embossed behind the frog. You can get a #4 or #5 of this vintage (1910-1930) for about $30-$40, and they are great tools and easy to tune. If someone drilled a hole in the plane to hang it from a pegboard, you can get it much cheaper, and it doesn't affect performance. Avoid anything that says "Made in USA" - those are the later models and aren't as good.
You might want to take a look at "The Superior Works- Patrick's Blood and Gore" at
http://www.supertool.com/index.htm
This is an awsome review of just about every hand plane made by Stanley/Bailey. I have found it to be very helpful in looking for what planes to buy.
All the old Stanley stuff is fine but if you're a beginner my strong advice would be to stay away from that world for now. First buy The Handplane Book as suggested above and read it cover to cover. He's even got a section on which planes he recommends. Then buy a Veritas or Lie-Nielsen plane and learn how to sharpen it. Once you've done those two things you'll know what a good plane can and should do. If you're then interested in exploring the world of E*Bay and vintage planes, you can. But if you start with the used, vintage plane you won't ever know whether any problems you're having are you or the plane, which will be very, very frustrating.
Get anything you can (book or video) by David Charlesworth, English Master Cabinet maker. You can get these from Lie-Nielson or Fine Woodworking. If you can get a chance to attend one of David's classes, here in the States, you will learn more about chisels and hand planes than you even knew there was to know.
Larry
In addition to the two DVDs by Charlesworth, Lie-Nielsen also has available DVDs by Rob Cosman and Mario Rodrigues http://www.lie-nielsen.com/library.html?cat=6
DO NOT fail to get Garrett Hack's "The Handplane Book" put out by our sponsors._________________________________
Michael in San Jose
"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell
Working with a handplane is a special thing.
The books referenced in this thread so far are excellent, especially the Handplane Book by Garrett Hack.
I would also recommend "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" by Leonard Lee, also a Taunton Book.
Hand tools are useless if you can't sharpen them.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled