I am working at making the transition from ‘home handyman’ to ‘woodworker’. I have been starting off with basic projects using 4S lumber, but I intend to purchase a good jointer and planer to allow me to work with rough cut lumber. I had considered just going with hand tools for the jointing/planing tasks, but decided that it would be better use of my somewhat limited time I can devote to woodworking to use power tools for the majority of the work. That being said, I know I will need some hand tools to do touch ups and work on larger panels. I recently bought my first hand plane, a Lie-Nielson #5 Jack Plane. From what I have read, my next plane should probably be a block plane, but I am unsure of whether or not to get the low angled version or standard. I intend to stick with the Lie-Nielson product line. Most of my work, at least for the foreseeable future, will not be in highly figured woods, mostly sticking to mission style furniture build with quartersawn white oak. After the block plane, what should I be looking for? Thanks.
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Replies
lee,
most of my ww training involved machines. when i started purchasing equipment of my own, grizzly was new on the market, and i purchased the g1023 saw, the 3hp shaper and their 12" planer. the planer is a very useful tool. i try to buy all of my lumber rough and i know i save money doing so. i did without a jointer for many years but i have an old 6" rockwell and it too is very uesful. now days i am looking towards using hand planes for smoothing and shooting and i have much to learn. gdblake gave me some great info lately and i have ordered david finck's book; making and mastering wood planes.
if you can afford it, getting a planer and a jointer is a good idea even if you want to go with more hand-power.
eef
I'd go for a smooth plane,
I'd go for a smooth plane, no. 4 or no. 3 depending on the size of your hands and the size of your projects. Wood from a jointer and planer still needs to have the planer ripple removed, and a good smooth plane will do the job a lot faster, and better, than a ROS sander.
I'd get the low angle block plane, since enough of what block planes get called on to do involves trimming end grain. I've got a Veritas that feels nice under hand, though still not quite as nice as my old Stanley 65s.
Lee:
In terms of block planes, the LN rabbit block plane is more versatile than the adjustable mouth low angle block plane. The rabbit plane can do everything the low angle block plane does and more. You can also use it as a wide shoulder plane to clean up tenons or rabbits. I have both planes and rarely use the low angle block plane in favor of the rabbit plane.
Your LN #5 is a great first plane. You can open up the mouth and true up a rough sawn board. Or, close up the mouth and joint boards for panel glue ups, and use it as a large smoothing plane. It is also a good size to use with a shooting board. Let your projects dictate future plane purchases. If you find yourself doing larger case work then you will propably want a bevel down jointer (#7 or #8)at some point. The advantage of LN bevel down planes over other brands is that they offer three frogs angles (45, 50, and now 55). The higher angles are for working harder or more figured woods. In terms of metal smoothing planes it is hard to beat the bevel up planes. They generally cost less than the bevel down smoothers and perform better. Both LN and LV make good ones.
Chris Schwarz's book "Handplane Essentials" is a good primer for anyone interested in learning the ins and outs of handplanes fast.
gdblake
Ifyou're planning to stay
Ifyou're planning to stay with LN, you might ask your question to their support staff. I've gotten excellent information and advice from them, and how have a LA block plane, rabbet plane, 4 1/2, 50 deg frog for the 4 1/2, a 62 (LA jack) and a #8.
I'm not sure the rabbet block plane has an adjustable mouth; if not, that would be a useful feature of the LA block plane.
Not sure if the additional frogs fit all the bevel down planes - some may have wider or narrower blades.
Don:
The LN rabbit block plane does not have an adjustable mouth. I haven't found this to be an issue, the mouth on mine is very tight and for general work performs equally to the LN adjustable mouth low angle block plane I also own. Currently Lie-Nielsen shows the 55 degree frog available only for their bench planes that use a 2 3/8" wide iron (numbers 4 1/2, 5 1/2, 6, and 7). The frogs in these planes are interchangeable. Or you can get a 50 degree frog for these sizes. LN also offers a 50 degree frog for numbers 4 and 5 that can be swapped between these two sizes. Being able to buy one high angle frog and swap it between planes (of the same iron width) based on the work you are doing is a nice advantage of owning LN planes.
gdblake
I have just 3 planes. # 4 smoother; adjustable mouth bevel up block plane and # 5 Jack Plane. LN's are the best investment from my point of view.
From use standpoint, Smoother used most, then block plane and then Jack plane.
Other planes would be nice, but these get my jobs done....replicating Shaker Style pieces out of Cherry lumber.
You will enjoy whichever plane you buy next and as for LN, I have yet to meet the guy that regrets buying one.
I agree with gdblake - I have both the LN rabbet block - which is LA - and a std angle adj mouth block, so I think I have the best of both worlds there. The rabbet block is teriffic. Acts as a la block, but also has the rabbet design. The lack of an adj mouth is a non-issue in the block plane IMO.
Next - you might be surprised at your results with QSWO - the better pieces can act like "highly figured" re: tearout. But that's OK - get a second blade for the #5 and put on a higher angle, or get a 50* frog.
The next - and I have spent BIIG $$ on stunning old-growth bookmatched QSWO - you should give some consideration to the large scraper plane. Not to be a heretic on this thread - I have 8 LN planes - but my scraper is the LV. The reason I got it is for the camber screw. That may be a non-issue, but I like the feature.
No help to you, but if I could afford the Lie-Nielsen #5 Jack Plane, I would have started with a LN block plane such as this.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1274
I have a friend that will let me use it, IF, he follows me to my little shop and offer him a beer or several.
I just finished viewing the "Coarse Medium and Fine" DVD from Lie Nielson and found it to be really helpful in understanding the sequence of plane use in flatening and smoothing boards. The idea is to set up your jack plane for the initial coarse work on a board and then swithch to a #7 or 8 jointer for the medium work in prepration for the final finishing with the smoothing plane. A great DVD I recommend it highly, Dave
If you are going to get a block plane, get the low angle block. Not the 22 bed. In my opinion, its just not as useful as the low angle for end grain.
Like some others have mentioned, the low angle rabbet plane is a great tool. The LN rabbet block is a very nice tool to have. I am hoping to sell 2 big pieces I have made in the near future. Part of the money will go to Maine for a rabbet block plane. I am making due with my old shoulder plane but the rabbet would be the tool of choice to trim up tenons in my work.
If you are doing mortise and tenon joinery, the rabbet is nice to have around.
Its tough to decide but I have found the tools can make a difference when it comes down to the final pass.
dan
Lee,
It doesn't matter which
Lee,
It doesn't matter which plane you get next. It just doesn't matter. You will end up with a bunch of planes, and the first few will have a steep learning curve. You will find that some things are just as important as the planes :
- learning how to do real functions with them, for example, how do you joint a really long board.
- accoutrements such as shooting boards, including mitre and donkey's ear.
- getting very comfortable with keeping the irons sharp without much fuss.
MY SUGGESTION is completely different than everone else's. Go to Patrick Leach (Blood and Gore) and ask him to get you a good "user" Stanley 45. One plane that does the work of seven planes. It is an amazing and versatile plane. It takes some getting used to but when you do, you wouldn't want to be withouut it.
You definitely don't need a smoother. You can use your jack as a smoother. You can use your jack as a jointer. You can use your Jack on a shooting board. You really can use a low angle block plane, but there are billions of old Stanley's out there, and they are easy to fettle, and they are cheap, so they don't count as another plane. :-)
Think out of the Box. Don't go with the "current wisdom". It is too limiting. After you get a Stanley 55, think about getting a set of old Hollows and Rounds, together with a pair of Snipes bill planes.
Have fun. I hope this makes you think. If it does that, it was successful.
Mel
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