Block Plane Question


CubsFan

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Quick plane question. I'm thinking I'd like to get started with a plane (I currently have none), and thought I'd pick up a block plane.

Is something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-12-960-Contractor-Grade-Angle/dp/B0000223QX/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1312219163&sr=1-2 a good starter plane? Or should I look for something that's a little nicer?

Thanks for the help!

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I'm just starting to wade into the world of handtools (using them as a complement to power tools, as I still prefer power tools). For instance, I'm currently doing the wall hanging cabinet and need to make the dovetails flush. I can do it with sanding, but, frankly, I hate sanding :) It looked way easier when Marc did it with a plane. That being said, I'd rather not start with a $300 plane until I get a little used to them, but I'd also rather not buy a tool that's just not useful either.

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I just purchased a Stanley sweetheart low angle two weeks ago. It cuts way better than the first block plane I purchased a few years ago. The first was a Groz. Granted it was about an $80 difference. I would save for the better one if you can. You will not regret spending the extra cash.

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The same rules apply to buying hand tools as do power tools. Buy the best you can afford. Before you make purchase decision, look at some of the other makers of hand planes, including Lee Valley/Veritas, Lie Nielsen, and Woodriver V3 from Woodcraft.

Things to consider is how much prep work will be required will be required to make the plane ready to go and the softness/hardness of the blade steel. Softer steel can have a sharper edge but will dull more quickly, where the hard steel will hold its edge longer put is more time consuming to get sharp.

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Cubsfan, don't buy it. Save up and try the Woodriver V3 or keep saving and buy the Veritas and/or Lie-Nielsen version. I've been in your shoes and know of what I speak.

Even better yet, try to use a good plane from a friend and/or neighbor. Maybe you can take a class at a local Woodcraft or someplace else. Once you know what a finely tuned plane can do you'll be able to see what we're talking about.

What frustrated me the most was trying to get a crappy tool to be a not-so-crappy tool. I bought a groz block plane/#4 smoother plane combo on sale from Woodcraft. After a year I was ready to hang it up. I bought a Lie-Nielsen low angle block plane and it changed my woodoworking life. Now my groz has a hock blade and works decently but it's taken me over two years to figure out how to make a crappy tool perform decently.

Good luck and please don't label me too much of a tool snob - I'm just trying to help a brotha out.

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Start here: http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2080308/30621/WoodRiver-Low-Angle-Block-Hand-Plane-with-Adjustable-Mouth.aspx

Not that much initially - maybe even wait for a coupon. I just got one in the latest flyer - $20 off $100 or $10 off $50.

The block plane is what you asked about and I think it's a great place to start. Don't be mad if you're posting something similar to this in two years when you've fallen all the way down this slippery slope.

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Thanks! I will order that a bit later. On a related topic, is there anywhere with a good "plane primer"? I don't remember any of Marc's videos having that. Just for instance things I should do when I get it, etc..

Thanks again for all the help!

Chris Schwarz's Handplanes book.

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Chris Schwarz's Handplanes book.

I don't actually agree that this is a good primer. Too many options with not enough recommendations about what a beginner should do until he forms his own prejudices, in my opinion.

Maybe Robert Wearing's "The Essential Woodworker"?

Cheers,

Brian

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I purchased this and found it a good primer to the vocabulary of planes and a fair sample of several types. Really a collection of articles more than a book, but good content.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2005310/10847/Working-With-Handplanes.aspx

You can probably find much of the content online, but it was handy having it in one place.

I purchased Woodriver V3's for my planes; block, #4 and #6. I've been very happy with them. I tried lapping the soles when I first got them, but they were already very flat. The blades seem to hold an edge fine, though I am having trouble not leaving a burr on one corner that causes tracks, specifically on my #4. I think that's my sharpening technique to blame there, not the plane.

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A big part of whether a plane will work well for you is whether it is ready to go out of the box. I can't speak the recommended Wood River planes, as I do not (and will not) own them, but I know for a fact that the Veritas or the Lie-Nielsen will come out of the box ready to be put to work. Then, after you've used it for a while, and you get a feel for how a block plane _should_ work you can consider looking at your less well made planes, and investigate the aspects of of fettling you'll need to figure out to make these planes perform adequately.

That is how I was convinced to buy my first L-N plane. I tried the route you had discussed, and I bought a plane at home depot. Miserable, and put me off hand tools for months. I took a class on box making, where we were allowed to use the instructor's block plane to trim and fit. So much of a world of difference I bought an L-N low angle block on the spot. Didn't even wait for the class to finish. =)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Continuing on this theme, I've been looking at the various low-angle block plane options from a similar perspective. I've gotten pretty good with card scrapers, good enough to start moving into quality planes.

I've noticed that the Lie Nielsen ($95 at Amazon, $115 at Lee Valley) WoodRiver V3 ($90) and Stanley Sweetheart ($75 at Amazon) block planes are all within about $20 of each other with the Veritas being somewhat more ($135).

Are there reasons to prefer one of these over the others? Should I just flip a coin?

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Just to follow up on this, I am now the proud owner of a WoodRiver V3 Block plane (wish I would have gotten the low angle now, but oh well).

There was some initial frustration, mostly because I didn't really know what I was doing. Once I got it working, it was a lot of fun to use. Seems like a great compliment to power tools.

So, now I'm looking at the second plane to get. Seems like a #4 or #5 might be a good choice. Great, now I'm hooked :)

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So, now I'm looking at the second plane to get. Seems like a #4 or #5 might be a good choice. Great, now I'm hooked :)

I find I use my #8 jointer more than my smoother. I suppose it depends on if you want to finish pieces by sanding or planing. A good jointer will also work well with a shooting board to give you dead on square edges and perfect miters.

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I would say if you're a blended wood worker a smoothing plane might be a good next step. Everyone hates sanding and that can help you a lot. I've actually used a number 4 in a shooting board and its not as nice in heft as some of your bigger planes but it will work. You may also consider a routing plane for cleaning up dadoes and tenon cheeks.

Bigger planes like 5s and 8s are more used for prepping board stock which since you say you're a power tool user you probably use a tailed jointer and planer for that. However a number 5 could be a good addition for flattening the face of a board too wide for your jointer. you shouldn't have to flatten it as finely as a number 8 would provide if you can run it through your planer and joint the edge on your jointer afterwards.

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