Chisels and Hand Planes


Josiah Brown

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I'm beginning to acquire more tools and am looking at buying some new chisels and hand planes.  I have most of the power tools I need (table saw, planer, jointer, bandsaw, router table) but I want to develop my skills in the finer side of woodworking.  I have very little experience with hand tools and was unsure which tools to buy.  My budget is around $300-$400.  I read an earlier thread in the forums and found a set of 8 Narex chisels for $140 which is fine.  But the hand planes on lee valley are around  $150-$250 each!  Do I really need to buy a plane which costs so much or are there other options which are better?  I plan on using thee tools for many years so if I need to buy the best then that is what I want to do.

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Josiah, I think you answered your question in your last sentence. I hear the Narex chisels are decent, i would start with those. As for handplanes I would invest in LN or Veritas. I own all Veritas planes and do not regret the money I spent on them.

From what I remember you are a pretty young guy. Spend the money on quality building up your tools over time and you will have them forever.

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8 is great,  if you'll use it.  I have the Narex 4 piece metric set and it hasn't let me down. Sometime i want a mortise chisel but it's not a need.

Planes obviously run the gamete from very expensive to easy to obtain. I've never bought a brand new plane. A stanley sh #4,  stanley lajp, no name block plane and an old wooden jointer are my stable. I doubt I have $400 in them combined. 

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The block plane and the Low Angle Jack would be my recommendation as the first planes into your kit.  Both are used probably more than any other plane.

The Router Plane also comes in super handy for cleaning up dados  done on your power tools.

I do agree with Shane tho!  Buy quality!

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Ok that's what I figured.  If I can only buy one right now which one would you suggest?  I've read that smooth planes or block planes are good to begin with?  

In the area of sharpening I think I'm set up already.  I invested in the Tormek T-7 system a few months back.

I think a good beginner plane is a low angle jack with a few different blades for different applications. It comes with a 25° blade which you can use for end grain and use on the shooting board. Buy a 38° blade with that and you can do some flattening/smoothing in alot of different woods.

Of course this is a plane that will get used less and less as you add specific planes for specific tasks. But its a great all around plane to get you started.

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I've never owned an LN or Veritas plane, I hear that they are damn good tools.. All my planes are from 1888 to 1938, none newer.  It's good for me, I've used these and planes like them since I was a kid killing dinosaurs for dinner!  The most difficult task with planes and chisels is sharpening.  There are many, many ways to get an edge.  The safest way is with diamond stones and a good guide.  But you'll find your way for that task.  Narex is good, I have quite a few of their chisels, they're not top of the line, but they're way more better than any you'll find at HD or Lowes, or your neighborhood hardware store!   Woodworking is a learning process.. take your time, ask questions, experiment and have fun.

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7 minutes ago, TIODS said:

The block plane and the Low Angle Jack would be my recommendation as the first planes into your kit.  Both are used probably more than any other plane.

The Router Plane also comes in super handy for cleaning up dados  done on your power tools.

I do agree with Shane tho!  Buy quality!

I would agree with this. But if you have the money, throw in a smoothing plane. 

I think wood river sells a 3piece plane set for a decent price.

I have the full set of narex metric chisels.  I think they are great. Hold an edge very well and I like the shape of the handles. 

Oh yeah, you need to consider sharpening stones as well.  I reccomed DMT plates. 

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Bevel up planes have the bevel up and the blade is bedded at a low angle- 12°. Terms Low angle and bevel up can be used interchangeably. The effective cutting angle can be changed by simply changing the bevel on the blade.

A bevel down plane has the blade bevel down. The effective cutting angle is changed by changing the frog.

As for sharpening, the tormek is great for re establishing the primary bevel. You will want a few stones to hone. Generaly a 1000 grit and a higher grit can get you sharp. I wouldnt go only diamond stones as they dont have something equivilant to a 8000-10000 grit. For lower grit and lapping dmt diamond is great.

You will also want a honing guide...

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12 minutes ago, Josiah Brown said:

Will the Tormek system not work for sharpening chisels and planes? Or do I need to buy the DMT plates to hone after sharpening?  (obviously I have very little sharpening experience:))

You'll do just fine with the Tormek for sure..  Many like stones for a sharper blade but, the Tormek will keep you in business.

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2 hours ago, TIODS said:

The block plane and the Low Angle Jack would be my recommendation as the first planes into your kit.  Both are used probably more than any other plane.

The Router Plane also comes in super handy for cleaning up dados  done on your power tools.

I do agree with Shane tho!  Buy quality!

Good choices. I am primarily a power tool guy but I use my block plane a lot.

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Just to add to the mix Lie Nielsen has a nice rabbeting block plane.  I went with this for my block plane because it can be used as a block plane and also finessing things like tenon because of its rabbeting design.  Saves you needing a rabbet for a while.  I have this along with the Veritas low angle that Shane has talked about and the Veritas bevel up smoother.  I bought the two Veritas based on Shanes recommendation and I have been very pleased with them.  

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My plane order thusfar has been LN block plane, pre-WW2 smoother, shoulder plane, router plane. My next is a LAJ. I felt that joinery planes were super useful so I made them a priority. I find it difficult to dial in a table saw to get the exact cut I want on tenons. Shoulder plane helps with that.

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Hi Josiah

Decide what you want to build before you purchase any tools. Tell the forum what this is, and then we will be in a better position to decide how to build it, and what tools you will need to do so.

For me, the Tormek is a grinder not a sharpener. I have seen video demonstrations of a keen edge coming off the motorised strop, but I think that the process will be hit-and-miss for a beginner. Personally, I just use it at 220 grit, and then go to waterstones. The wheel can be re-graded to 1000 grit, but this is too coarse for a plane or a chisel (and yes I know that Paul Sellers says otherwise, but his demo was with planing straight grained softwood). The motorised strop can take the edge to 8000 grit, but a beginner has a greater chance of dubbing the blade instead of honing a fine edge. 

Regards from Perth

Derek

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With a budget of 3 to 4 hundred dollars, my suggestion is to buy the $200, plus some, on the sharpening kit offered by Tools from Japan, and learn to sharpen first. WIth that kit, you can be done buying such for life.  It's not the cheapest way to get by, but with enough of a budget, it's well worth it.   Whether you pay 10 or 100 dollars for a chisel, and 50 or 500 for a plane, all depends on a sharp edge to do good work. Spend that much of your budget on the sharpening kit, and it will leave plenty to buy tools that you can work with. 

You don't need a whole set of chisels, especially to start with.

I have no doubt I've planed and chiseled many more hours, and many more square feet of wood than any hobbyist.   I own many planes, and many chisels.  Only two of the planes are newer, high dollar ones, and those two only because they were cheaper than the original, specialized ones they were modeled after go for these days.  I can plane, or chisel, anything as good with a 50 buck plane, and a 10 dollar chisel, as anyone can with one of the multi hundred dollar version.

One of the greatest appeals of the new planes is that they are ready to go (almost ready to go in my book) out of the box, which seems to be a great thing to new woodworkers who don't know how to get something really sharp.  Sharp solves all sorts of problems, and the ability to get there needs to be at the top of the required list of skills a woodworker needs to develop to start with.

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22 minutes ago, Josiah Brown said:

Sounds like I need to do some more research and practice with sharpening.  I know it's an important skill but I often push it aside because it doesn't seem as worthwhile.  Thanks for all of the suggestions!

My neighbor always tells me this "story"

Two guys enter into a wood copping contest with the same axe. The rules are simple.  Each one has 20 minutes to chop the most wood.  chopper one grabs his not sharp but not dull axe and immediately goes to work chopping and chopping often taking 10 swings to get through one log. At the 20 minute mark,  he was exhausted and had 10 logs chopped.

Chopper two grabbed his axe, sat down with a stone, and proceeded to sharpen his axe for the first 18 minutes.

When the buzzer sounded,  Chopper two had 11 logs cut and hasn't broken a sweat. 

 

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Nothing to add about the planes, but save your money and don't buy a set of chisels, a 1/4" and a 1/2" will get you started and working for a long time. If you need something larger or smaller for a project, get it then.  I wish I knew this earlier, but I can say most of my chisels are never used.

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I'd put in another vote for the Narex chisels. I bought the set of 4 from Lee valley and they've been exactly what I needed to get started. All I've added since is a couple of mortise chisels and a single cranked neck chisel.

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