# Planes???



## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

So I'm getting back into woodworking and I have never owned a plane. I know nothing about them. Old vs new. What kind to buy? Where best to look? I'm going to be making small furniture and boxes if that helps.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

I'll start by saying welcome to the forum!

As for you question, I suggest you read through the last couple pages of Hand Tools threads. This question comes up almost weekly.

That should, at very least, give you a a handle on what specific questions you have on planes. 

There are a LOT of different planes out there and as many opinions as there are woodworkers.

I prefer vintage, myself, but that requires the effort put forth to refurbish them.


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## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

Here is a great book by Garrett Hack, called The Hand Plane Book. It has great details on most aspects of hand planes. I got it from the library and read it, but Amazon also has it. I may buy it just to keep for reference.


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## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

Paul W Gillespie said:


> Here is a great book by Garrett Hack, called The Hand Plane Book. It has great details on most aspects of hand planes. I got it from the library and read it, but Amazon also has it. I may buy it just to keep for reference.


I have that book and think it's great. It certainly could not hurt to read it but for a beginner......well it's like if you were going to learn to play the guitar, would you buy an instruction book or a guitar? It's hard to make shavings with a book.

Most antique malls and second hand shops will have an old Stanley 4, 5 or 6 in decent shape for $20 to $50. Just make sure it's all there and not missing something, like the blade. and make sure it's not broken or bent. Nicks in the blade can be ground out.

Get a plane, sharpen it, start making shavings. I've learned most of what I know about planes and planing in that manner. I can now do with planes what I never thought possible when I first started using them. It can also provide a good workout depending on the task involved.

Good luck, Bret


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

start with a good block plane. I like vintage as well.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

+1 with Firemedic. Look at the earlier threads.

Also if you want to learn planes, it can be very useful to buy a plane to restore.

I picked up two rust buckets to restore earlier in the week.

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f11/latest-rust-bucket-planes-46494/

I have not updated the thread yet, but I have cleaned up the steel parts with a combination of wet-dry paper to knock off most of the rust and Evapo-Rust to remove the remaining rust to get to clean metal.

You will be surprised how well they can look after a restore.

If you want more information, TimeTestedTools (Don) has a better tutorial.

http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com...re-the-dw-way/

Hard to go wrong picking up an old Stanley No 3, 4 or 5. All very useful.

If you want to buy new, I like Veritas planes by Lee Valley.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?cat=1&p=41182


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

Everyone keeps saying 3, 4 or 5. What's that mean. Haven't had time to read the other threads. Damn job gets in the way! Lol


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

Stanley bench planes were made in sizes #1-#8. 1 being the smallest, 8 the largest.
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html
and
https://timetestedtools.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/what-planes-do-i-need/


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

Stanley were perhaps the #1 producer of many hand tools, including hand planes.

When they started to sell the Stanley-Bailey style of hand plane, they gave each size a number. As Don mentioned, No 1 was the smallest and No 8 was the largest. 

Stanley then went off-the-wall and the numbering scheme was difficult to follow. Don provided a good link to Patrick Leach's site where you can learn about the various Stanley-Bailey planes.

Stanley still make hand planes, but these days they have abandoned the traditional sizes and call them 12-***.

Since Stanley was so dominant for so long, and there are so many used planes on the market, many of us still use the original Stanley names for the various sizes.

Other manufacturers used different names for their planes.

Heck even Stanley used different names for the Bedrock series 6xx.

If you look on EBay you will find many Stanley 3 - 8 planes for sale. The No 1 and 2 are rare, so do not be surprised at the price of these puppies.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

bigg081 said:


> Everyone keeps saying 3, 4 or 5. What's that mean. Haven't had time to read the other threads. Damn job gets in the way! Lol


To be quite blunt - if you don't have time to read you may want to put hand tools aside until you find the time. Knowledge of technique and the wisdom of experience can not be infused.

The Internet, the library, and what's contained is your friend.


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

firemedic said:


> To be quite blunt - if you don't have time to read you may want to put hand tools aside until you find the time. Knowledge of technique and the wisdom of experience can not be infused.
> 
> The Internet, the library, and what's contained is your friend.


I just posted this thread last night at 9:48. Geez!


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

bigg081 said:


> I just posted this thread last night at 9:48. Geez!


This is a very active forum with extremely knowledgeable and helpful folks. I am one of the LESS knowledgeable. 

The best way for me to learn is to pick one up and start playing with it. 

I have a bad habit of jumping in and asking questions without doing a search first, which I am trying to remedy before the more experienced members get annoyed with me. But I also do spend time WHEN I SHOULD BE SLEEPING browsing pages about using hand tools and planing and stuff.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

bigg081 said:


> I just posted this thread last night at 9:48. Geez!


I didn't intend to offend. I'm simply saying that reading is your friend. A google search will answer questions more quickly than waiting for a reply. 

Another useful tool is to use the following search terms on google - "site:woodworkingtalk.com whatever you want to search" that searches the forum more efficiently than the search bar provided.


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## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

firemedic said:


> ...
> Another useful tool is to use the following search terms on google - "site:woodworkingtalk.com whatever you want to search" that searches the forum more efficiently than the search bar provided.


great tip, thanks!


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

firemedic said:


> I didn't intend to offend. I'm simply saying that reading is your friend. A google search will answer questions more quickly than waiting for a reply.
> 
> Another useful tool is to use the following search terms on google - "site:woodworkingtalk.com whatever you want to search" that searches the forum more efficiently than the search bar provided.


Thanks fire medic. I'm also a firefighter EMT. Two brotherhoods for us.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Cool deal man. Where do ya work? I'm municipal in Gonzales. We have combined Fire and ALS and not enough medics so I'm usually stuck on the bus.

It's a great career to do ww on the side though. There are quite a few FF's and medics here too.

I spend any down time I have studying traditional ww. I'm brushing up my French these days to tackle Roubo soon. READ READ READ.


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

I'm active duty AF in Florida. Getting out in a year and hoping to get on with DoD. I'm in charge of dispatch right now. I had knee surgery so they took me off the floor for a bit. Ride a desk sucks. I need ww to get that accomplishment. A computer doesn't do it. Where is Gonzales?


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Ahh, yeah I'll take a bus over a desk anyway!

I'm in the City of Gonzales. It's a small small Dept.


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## bigg081 (Dec 23, 2012)

Awesome. Let me know when you find some good reads.


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