Reply To: Mortise Gauge Faulty?
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You’re more than welcome Richard. My Crown marking/mortise gauge works great. The only problem with those gauges is that the little knob that slides the movable mortise pin limits how far the beam can move. That usually isn’t a problem but sometimes you have a deeper gauge line that you just can’t get to. That’s when the old standard Stanley 61 gauge comes in handy. Crown makes a very affordable version of that gauge without all the fancy brass. But if you only had a combination gauge, that would be all you needed for a start.
I live in the US with no Aldi store near me so I don’t have any of those chisels, but Paul swears by them. That level of chisel is all you need. You’ll find diamond stones to be rather pricey. Paul has done some great videos on using a piece of glass or a guaranteed flat granite stone and some sand paper to sharpen. The paper eventually gets to be expensive but just to start, it works just as good as diamond stones do.
To your plane question, the numbers are simply something Stanley/Bailey came up with 150 years ago with a No. 1 being the smallest and a No. 8 being the largest. The 1 and 2 are so small, many think they were made for children. Most of us would rarely use a bench plane smaller than the No. 4 although I have a No. 3 I use from time to time (it’s really a narrow No. 4), but the No. 4 is called a smoothing plane at times – is isn’t two different planes. A No. 4 1/2 is the same plane but with a wider sole and cutter. The No. 5 plane is sometimes called a jack plane and because it’s about 2″ longer that the No. 4, it works a little better for flattening or making a straight edge than the shorter No. 4 does but it also works for smoothing. There is also a No. 5 1/2 which again is just a wider No. 5. Then you get to the 6, 7, and 8 and they become very long. I think a No. 8 is about 24″ in length and most of us don’t really need a plane that long and heavy.
You’ll hear Paul say this many times. A No. 4 is the only plane you need. You can do everything/anything with a No. 4 so that’s the best one to start with. Keep an eye on ebay and you’ll find one in reasonable shape for $50 or less. Paul does a great video on how to restore one and that’s a really good experience that will help you understand how a plane works. But stay away from the newer Stanley’s. There is a site called “hyperkitten” that explains how to date a Stanley plane. I would look for a type 19 or earlier. Stanley quality really took a nose dive when they started making the type 20’s and newer.
Saws are another essential tool and that topic goes all over the place. You have to have something fairly precise with small teeth for dovetails and such and something to rip and cross cut with with larger teeth. Lots of choices out there. Hope this helps.