Jointer Plane
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I’ve got a Stanley No 4, a block plane, and a jack plane. I’m considering buying a jointer plane as well, but not sure if I need one.
I do struggle with truing up timber, quite a bit actually, if today’s efforts are anything to go by, so I’m wondering if a jointer might make things a little easier. Granted I won’t be using all the time – if the timber isn’t big enough, but I think having one on standby would be useful.
What do you think, do you use them, are they an important part of your plane set?
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
I use mine all the time. I true up a lot of rough wood too. Great for long edges
Protect the line.
I use mine occasionally but I mostly do smaller pieces. My shop is limited. I found a jack or even a #4 works as well.
Nothing against the big plane but if I take real fine shaving with the small plane rather than heavy shavings things go a whole lot better trueing boards. A heavy set plane removes a lot of wood quick and makes chasing flat a little harder.
A few more strokes with a fine set plane is a lot easier to control.I use mine occasionally but I mostly do smaller pieces. My shop is limited. I found a jack or even a #4 works as well.
Nothing against the big plane but if I take real fine shaving with the small plane rather than heavy shavings things go a whole lot better trueing boards. A heavy set plane removes a lot of wood quick and makes chasing flat a little harder.
A few more strokes with a fine set plane is a lot easier to control.
Never thought of it that way. Good point.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
My own inexpert thoughts on the jointer plane. I do have one that I’m still learning to use effectively, but can share some thoughts.
Historically, the term “jointer plane” was used for a plane that would flatten the edges of long boards being prepared for edge jointing, aka, joining two boards edge-to-edge to make a wider board. If you have a board that is longer than say, 3 or 4 feet (~1 to 1.3 meters), then the jointer plane works well for edge jointing. The extra length ensures flatness over the longer distance, and the extra width is helpful when dimensioning stock thicker than 4/4. The extra weight takes some getting used to, however. And, to be honest, a jack plane can work just as well (Paul uses the 4 or the 5 to joint very long boards).
The other common use of the jointer plane is to flatten the faces of boards, which historically was the province of the try (or truing) plane. The try plane would be used after the scrub or fore or jack plane was used to do the initial flattening of rough stock, and basically removed the scallops and other marks left by the coarser tool. So the try/jointer plane is useful when flattening long (>4-5 feet) rough stock that has been prepped with a fore plane. However, if you are working with dimensioned wood, you can probably get by with a jack plane. Today, the terms try and jointer plane are used interchangeably.
A lot of it is personal preference. I like using my jointer on the edges, not so much on the faces.
That’s very insightful George, and you’ve probably saved me about £100. If Paul uses a jack for the work I want a jointer for, then I can make do with the jack.
Thank you.
"Sawdust? I think you'll find that's man-glitter."
I have a #5 1/2 plane, not sure what it is classed as but I use it as a shooting plane mostly as it is more stable to use than the #4.
I find it too heavy to use for general planing.It’s not often I get to drag it out, but I like to use my #7. I start with normal shavings, and slowly dial it shallower, and it does a great job making my edges straight. Worth the money, IMO.
I like mine. Could absolutely get by without it but it’s nice to have.
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