recommended new high quality planes
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Hi fellows,
assuming the following: I want to buy a few planes for the full workflow from rough sawn boards to finished piece and I don’t want to buy second hand, because I wouldn’t be able to tell whether a plane is good or bad and because I have limited shop time which I don’t want to spend refurbishing old tools.
Which makers do you recommend and which specific planes?
I have good access to Veritas and Lie-Nielsen as well as ECE and Ulmia (wooden planes) products, i.e. what I can get in Germany and from the UK.
A bit of background information:
I started out woodworking only a few months ago and first tried an old wooden plane which left me clueless as how to finely adjust the iron. There are a few models with fine adjustment, e.g. the Ulmia Reform smoothing plane at about 170€. And maybe some types of plane don’t require the kind of accuracy others do (scrub plane?).
Next I tried a contemporary Stanley Bailey No 4, which works okay so far, but I spend half a saturday to plane a board of oak and didn’t even manage to get it fully flat and square.
Now I went looking and wonder if I need to get a Lie Nielsen No 4 and 7 and maybe 40 1/2 and 164 or 62, or the equivalents from Veritas. And what about the current Stanleys, their Sweetheart line or the Kunz plus? (I might be able to afford some of those within a few months)
I also got a cheaper block plane and a small hand router, which is time consuming to use because adjustment is fiddly and it’s too small for e.g. the breadboard-end cutting board tenons. Then I got an incomplete Stanley no 50 I haven’t figured out yet…I understand, that good tools are not a shortcut to experience. I also don’t expect to be a master woodworker without effort and I am willing to learn and exercise, but I want to get something finished once in a while and struggle to find out the best approach to do this. If you all tell me I should go to the basement and just learn how to work those tools I have, that’s fine with me, but maybe I can avoid some unnecessary obstacles.
Hope this makes some kind of sense to you and I am looking forward to reading your suggestions and comments.
David
David, I think you will get a hole host of answers on this one buddy.
Personal preference and budget play a big part, for me I love Quangsheng Planes.
http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/Quangsheng_Planes.htmlTake your time buy a good one, and look after it, I’m not into buying old planes and doing them up, nothing wrong in doing that its just not for me.
7 December 2013 at 11:57 pm #23260My first question for you David have properly tuned No.4 and got a really sharp Iron. I would say 2-3 hours work would be tops. Flatten sole on a known flat surface granite or float glass. Make sure frog makes good contact with body. No gaps between cap Iron and Iron.
Do a search on WWM Ken has put a few videos on tuning planes.Veritas and Lie-Nielsen are top quality and cannot be beat. All that is required is to hone the Irons and away you go. As with most bench planes you can fettle to suit wood being planed. Also Clifton Planes are of good standard. Quangsheng planes are of a decent quality reasonable priced.
I do have some Stanley premium planes and are at least 1/2 cost of the Veritas and Lie-Nielsen planes.http://www.axminster.co.uk/stanley-no-62-low-angle-sweetheart-jack-plane
http://www.axminster.co.uk/stanley-no-4-sweetheart-premium-bench-planeThe above links are to show you the Stanley bench planes I have they are good for flatness but quite heavy. I have started to use these more and more as to my normal Record and Stanley bench planes.
David,
You may wish to consider the Juuma planes from Dieter Schmidt.
http://www.fine-tools.com/eputz4.htm
Best,
Craig8 December 2013 at 4:06 am #23263Hey David
As far as bench planes are concerned, my thought would be to buy the planes that suit the work or conditions you will be working with. If you are working with planed boards you really don’t need more than a No. 4 for smoothing, and all the other tricks that Paul teaches. A No. 5 1/2 is about all you need for any flattening work.
If you are working with rough cut boards, or doing a lot of dimensioning, that is when you find a need for the longer planes and maybe a scrub plane.
If I had the option to buy new I would go with Lie-Nielsen, they are very well made and well engineered. There are other excellent makers as well, but that would be my choice. Be careful though, you will get hooked and become a collector before you know it!
David
Have a read of this also buddy What are the different types of bench plane?http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/What_are_the_different_types_of_bench_plane_-1.html
David, a veritas or lee Nielsen #4 bench plane will tackle most jobs perfectly fine. Either plane will last you your lifetime. I did notice you mention rough sawn lumber. This will lead you to eventually wanting to pick up a scrub plane. You can easily convert an old 4 or 5 into a scrub by purchasing a second blade and shaping the blade. Or you can probably pick up an old one locally or on eBay. They makes fast work of hogging through rough lumber. I find myself using my scrub for all sorts of tasks that involve removing lots of wood.
Hello friends and thanks for your replies. I have not yet decided, but tend to give those wooden planes with iron fine adjustment a try. The ECE Primus Reform Putzhobel (smoothing plane I think) is well regarded and may be the german equivalent to a No 4. If I go wooden planes, I might as well get a wooden scrub plane and maybe a bit later a jointer plane. If that doesn’t work out I can still switch to iron planes, but I am a bit traditional and would like to keep up our country’s traditions if possible. After all generations of woodworker have made furniture with those planes.
Thanks again and have a nice day.
David
Hi David,
I understand where you’re coming from not wanting to spend time refurbishing old planes; it’s messy work. You do however have a Stanley No 4 that really is all you need for the time being. Before you part with your hard earned cash, why not spend an afternoon flattening the sole, putting a lovely nice edge to the blade and then setting up the plane for work? Like it or not, learning how to setup, check and sharpen a plane is something we all have to go through. If you buy a LN plane for example, you just hone the blade and away you go but what have you learnt about the tool? When you’ve had to put your time and effort into getting a tool properly ready for work, you put something of you into that tool and as a result you can feel the way it’s working much better.
You say you tried planing some Oak down with the No.4. When I was making my Oak clock, I had one piece of timber that just seemed to fight against the plane no matter what I did so I’m wondering if you’re having an experience similar to mine. perhaps you need to try out some Pine or Cherry first – something that’s a bit more ‘hand tool friendly’.
Lastly, I note that you haven’t mentioned what your sharpening kit is. It may be that that is the are you need to spend you money one at the moment. Even if you end up buying an expensive new plane, it will still need to be sharpened regularly.
I hope I haven’t come across as preachy or patronizing (that certainly isn’t my intention) but I cant help wonder if the real issue has been addressed here. Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time in your workshop and look forward to seeing your creations on this site.
Hi Jon,
don’t worry, I’m grateful for your suggestions.
I use two-faced diamond sharpening stones extra corse, corse, fine, extra fine. I’m not fast with those, but it does work.
I think I understand what you mean by putting something into a tool. I also think you don’t own a tool unless you make it your own by tweaking, repairing or at least cleaning it regularly.
The oak seems to be okay, it did work after all. I think what vexed me was that I did want to keep a specific thickness, which wasn’t enough for making it truly square and true. But after this experience, planing soft wood seemed a breeze.
Once again, thank you for the input.
David
I forgot to mention that I ordered a wooden scrub plane. I figured this would be the most useful addition at this time and it’s not so expensive. This might also help me determine, whether I prefer wooden or iron planes. I don’t think it’s practical to mix both kinds wildly. But I may be wrong.
David
Hi David,
as a fellow countryman I understand and support your desire to keep the tradition alive and I dare to say that wooden planes are a great joy to use. You don’t have to be afraid of buying used. Being absolutely clueless I bought a set of 4 Ulmia planes including the Jointer (Rauhbank), the Jack (Doppelhobel), the smoother and a rebate plane (Simshobel) in very good condition for 70 Euros. They are all with “classic” hammer adjustment which is a lot easier then you might think and as fine or even finer than moving the blade back and forth with a screw mechanism.
Give them a try, you won’t regret it!All the best!
Florian
I hope this is not off subject, but I like the old planes myself. Specially the older wooden planes. It may just be me but I have one that was made in the late 1800s. It has on old cast steel cutting iron. When I pick it up and pass it along a piece of wood I can see the old master craftsman in my mind planning away on a special project. Truth be known it was probably owned by some idiot who didn’t even know what it was and used it for a door stop. But I like to use it and it has a different feel than a steel plane.
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You must be logged in to view attached files.10 December 2013 at 6:58 pm #23541I have only vintage planes which I really like, having said that if I were to buy new I would go with Lie Nielsen as they are modern copy of the Stanley Bedrock planes which were IMO the best.
You can easily get buy with ( 3 ) planes #5 for rough work, #7 to flatten and a #4 for for finishing. I have most of the size’s from a #3 thru #7 and use my #4 the most. If I am working on larger work I will bring out the #5 Jack plane and my #7 Jointer. Just my $.02
Steve
PS: And for what it is worth I have several wooden planes which I equally like, once you get use to learning how to adjust they are great.
The first plane I purchased was a 4.5 from LN. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fabulous plane, but it is WAY to heavy to use comfortably in any position other than flat on a board. All the small projects we’ve been working on with Paul has confirmed for me that I need a much lighter #3 or #4 for my next purchase. I love the #4.5 LN for smoothing, but I’ll not buy another LN plane for fine work. They are too heavy for fine work.
I’ve also purchase a #6 from WoodCraft. The WoodCraft planes, WoodRiver, are very good and the price is half of LN or Veritas.
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