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Seeing as i found the block plane thread very interesting and you guys have convinced me about the LN block planes I am also looking at getting a bench plane for jointing the face by hand on a shooting board..

Question is what size ? and what brand of plane do people use ...my guess is probably LN or LV judging from the other thread

most books like cumpiano/natelson say #4 or #5 smoothing plane ? but looking at jack planes kinda makes sense for this purpose just by looking at the length of them but a smoothing plane may be handy for other things as well?
thanks

I use a #5 Stanley or Record both from the 30s vintage with original blades. A number five is the most useful bench plane for the luthier, mine also get used for smoothing neck stock and for thinning the top plate, I use a Wagner for the back and sides. Get a good old Stanley or Record, spend some fetling time and you will have an unbeatable plane for peanuts.

ColinColin S39001.7149305556

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I have A record no.5 again from the 30's and it is my all time favourite plane, they can be had fairly cheeply and with a little TLC make a very useful tool.

As a rule, for butt joints or any joint which is long, the longer planes will create a flatter joint. One explanation why Jack Planes were called that is because they were used for everything, and so called Jack of all Planes. That length might be very useful to you. My favorite jointer plane (longer than a Jack) is a very heavy old Bailey with a nice old heavy iron.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

I use an older Stanley #4 1/2 and #5 1/2 as well as the equivalent Millers Falls versions (#10 = #4 1/2 and #15 = #5 1/2) that are well tuned. I also own a new Anant #4 1/2 and #8 which work well. The Anant #4 1/2 has a Hock blade and after tuning, it works as well as anything I've used.

I like the 1/2 sizes better than the regular #4 and #5 because I have fat hands. You can find used planes cheap on ebay if you know what to look for and Highland Hardware has the Anant planes and Hock blades here in the US. Shipping from the US to you guys is criminally high and I'm not sure where to look for these in Australia. Hopefully you can find what you need locally and cheaply but do pay a bit extra if you can find a nice clean older Stanley, Record or Millers Falls plane. The most important thing is to tune the plane. Google "hand plane tuning" for ideas.

Good luck-

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John Lewis
Wannabe builder owned by 2 crazy dachshunds

I'll second, third, fourth, heck what ever # were up to for an old stanley plane, get a bedrock if you can.. I have a 4 and a 6, the 6 being what i used to joint. I did add a hock blade, but the old stanley did a fine job. The hock is just better, it does seem to take a little better edge and stay sharper. I picked up both of mine for around $30 each on ebay, and both were in very good shape. Stay away from the planes that still have their decals and original boxes. the collectors want those so you'll pay much more. also bedrocks are higher priced, but a better plane.
Mike

What John said on the Anant planes with Hock blades. I have 3 of them (Smoothing, Jack and Jointer)...it took a lot of time and effort to tune them up but they now work as effectively as anything that would cost hundreds of $$$.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

If you don't mind paying for excellent tools, then I would suggest either the Lie-Nielsen or Lee Valley Veritas Low Angle or Bevel Up plane with three blades total for each. With a bevel up, you can angle the blade for routine planing or higher/steeper for figured wood- a toothed blade is available for either.
      This setup would come as close to a "do-it-all" as you can get and both work well with a shooting board.MT

Another option for Bedrock style bench planes is Clifton ('Clico') (yes, the sides look curvy like a regular Bailey, but the frog is Bedrock.) The blades and out-of-the-box set up are pretty much on a par with LN.

Given a decent block plane, router plane, plough/rebate plane and shoulder plane, my first bench plane would be a #7 Bedrock jointer (LN, Clifton, old Stanley #607) - perfect for, well, jointing, with plenty of heft and versatile enough for anything from scrub work down to neck scarf touch up. (But bear in mind that I'm self taught over the past 18 months or so, and perhaps quirky )

I have LN #5 and Clico #4 and #7, and have to admit to reaching for the #7 most frequently.

Steve

For jointing tops I don't use #4 to #5 smoothing planes. The reason is, they don't have much sole in front of the blade. This makes it difficult to start a shoot on a shooting board. Jack planes have much more sole in front of the blade. Jointer planes may be too heavy and awkward for jointing tops, although I use a #7 jointer, I would prefer a #6 jack plane on a shooting board. An easy plane that is designed specifically for shooting joints is the LN Iron Miter Plane, I tried one at a woodworking show and it's great, but it is expensive and specialized for that one task

I guess you can call a jointer a block plane but as other have said, be sure to know that you will have a hard time shooting top and back joint with any thing less than 14" sole plate. I have done it with a #5 but it took repeated trips to the shooting board and convince me to use a jointer and get the job done in a couple quick passes in stead of a block plane and several trips back an forth between the candling board/shooting board. So I suggest a a LN 7 1/2 low angle jointer for your shooting plane. near $300 but you can use it straight out of the box. It will need not tune-up at all.

If the sole IS flat, you would be hard pressed to out do a nice sharp No6 Bailey no matter how much you spend. A well jointed plate is a well jointed plate, period.

Cheers

Kim

Here's my old Baily 5 1/2 that works great. I tuned it up and used the original blade. I was going to use a Hock but haven't needed to so far!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

I use my LN 7 1/2 for jointing & it works great. I chose the hight angle because I feel it works better in figured wood.
For me, the LN makes jointing tops & backs a real pleasure.
I'm sure you could get the same results with an old Stanley or Bailey for a fraction of the cost, but if you need an expensive indulgence, this is the one I'd recommend.
(I bought mine at a trade show in Vancouver when the US $ was REALLY high... it was well over $400.00 CDN, but i've never regretted the purchase!)

Todd, the question was.

"Seeing as i found the block plane thread very interesting and you guys have convinced me about the LN block planes I am also looking at getting a bench plane for jointing the face by hand on a shooting board..

Question is what size ? and what brand of plane do people use ...my guess is probably LN or LV judging from the other thread

Perhaps terminology is being intermingled. In my experience, common woodworking terms refer to "face jointing" as the flattening of the broad side of a board, not done on a shooting board. Edge jointing is done on a shooting board.

I'm probably misinterpreting the original post as referring to edge jointing the two halves of tops and backs with a plane on a shooting board.


I like LN and own a few, Cliftons, are nice too.
Marc39002.6776736111

Sorry if my terminology has been confusing I was primarily interested in which bench plane would best suit planing the centre join on the two halves of the face...
Thanks for all the replys....as i was looking at #4 or #5 smoothing planes which is what i was reading in cumpiano/natelson book and now realise that a longer sole is probably best for this...I just looked at the kinkead book and he uses a jack plane much to what everyone has been saying here....so thanks for all the help ..I will look at jack planes....

For surface planing a jack plane is fine #4 #5 but to true the edges of a center joint for glueing a center joint togather, which is done on a shooting board, you need a long sole to maintain a straight flush edge that will candel flush. There you want a #7 or longer depending on how long the joint is.

[QUOTE=MichaelP] For surface planing a jack plane is fine #4 #5 but to true the edges of a center joint for glueing a center joint togather, which is done on a shooting board, you need a long sole to maintain a straight flush edge that will candel flush. There you want a #7 or longer depending on how long the joint is.[/QUOTE]

I disagree a little, #7 jointer is great (it's what I use) but the #5 or #6 Jack plane are also fine for edge jointing tops and backs, and a little easier to handle than a #7 jointer plane. The LN #8 is too big IMO, it's awkward. The LN #7 low-angle works also and is cheaper, it's easier to grip while laying on it's side since it doesn't have the frog sticking up. I've tried them all side-by-side on shooting boards just for this particular task. Again, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the LN Iron Miter Plane,a strange looking plane, is made just for edge jointing on shooting boards. It's about the size of a #5.

If aesthetics aren't important, keep in mind, hand planes don't have offset surfaces on either side of the blade like a power jointer, a well configured power jointer works very well at a similar cost of a LN #7.

Well folks, as you might expect, I have the LN miter/box plane. For shooting nothing can touch it. But. most of the other planes mentioned in this thread will suffice,if sharp. Any of the block(by that I mean the typical one-hand small trim plane) will be too short except in the hands of a real pro handplane user. I shot my first back and top with a Stanley 5 1/4 Junior jack with a Hock blade- seamless result. The shooting board does most of the controlling if you let it.
     I bought the LN miter plane for squaring larger and thicker boards for cabinet style work . I also use a ramped shooting board. Since I have a ridiculously broad spectrum of planes, I have been able to do some casual testing. From 8" and longer with a very well honed blade and breaker set within 1/32 of the edge, a good result should be relatively easy to accomplish.MT