Official Luthiers Forum!

kim is correct in saying i only use a no 5 for jointing tops, and a pedestrian old bailey pattern at that. all my planes, some 11 or 12 or so, mainly stanleys with a couple sargents or millers falls and a wooden smoother thrown in, all came from auctions, garage sales and flea markets, and have the standard iron that came with them. the most expensive was the jointer at $25. the fore and jointer get the least use, and though i tried them when i first got them for both hand thicknessing and jointing i reverted to the no 5 for both uses. in guitar making, the bigger planes are a whole lot more work for no gain to me.

as far as spending $400+ for a plane just to joint tops and backs, that is not something i could ever justify to myself.

yep you guys got me scouring ebay now...

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com