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As many of you know I profess to be a wood working dork. Again, I need to rely on your expertise and advice. Its time to add a plane to my very small group of tools but I can only add one. The plane will need to be used to thickness plates and whatever else I can use it for. It will also be used for building ukuleles. I still have TMS (no time, money, or space). Thank you in advance for your replies.

Philip

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aka konacat

If you think my playing is bad you should hear me sing!
Practice breeds confidence and confidence breeds competence. Unfortunately, I'm stuck in practice.

if i were going to get a plane for thicknessing and joining plates it would be a no 5 jack, which is what i used for thicknessing at one time, and still use for joining. you may want to get both a toothed and plain iron. the issue of a flat or corrugated sole is not a vital one, but many prefer a corrugated sole for use on oily wood, though it might not be as easy to use for jointing plates as a flat sole version.

Philip,

I use 3. I think you will have to decide which would be the best to start with. The two blue ones are Record. They are great planes for a resonable price. About $100 and $50 as I recall. The big one is great for planning plates to thickness, and joining parts. The block plane works great for things like radiusing braces, trimming the sides and most smaller jobs. I use the Ibex for shaving braces.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

A nice smoother (#4) or Jack (#5) will thickness without trouble. As to what make? To piggy back on Hesh's remarks, here is how I think about these things...

1) All inexpensive planes are like kits. They need a lot of precision tuning to work at all.
2) If you know a lot about planes, you can fix any plane up to work well so you can get any kind.
3) However, if you know a lot about planes, you probably have a lot of planes.
4) Since you admit that you do not have a lot about planes, you may not know how to tune a plane.
5) Therefore, you need to buy a plane which will work out of the box. The Veritas and Lie-Nielson both work out of the box. Lie-Nielsen planes are prettier.

Good luck!

SteveCourtright39089.6653703704

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

Another possibility is an E.C.E. Primus smoothing plane. These are wood-bodied planes with a fantastic adjusting system (no backlash) and excellent blades. Look for the model with the mechanical adjuster (not the wedge) and the adjustable throat. I've got several and love 'em.
One of these in good shape went for $51 on eBay the other day.
http://www.ecemmerich.com/primus-hobel.html

There are more aftermarket blades available for the Stanley planes, which may be a factor if you decide to buy a manufactured toothing blade later.

John

I would also say to focus on an older Stanley, Millers Falls or Sargent VBM. You can find decent ones on eBay pretty cheap... If you know what you're looking for. If not there are several folks that will sell you a already tuned up old Stanley for much less than a Lie Neilson or even Veritas.

LN and Veritas are, by all accounts, both great if you can justify the cost. If not, again older Stanley ETC. The newer Stanley are junk. They can be made into a decent user but it will take a lot of work. I've also read that Record is no longer in buisiness, having been bought by Irwin(I believe) and now being made in India. New ones I've read are not great quality now.

As to size, a number 5 is 14" long so for me a bit long for thinning plates on a guitar and certainly too large for working on a uke, or so I would think. I prefer to use a number 4 or even a number 3. The longer plane would be better for jointing plates, but for this I use and old 22" Stanley transitional (Wood and metal) plane that I bought for $9 on eBay.

Patrick's Blood and Gore site has tons of useful information as does the Plane Dating Flowchart site.

I'm not sure the tools for sale at the blood and gore site are tuned and ready to go though he may offer that service. You might check
Tools for sale

If not shoot me a PM and I'll try to come up with a few guys that do sell pretuned old planes. I know there are a few out there I just don't have their info handy.

In the end you should be able to get a decent older Stanley, Millers Falls, or Sargent VBM for $40 - $50

Also check out Hand Planes 101 and Brass City RecordsRCoates39089.7142708333

[QUOTE=SteveCourtright]
Lie-Nielsen planes are prettier.

Good luck!

[/QUOTE]
What!!! My planes aren't pretty? When I bought them both brand new, with extra blades for $150 I thought they were beautiful

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

If it were me in your shoes I'd get a Smoother from Lie Nielsen. You don't
need the extra length for ukes, and LN makes a world class plane.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Since you have "TMS (no time, money, or space)" I would assume LV or LN is out of the question. And since you build small instruments, and need a single plane to do multiple tasks, my advice is to get a #4 smoother. Older Stanley, Record or equivalent from Ebay / old tool dealer / flea market / whatever are obvious choices. Don't be intimidated by the idea of tuning a plane. Study a basic check list and go to it, it is quite simple and self evident once you start.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I'd go with a #5 - there's a reason they call it the jack (of all trades) plane.
I'd get a smooth sole rather that corrugated (easier to use on a shooting
board or for other jointing ops (IMO). It's long enough to reasonably joint
and flatten small dimension pieces like you'll have in a Uke, but short
enough to reasonably thickness stock without being a terrible PITA.

I hear good things about LN, but you could get an entire stable of old
Stanleys or equivalent for the price of one LN. Is setup an issue? Yes. Is
it learnable? Yes. Get a copy of "The Handplane Book" by Garret Hack
and that will get you a long way of the way. A local woodworking club
can probably help with whatever the book doesn't make clear. The book
will also show you some things to look for when buying a new plane.

If you get a #5 on eBay, something that sells in the $30 range is generally
a good user.

[QUOTE=Arnt] Don't be intimidated by the idea of tuning a plane. Study a basic check list and go to it, it is quite simple and self evident once you start.[/QUOTE]

I agree 100% with this statement. I hope none of my comments came across as something contrary. It's not hard. You'll need a good sharpening set up to do it but even if you buy LN or Veritas you're gonna need a good sharpening set up.

For less than the price of a LN #4 ($250) you could buy the Garrett Hack handplane book Jay mentioned, a nice DMT dual grit diamond stone, a honing guide, and a couple of eBay Stanleys.

I've got about $100 bucks in these eBay pretties... incl. shipping!

I learned the basics of guitar building from Brian Burns, who uses an old Stanley block plane for all his planing needs. He recommended I consider the Veritas standard angle block plane, and since I had little experience with decent planes, that's what I bought.

Now, seeing what Ronn has acquired for less than what I paid for my Veritas, I can't say I necessarily recommend it for its value, but it has nonetheless been a very capable tool. I've used it for everything from brace shaping to thicknessing to shooting tops and backs and more.

But you know, planes are kinda like chisels, aren't they? You can't really get by with just one. Last count, I probably have ten or so, all shapes and sizes.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

I'm with Tood Stock - a Stanley #4 with a Hock blade. It'll be a wonderful tool.

Get some rosewood handles too. jfrench39089.8921875

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Instagram: @jfrenchluthier
Web: https://www.jfrenchguitars.com/

I'd suggest a 4 1/2. Best plane for thicknessing, hands down. A tad short for a jointing plane, but worth the sacrifice for as good as it works for general smoothing and planing. I love the 4 1/2.
-j.

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

If you would prefer to pull rather than push your tool... Try the Japanese planes with the laminated plane irons.

Check this one out http://www.knight-toolworks.com/wooden.htm

Whats the difference between the 4 and the 4 1/2?

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Aoibeann

Here are som specs:
#4: 9" long, 2" wide, 3 3/4lbs
#4 1/2: 10" long, 2 3/8" wide, 4 3/4lbs
#5 Jack plane, 14" long, 2" wide, 4 3/4lbs


#604: 9" long, 2" wide, 3 5/8lbs
#604 1/2: 10" long, 2 3/8" wide, 4 3/4lbs
#605 Jack plane, 14" long, 2" wide, 4 1/2lbs

(from "Blood and Gore)

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

[QUOTE=Joe Beaver] [QUOTE=SteveCourtright]
Lie-Nielsen planes are prettier.

Good luck!

[/QUOTE]
What!!! My planes aren't pretty? When I bought them both brand new, with extra blades for $150 I thought they were beautiful [/QUOTE]

IMVHO, of course!!!

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