Hand planes

Dan Thibert

Member
Messages
183
Location
Leominster Mass
I have a #5 Stanley Jack Plane and would like to use it to smooth out a drawer face I am putting together. I saw a #7 or #8 jointer plane at Leo's house and other than making me drool and want one, do I need one?

I do not have a planner or jointer so would like to use hand tools to do this work for now. Would my Jack plane be a good all around tool?

Thanks
Dan
 
I have a #5 Stanley Jack Plane and would like to use it to smooth out a drawer face I am putting together. I saw a #7 or #8 jointer plane at Leo's house and other than making me drool and want one, do I need one?

I do not have a planner or jointer so would like to use hand tools to do this work for now. Would my Jack plane be a good all around tool?

Thanks
Dan

You can get by with using the jack plane for both smoothing and flattening operations. I say that with a little caveat. For smoothing you would want to close up the throat and for flattening you would want to open it up so that you can take bigger shaving, making it go faster. On my bench plane the moving of the frog is a simple operation (I do not need to remove the blade). It may be on your plane it is a more time consuming task. If it is then you might consider setting it one way and buying another plane (either a smoother or a jointer).

I have a smoother, jack and a jointer. All three are used, but if I could only have one plane, it would be a jack. If I only could have two, it would have been a smoother and a jointer (or maybe a fore plane).

Hope this helps in some way.
 
Last edited:
What is the difference between a smoother and a Jack plane?

Mostly length, but it is also set up to take a very fine shaving. It is used to smooth the surface and clean up after using the larger planes which are generally use for hogging away material quickly and in case of the very long planes making the wood very flat. Because the smoother is shorter it can "clean up" the valleys left by the longer planes. Smoothers are generally in the size 3 to 4 1/2 range (using Bailey sizes), but even a jack can be set up as one, it just won't do as fine of job in some cases.

Take a look at Lie Nielsen's website for a look of an example of a smoother. Look under bench planes. Oh! One more thing before you go there. Give your credit card to your wife and make her promise not to give it back to you, no matter what you say later.

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/
 
I've been to Lie-Nielson and I can not even afford to look :rofl:
Those are not planes those are works of art

I think I may even have a smaller plane that may be a smoother plane size:dunno:
I got one plane from my father in law years ago and it sat doing nothing and just got one from my father. The one from my father is the #5 I am pretty sure and the other is smaller but I do not remember what size it is. I've cleaned both of them up and sharpened them.

So lets assume it is a smoother :thumb: what would I use each plane for?

The Jack plane for jointing and getting a flat surface, and the smoother to get a smoother surface?

The jack plane would be set for larger bites of wood where the smoother would be set for very light shaving? :confused:

I appreciate your help
Dan
 
careful dan you treading on some very slippery slopes:) and kens link is a very good one to start with ..sounds like you have a no. 4 as your other plane give us some pics and we can give you a better idea of where you could head..
 
careful dan you treading on some very slippery slopes:) and kens link is a very good one to start with ..

Yup and now I have Larry, Ken and Bill to thank for me looking at planes.:rofl::rofl::rofl:

This probably can be worse than the spinny vortex I mean how many Lathes can you have. Ooops dont let Chuck see this post. He has as many spinny things as i have screwdrivers.:rofl::rofl:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here is some pics of my planes and a few of my basement shop.
 

Attachments

  • Band saw and Miter Saw.JPG
    Band saw and Miter Saw.JPG
    58.1 KB · Views: 24
  • Drill Press and sander.JPG
    Drill Press and sander.JPG
    64.6 KB · Views: 26
  • Planes 1.JPG
    Planes 1.JPG
    47 KB · Views: 26
  • Planes 2.JPG
    Planes 2.JPG
    60.7 KB · Views: 26
  • Router table.JPG
    Router table.JPG
    48.3 KB · Views: 26
  • Table saw and scroll saw.JPG
    Table saw and scroll saw.JPG
    57.4 KB · Views: 25
It almost looks like a #3 there, but it could be just the photo. Dan, how about measuring the length of the sole on both planes and let us know what they are?
 
It almost looks like a #3 there, but it could be just the photo. Dan, how about measuring the length of the sole on both planes and let us know what they are?

Actually, measuring the width might be better. The 4 & 5 are the same width - the #3 is about a quarter inch or so narrower.
 
Wow Jim. Next time Loml asks why I need two I am going to bring up this thread and ask you to explain it to her.:rofl::rofl::rofl: What a collection. :thumb: I take it you have no electricity in your place and prefer to do things the old way. Me I support Thomas Edison.:rofl::rofl::thumb:
 
Top