Mark Kosmowski
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Hey Allen, when do we get to see some curlies? 
Best 5 to have? PLANES-cordless
- Thread starter larry merlau
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allen levine
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Im about 805 hours behind the schedule I set for myself, not sure when Ill get to hone the blade and use it. IM sure during my cabinet build Ill need it, so Ill probably get the 3m micro abrasive film out for honing soon.
Stuart Ablett
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Allen, I have one of those too, and I love it!
Personally, I think the list of 5 is too short, I think the list should be 8
I've listed them in order of what I think you should buy, if you were just starting out. I'd sure like to hear from others on this point too, which you would buy first and why. (marked with an * are planes I now own)
*1) Low angle block plane, IMHO there are two new ones to choose from the LV DX60 or the LN 60 1/2 low angle adjustable mouth block plane. I think this is the first plane you should own, it can do a lot of work.
*2) A #5 Stanley Jack, I think this should be the second plane you own, set up correctly, you will get a lot of use for it. If you can swing a new one, or find a good old 605 bedrock, all the better, as you can easily adjust the frog to change the mouth opening giving the plane a lot more versatility.
*3) A rabbet plane, I too very much like the LV Veritas Medium Shoulder plane. Some will question this as #3 on my list, but until I owned one, I did not realize how much I'd use it, it cleans up so many things that you can only clean up with a shoulder plane.
*4) A #4 or #4½ smoother, I'd like to have both, but to start with the #4 smoother is great, and there are a lot more #4s available on the used market than #4 1/2s. Once you have the #5, the #4 is just such a nice addition.
*5) A larger low angle plane, the LN #62 is just so fine! LV offers one too, but I've not used it, I have used the LN #62, and LOVE it.
6) #7 jointer, You can get away with a #5 for a lot of your jointing, unless you are jointing really long boards, then the #7 comes into it's own. I think the #8 is way overkill, if I need to use a #8, I have a powered jointer for that
7) A Router Plane, if you are buying new, hard to beat the Veritas Router plane, or if you are buying used a Stanley #71 in good shape, I think you can even buy the newer Veritas blade to replace the old Stanley one.
8) A Spoke Shave, your basic spoke shave is a very versatile tool, I have one, of sorts that I made, it is actually more of a scraper, but it works. I want to get a real spoke shave at some point.
Here is one last plane I'd like to have, not really a "MUST" have, but more of a want.
A small block plane, regular bevel, it might seem like you are duplicating the low angle block plane, but you are not, the LN and the LV low angle block planes are very nice, but they are actually fairly heavy, solid chunks of steel, whereas a nice little pocket plane like Lee Valley sells or the standard angle bronze block plane that LN sells are great to have on hand all the time, they can certainly be set up to take amazingly fine cuts, but they are also so very useful to have around all the time. I don't own one now, but I use a regular sized Record block plane for this job, the mouth is fairly wide open and it take a decent sized bite, but it is great for that quick job, rounding over an edge.
I hope this helps, I'm only recent to the addiction, and right now I'm still trying to fill out my list, so please take my recommendations with a grain of salt.
Personally, I think the list of 5 is too short, I think the list should be 8
I've listed them in order of what I think you should buy, if you were just starting out. I'd sure like to hear from others on this point too, which you would buy first and why. (marked with an * are planes I now own)
*1) Low angle block plane, IMHO there are two new ones to choose from the LV DX60 or the LN 60 1/2 low angle adjustable mouth block plane. I think this is the first plane you should own, it can do a lot of work.
*2) A #5 Stanley Jack, I think this should be the second plane you own, set up correctly, you will get a lot of use for it. If you can swing a new one, or find a good old 605 bedrock, all the better, as you can easily adjust the frog to change the mouth opening giving the plane a lot more versatility.
*3) A rabbet plane, I too very much like the LV Veritas Medium Shoulder plane. Some will question this as #3 on my list, but until I owned one, I did not realize how much I'd use it, it cleans up so many things that you can only clean up with a shoulder plane.
*4) A #4 or #4½ smoother, I'd like to have both, but to start with the #4 smoother is great, and there are a lot more #4s available on the used market than #4 1/2s. Once you have the #5, the #4 is just such a nice addition.
*5) A larger low angle plane, the LN #62 is just so fine! LV offers one too, but I've not used it, I have used the LN #62, and LOVE it.
6) #7 jointer, You can get away with a #5 for a lot of your jointing, unless you are jointing really long boards, then the #7 comes into it's own. I think the #8 is way overkill, if I need to use a #8, I have a powered jointer for that
7) A Router Plane, if you are buying new, hard to beat the Veritas Router plane, or if you are buying used a Stanley #71 in good shape, I think you can even buy the newer Veritas blade to replace the old Stanley one.
8) A Spoke Shave, your basic spoke shave is a very versatile tool, I have one, of sorts that I made, it is actually more of a scraper, but it works. I want to get a real spoke shave at some point.
Here is one last plane I'd like to have, not really a "MUST" have, but more of a want.
A small block plane, regular bevel, it might seem like you are duplicating the low angle block plane, but you are not, the LN and the LV low angle block planes are very nice, but they are actually fairly heavy, solid chunks of steel, whereas a nice little pocket plane like Lee Valley sells or the standard angle bronze block plane that LN sells are great to have on hand all the time, they can certainly be set up to take amazingly fine cuts, but they are also so very useful to have around all the time. I don't own one now, but I use a regular sized Record block plane for this job, the mouth is fairly wide open and it take a decent sized bite, but it is great for that quick job, rounding over an edge.
I hope this helps, I'm only recent to the addiction, and right now I'm still trying to fill out my list, so please take my recommendations with a grain of salt.
Matt Hutchinson
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- Grand Rapids, MI
My 2 cents....
Well, I have to say that after seeing Rob Cosman at work a few weeks ago at Woodcraft, my handplane list has changed slightly. He recommends a small router plane to clean up hand cut tenons (I suppose machined would qualify as well), and I have to say that what he demonstrated made sense. And so here goes....
1. Low angle block plane, adjustable mouth.
2. 4 1/2
3. 6 or 7
4. Router plane
5. Lathe
These are in no particular order, cuz I kinda think you need 'em all.
Hutch
Well, I have to say that after seeing Rob Cosman at work a few weeks ago at Woodcraft, my handplane list has changed slightly. He recommends a small router plane to clean up hand cut tenons (I suppose machined would qualify as well), and I have to say that what he demonstrated made sense. And so here goes....
1. Low angle block plane, adjustable mouth.
2. 4 1/2
3. 6 or 7
4. Router plane
5. Lathe
These are in no particular order, cuz I kinda think you need 'em all.
Hutch
Last edited:
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