Shopsmith Forums

I want to get a little into the old school woodworking and not get totally spoiled to using electrons. My question is:

What would the best "starter" plane to get. How much "tuning" do you have to do to a new plane to get it functional, and what is that "tuning" that you have to do. I seem to be smoothing and paralleling panels of glue up jointed assemblies. These panels are anywhere from 2 feet to 4 feet in width and/or length. I have some pictures I will share as soon as I finalize my storage solution for the Mark 7 accessories and a window winter cover I am working on for a garden window in our entry room which will show somewhat what I am talking about.

I am looking at one of these as a starter. I know that new planes are not all that great, but I just need somewhere to start.

I am wanting, primarily, to just smooth the slight joint ridges of these panels before sanding.

Any thoughts and advise would be very much welcome ....

Thanks in advance!

Dick

I'm going to go against my initial inclination and say, go for it.

It's not an excellent plane, but you already know that. And it just might be good enough to introduce you to what a plane ought to be able to do. As you work, you'll become dissatisfied with its capabilities in one or more ways. And that will lead you into the world of plane tuning, or buying much more expensive planes, or collecting different types of planes. All at a pretty low price.

Buying a $300 Lie-Nielsen plane might allow you to avoid some initial frustrations by working well out of the box. But, I think you lose some learning opportunities, too.

Just realize this isn't the last plane you'll ever need, it's the first of several.

Hi....first, don't buy that plane. You will be much happier with a better pane. It sounds like for what you want there are several choices. A good Ole Stanley no. 4 or no. 5 is cheap and plentiful. A vintage plane will have better steel, better wood, easier to get ready to use and better resale value. I am a member of Woodnet.net....they have a good classified section. Very fair prices and reliable sellers that love to use and sell. Log on and become a member and post a WTB (wanted to buy) for a good Stanley smoother and you will get plenty of choices. However, if you don't know how to bring an edge to where you can shave with it even a $5k infill will be useless....but that is another story.

+1 on avoiding that Stanley 12-404. The blade has no chipbreaker and only in the most favorable grain-direction circumstances will it work well.
I remember having one for a while, then fixing up the cheapest antique-store Great Neck 'Bailey style' plane. There was no comparison in performance, and I quit trying to use the 12-404.
On the other hand, the modern Stanley block-planes can tune up pretty well, both their standard and Sweetheart series.

My opinion, Do Not to buy that plane it will end up a paper weight.
If I were to only own one plane it would be a bench plane but an old school one.
I would have two cutters it one flat and one cambered.
Get an old plane in solid shape and pass it down for generations until someone drops it on the concrete floor.
I can't spend time right now but will post some links when return from car shopping with the wife.

Dick,
Here is a podcast that might interest you on tuning a hand plane for performance...

CLICK HERE

Also here is one on three hand planes every shop should have...

CLICK HERE

Here is a PDF list of all the podcasts with hyper-links to the url for each podcast. Just click on the one you want to see in the list and it "should" take you to that url.

[ATTACH]26307[/ATTACH]

OK here's some links about the care and feeding of hand planes

one

two

three

four

five

five

six

OK Dave, ibskot, nu, light, and george. Those videos look interesting. I am downloading a couple of them now. I was hoping that I could get one without a lot of shipping (Amazon ). I live in a very small town and anything I get will be from out of town.

Thanks all for your responses. I have joined the forum and will look for a plane as you suggested ibskot.

I have been sharpening tools my whole life, including straight razors until a couple of decades ago. I can put a razor edge on a buck knife if I need to LOL. So I think I got that covered.

Anyway, I'll check it out, thanks guys ....

Dick

If you need to flatten the sole of a plane I found if it's really out of whack start on the shopsmith belt sander first to save a lot of time.
Finish it up on float glass with sandpaper but not when it's warm from the belt sander rather when it's room temp the same temp it will be when your using it.
A good smoothing plane and a good block plane will cover most needs for someone who also has power tools.
As I said before I would have a flat cutter and a cambered cutter. The flat one for using with a shooting board or jointing and the cambered cutter for general use.

I love my Millers Falls #07 block plane the same as a Stanley #140

I have an addiction to old tools especially planes I collect them and plan on restoring them when I retire.

lightnin wrote:If you need to flatten the sole of a plane I found if it's really out of whack start on the shopsmith belt sander first to save a lot of time.
Finish it up on float glass with sandpaper but not when it's warm from the belt sander rather when it's room temp the same temp it will be when your using it.
A good smoothing plane and a good block plane will cover most needs for someone who also has power tools.
As I said before I would have a flat cutter and a cambered cutter. The flat one for using with a shooting board or jointing and the cambered cutter for general use.

I love my Millers Falls #07 block plane the same as a Stanley #140

I have an addiction to old tools especially planes I collect them and plan on restoring them when I retire.

Cool! You have any good ones you want to get rid of LOL

JK

Thanks for the help ...

Dick