Using hand planes?

I love bevel-up planes, as I know you do as well, so I thought you would be the best person for me to get an opinion from, if you have time. I have a full compliment of planes:
1. Two block planes
2. #7 jointer (servicable)
3. big heavy dedicated smoother
4. medium and large shoulder planes
5. large router plane
6. #5 (terrible)


My question, at this point, is probably becoming clear. I feel I need a real general purpose plane, and living ten minutes from a Lee Valley location, that part of the decision is easy.


My thoughts were to get a (BU) smooth or a (BU) jack. What are your thoughts?
Thanking you in advance,


-Robert 

Halifax (Canada) NS

Our Expert

As I'm sure that you know from reading my articles, I really enjoy using hand planes. But while I have a large number and quite a variety of planes, I mostly use three types: smooth planes, block planes and shoulder planes.
All three types are bevel-up and I have several of each type adjusted to different cutting angles.


Basically, a higher cutting angle, such as 60 degrees, smoothes without risk of tearout, even on highly figured wood or reversing grain; a low cutting angle, such as 35 degrees, works better on end-grain. A middle cutting angle, such as the 45 degree angle on old Bedrock planes, is a compromise between a reasonably smooth surface and ease of use (planes set up with a higher cutting angle can be difficult to push, especially on dense stock).


Although I enjoy using hand planes and reach for them often for a variety of tasks, from fitting a joint to smoothing a surface prior to finishing, I'm not a hand plane purist. For example, while I like to smooth surfaces with a plane instead of a power sander, I prefer to flatten rough boards with my large 16" industrial jointer. (If the board will fit. When flattening boards wider than 16" I use a jointer plane).


I don't use a jack plane for smoothing because when the time comes to smooth a surface, the surface is already flat from the machining process. Afterward the milling process, I use a smooth plane to remove the machine marks. A jack plane adds extra length and weight that isn't needed for smoothing. You may have heard that the extra mass of a larger plane helps to power the plane through the stock. That's true, but only to a point. Once that point of ideal weight is reached it just becomes extra work to push a heavier plane.


I prefer today's bevel-up smooth planes for a number of reasons: I can choose the best cutting angle for the type of grain and the task, the design of the plane is simple and easy to adjust, and the length, weight and low center of gravity is ideal for the job of smoothing.

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