Hand Tools

[Si600]

Awright you 'orrible lot.

I need (really? Want is more accurate) a plane or two. I don't need a huge long jointing plane so I'm thinking something like a do most things reasonably plane and a block plane. In my head, and from the interwebz, I'm looking for a Stanley no. 5 and a Stanley 60 1/2 or equivalent.

Yay or nay? What would you talented and experienced people suggest?

Edited July 10, 2020 by Si600

[Si600]

I had a look in our local DIY shed.

https://toom.de/p/metallhobel-44-mm/1810050

It's literally a BBOT. Shocking bit of kit. eBay I suspect for something decent.

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, Si600 said:

I'm looking for a Stanley no. 5 and a Stanley 60 1/2 or equivalent.

The no 4 or the no 5 are great for general carpentry , and the block plane is a nice handy addition   , stick with Stanley, the cheaper brands are rubbish 

[Teebs]

There you go:

 

[Si600]

Twerp 

[Reggaebass]

40 minutes ago, Teebs said:

There you go:

 

Was this your plane teebs 🙂. (My attempt to draw😁)

[Teebs]

3 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Was this your plane teebs 🙂. (My attempt to draw😁)

Nice!

 

[Christine]

Both good choices, go for a Stanley 60 1/2 and either a Record or Stanley No5 unless you want something more exotic

I've got a link in the sharpening thread somewhere on how to set them up

[Si600]

Yep, I've read it. I think it will make more sense to me when I've got a plane in my hand.

A wet grinder is first on the list, Amazon are doing a Scheppach for 105€ at the moment.

All the planes on eBay are a) expensive and b) all in the UK which does bump the post price up unfortunately.

[Christine]

Normally I would suggest something like car boot sales etc but not an option at the moment. Something to think about with ebay planes is that the obviously much older ones 1960s and earlier (Record and Stanley) are actually better built and the castings have had time to settle so will remain flatter. Little details like cast adjusters instead of the rubbish pressed steel on the modern ones, they still work but without the finesse of the old ones

[Si600]

Any of you f#kers buy this and I'll hunt you down and use it to shave your face off!

Looks a decent one to me.  Old and tatty

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Record-No-5-Woodwork-Plane-Made-in-England/184181780724?hash=item2ae216f0f4:g:h~AAAOSwJJxeUVIU

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, Si600 said:

Any of you f#kers buy this and I'll hunt you down and use it to shave your face off!

Looks a decent one to me.  Old and tatty

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Record-No-5-Woodwork-Plane-Made-in-England/184181780724?hash=item2ae216f0f4:g:h~AAAOSwJJxeUVIU

That will clean up nice ☝️

[Si600]

Right, the no.5 is mine!

And this one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stanley-Block-Plane/184211082164?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Edited March 15, 2020 by Si600
Forgot the link. Then pasted the wrong one. D'oh!

[Christine]

20 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Right, the no.5 is mine!

Any ideas what sort / number this one is?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Record-No-5-Woodwork-Plane-Made-in-England/184181780724?hash=item2ae216f0f4:g:h~AAAOSwJJxeUVIU

It's a No 05, 14" long and 2" wide, is that what you meant?

That is a nice plane, just what I was on about, see the fork that fits into the adjustment wheel, cast not bent steel. It will clean up nice but more importantly it will be better steel than new ones. Set it up well and it will be a joy for life 😀

[Si600]

34 minutes ago, Christine said:

It's a No 05, 14" long and 2" wide, is that what you meant?

Er, no. I managed to post the wrong link. It's a block plane that I think from other pictures on the net is a 60 1/2. The link is now correct for the one I bought 😉 

36 minutes ago, Christine said:

Set it up well and it will be a joy for life 

They will be on the bench when I get them and have time to Christinise them. Be prepared for a series of what do I do next PMs 😉

[Christine]

11 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Er, no. I managed to post the wrong link. It's a block plane that I think from other pictures on the net is a 60 1/2. The link is now correct for the one I bought 😉 

They will be on the bench when I get them and have time to Christinise them. Be prepared for a series of what do I do next PMs 😉

I think that is a 220 but I’m not sure 

[Si600]

Curses! Have I bought the wrong sort?

[Christine]

I think it’s only missing the adjustable mouth, not the end of the world on a block plane , you may find that you’ll have better results with a slightly steeper honing angle so it acts more like a scraper which isn’t a problem at all, far from it

[Jimothey]

If I’m right in thinking please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the 60 1/2 designed to be used mostly on end grain because of the low angle of the blade I’ve got both and over the years I’ve had Stanley and the Irwin equivalents which are cheaper and in my opinion just as good!! But I prefer the 9 1/2 as it seems to work better on the face or sides of the timber.........😀

Edited March 16, 2020 by Jimothey

[Si600]

Until I started down this rabbit hole I didn't appreciate how many different types of plane there were. Block planes are for endgrain I understand, where the lower angle cuts the fibres better.

I've certainly used a no4 plane on endgrain and it's been a pig. I usually end up with the bottom of a door that is slightly convex due to the middle being easier to work.

[Christine]

The block plane was originally made for flattening butchers blocks, hence the name or so legend has it . If the use is endgrain then the mouth size is irrelevant as there are no chips to break, it's all short grain shavings. The really cool thing about these planes is that the bevel on the iron is uppermost so the cutting geometry is variable a shallow angle (25 degreed iron vevel and iron angle combined)) for endgrain or a steeper one(40-45) for long grain or a very steep one (50-55) for very difficult woods like east Indian Satinwood. You don't need a regrind for the angle change just hone at the different angle, that's all you need but a regrind will more than likely be needed if you need to hone at a shallower angle  than the last hone if that makes sense.

If you're hollowing you need to change your planing technique. At the start of the cut press down on the front of the plane and transfer the pressure as the plane moves forward. You don't actually push the plane as such but lock your arms to your sides and rock forwards keeping your eye over the mouth of the plane. It should be done quite slowly so you keep absolute control over the shaving, it should come off full width for the whole length of the wood once it's flat. An hour practising should see you set for life. Precise work needs a different mindset to hanging a kitchen door, speed comes from getting it right first time not doing it quickly, gossamer thin shavings you can see through are what you should be seeing. Once you can do that (and it's not hard) you can do anything

[Owen]

This is hardcore!

I salute you.

[Si600]

Lookit what I got in the post today, despite DHL telling me one wouldn't be here until Tuesday.

Now I can do one of those perfect restoration YouTube videos 

Or just clean them up and learn how to use them 

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Si600

[Maude]

I don't have a use for them but these two came up on a local(ish) Facebook group for a fiver each. I'm guessing these are the older, better constructed type?

 

[Soledad]

Sorry, been locked up and no-one to talk to... so
Let's talk about planes! They're a bit like basses, you always 'need' just one more. In recent years I've thinned mine a lot but still have around 10 or so (plus all the specialist variants like shoulder planes, rebates, router planes etc etc).

Christine mentioned older Records - mighty fine they are (or can be). Pic below of a Record 'SS' No3 (SS means 'Stay-Set' and they have a 2-part cap iron which I rate highly, some others don't like 'em).
Got this No3 on the Bay for around £30 a few years ago. Added a new Hock iron (the blade / cutter is called an iron or cutting iron) and spent time tuning - total strip down, seat the frog to body properly, flat the sole (when doing this load the plane up, I mean fit 2-part iron, tighten etc so the body is under working load, then flatten with the cutter safely withdrawn back from the sole). Stripped and painted my mucky green brand colour, but if you want to restore the Record blue, get Humbrol or similar 'roundel blue' - it's an amazing match to the original.
This Record is now proper hot and will take 2- 3 thou shaving off cross grain, plus it handles difficult woods (reversing grain) really well.
I do recommend the original 'Crucible Steel' irons on Records, but also the Quangsheng replacement irons - very fair price and excellent steels. The Hock is considerably more expensive but takes a really fine edge.

The wood plane is interesting - again hotted up into a fine panel smoother (technically it's a jack plane). Note the double iron - very hefty forged cutter, supported by an equally hefty cap. Those Sheffield forged cutting irons are truly fabulous - high carbon super-hard and super-fine tool steel forged onto a malleable steel 'back'. You just can't buy planes with cutters like this now, but on the Bay you'll find one for under 20 quid. Seriously those forged irons of old are sublime.
I did a box (boxwood) insert on this one to tighten the mouth a lot. Spent a good while flatting the back of iron back to a polish, and tuning the cap iron so it closes micro-tight onto the iron.

If anyone's interested in planes like me, I'll get some pics of my Sparks handmade planes next - his plane adjusting hammer is visible in pic 1

best go make something now...