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Hand Planes

Gdurfey

Gdurfey

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Diving right in. Bought this slab for color and grain.......and didn’t even see how warped it is. So, going to finally learn how to use a hand plane.......I think, but need to buy a few. Have a friend in town that can guide me through the process but have seen several of y’all posting great results.

I found this one after a quick eBay search.....https://www.ebay.com/itm/124176320233 and seems like a possibility to get me started on my project.

going to tag a couple of folks, but please, anyone chime in: @ripjack13 , @woodtickgreg , @wyowoodwrker

@wyowoodwrker , it was your bench top that really got me going down this path.
Thanks everyone.

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you can see how warped this thing is, the slab has been cut down to 3feet long and roughly 16” inches wide.
 
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At 3' long is it still that warped as in the picture?
That's not a bad plane, I have a couple in my collection. A 7 or 8 would be better yet, and a corrugated bottom makes them easier to push. It's going to be a serious workout to plane that board flat. I might consider building a router sled to plane that with a router especially with the knots, much easier.:whatever:
 
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whathesaid

Those knots will be a major pain with hand planes.

The plane you listed is a good plane, but seems high in price - however, been a few years since I've followed plane prices, so maybe that's the market now.

If I were going to flatten that, I'd start with a scrub plane (mine is a #5 with a radius blade) followed by a #7 or #8 as Greg mentioned.

Probably lots of videos out there, but don't have one to recommend. As you get further into the process, can answer questions as they come up.

Here is a link to a my bench build thread on another forum. It shows a little bit of the planes i used in flattening the top. https://www.woodworkingchat.com/forum/tools-and-safety/hand-tools/33595-workbench-build
 
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That slab has a pretty good twist to it. Definitely fixable though. As others have said a #8 would be the best choice. I'm still pretty new with the hand planes. I got lucky and scored a good set in an estate sale. If your dead set on hand planing that guy I'd start with a scrub plane or a low angle Jack to get the majority of it flattened back out then to get it dead flat nothing beats a #8...... That said a Router sled would be much faster and easier. Provided of course you have a Router. Just get a flattening bit and build a sled.
 
Colin would know than me about the planes, really. I just buy em as I need em. And I ask for his input when I do. :)
@Schroedc
 
For that you're going to need two planes to make it easy, A scrub plane like a Stanley Number 40 or 40 1/2, and a 5 or a 7 to get it flat. You can make your own scrub plane, find a cheap 3. open up the mouth with a file, grind a camber on the blade and off you go. Use the scrub plane and a set of winding sticks to remove the high areas, then the 5 or 7 to flatten it.
 
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I found a great video last night researching the Stanley numbers and such. Learned so much!!! I finally understand the concept, but the guy also showed the use of winding sticks (made perfect sense once I saw it), squaring a face then one side; a scrub plane, etc.

One of the reasons for the post was the price of new planes. I actually picked up a used Stanley Bailey, think it was a number 4, that I need to refurbish. I just liked it, felt it was a good price in fair condition at an antique shop ($25 or $30); now I need to dig it out and see what I have. First, new planes are a budget breaker; second, from what I have seen there is nothing wrong with the vintage Stanleys and a few other brands. Seems like it is one tool that hasn't changed a lot. Seems used is a better way to go, a little cleaning, sharpening, and it appears blades are easy to find and are pretty interchangeable as long as you get the correct type/size. Am I going the right direction guys? That was the other reason for the tags above; y'all are really inspirational in taking something and making it very usable again.

Been thinking for a long time about building a slab flattening jig for a router. I keep coming up with slabs, this latest one was, well, an inadvertent learning opportunity!!!

One more question: as @woodtickgreg mentioned, I found corrugated bottom planes listed. Long term, is there advantages if I am not gong to have a large collection of planes?

Thanks all for the info and suggestions. Love this place...……...
 
Gdurfey said:
I found a great video last night researching the Stanley numbers and such. Learned so much!!! I finally understand the concept, but the guy also showed the use of winding sticks (made perfect sense once I saw it), squaring a face then one side; a scrub plane, etc.

One of the reasons for the post was the price of new planes. I actually picked up a used Stanley Bailey, think it was a number 4, that I need to refurbish. I just liked it, felt it was a good price in fair condition at an antique shop ($25 or $30); now I need to dig it out and see what I have. First, new planes are a budget breaker; second, from what I have seen there is nothing wrong with the vintage Stanleys and a few other brands. Seems like it is one tool that hasn't changed a lot. Seems used is a better way to go, a little cleaning, sharpening, and it appears blades are easy to find and are pretty interchangeable as long as you get the correct type/size. Am I going the right direction guys? That was the other reason for the tags above; y'all are really inspirational in taking something and making it very usable again.

Been thinking for a long time about building a slab flattening jig for a router. I keep coming up with slabs, this latest one was, well, an inadvertent learning opportunity!!!

One more question: as @woodtickgreg mentioned, I found corrugated bottom planes listed. Long term, is there advantages if I am not gong to have a large collection of planes?

Thanks all for the info and suggestions. Love this place...……...
Click to expand...

In theory, corrugated bottom planes have less friction so easier on you for big jobs, an upside is flattening or lapping the bottoms, they have less material to remove so go faster there too. one drawback, they have less meat in the base so if you drop one, you are probably more likely to break it. So never drop a plane :sarcastic:
 
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