Block Planes

[JefL]

I find block planes very useful for one handed planing, door edges for instance, with the door still hanging. I started with a Stanley 120 but passed that one on to a daughter. I now have, all Records, a 9 1/2, 60 1/2 and a 220. All old, all beauties. Even use the 60 1/2 on the shooting board occasionally when dealing with a stubborn end grain. Love 'em all.
Each came from eBay and only needed a clean and sharpen. All have plenty of meat left on the iron and none cost more than £15.

Jef

 

[Spectric]

You are getting dinged for a lot of tax, duties, maybe markup, etc. Same plane here is £108

At that price I would think about buying one, but the one thing we are good at in the UK is being ripped off and what is really stupid is that everyone knows it but we don't seem to object, if we did then we may see change.

 

[JobandKnock]

You are not kidding, £174 and only comes in 0 volts, Veritas Low Angle Block Plane with PMV-11 25 Degree Blade

You can get a powered one for less Makita KP0800K 110v 82mm Planer with Carry Case

So something I have avoided to date, what do you use this plane for ?

Well for a start I bought my original one more than 20 years ago when it was a bit cheaper the. It subsequently went the way of the world. So I bought this one last year, second hand but very little used, for £110 to replace a Wood River #65 I've been using for a few years (basically a Quangsheng with a knuckle lever cap). What I like about the Veritas is that it is a bit narrower than the WoodRiver, which I find more comfortable to use (despite my biggish hands), and the extra weight over a #60-1/2 plus the thicker iron seem to make it a better plane for hardwoods like the oak, ash, walnut and mahogany I used to see in shop and bar fitting work. I have a point of comparison in that I used a #60-1/2 for the best part of 30 years, so whilst they are good, the Veritas is better IMHO

What can decent block plane do over an electric planer? For starters block planes don't leave ripples on the surface, which every power planer does. They are a lot handier and more controllable for putting a small chamfer on door edges, etc. They allow you to make very fine adjustments on stuff you are making or installing - power planes are a bit crude in comparison. In the case of the thicker iron "premium" block planes I find that they are better at dealing with planing the odd knot or rowed areas you get in finished hardwoods - a power planer will just rip out. Block planes are also better at dealing with end grain and mitres which they will plane very smoothly, taking a very thin shaving off if needs be - something a power planer cannot do (try adjusting the mitre on the end of a skirting board with one and see how far you get). Different tool for different reasons.

The main difference between a #60-1/2 block plane with the original thin iron is just that you can get a bit of judder in some circumstances with them (normally awkward grain on hardwoods) - never had that with the thicker iron planes

Cue Jacob to tell me I've been doing it wrong all this time... ;-)

 

[Kaizen123]

Tried the Faithful No4 and black plane on Oak board. It was hard going.
Maybe the blades need reprofiled and sharpened? They just kept digging into the oak in the middle of cutting.

Changed to my 100 year old Stanley 4 1/2, and it was better.

I've got this plane too and it definitely needed sorting out before using but the thing I found that helped a lot was that after mechanisms and locks came loose DOH! Tightened all of them up in line and then it shaved an oak board just fine.