decent hand plane wanted /recommendations

[deema]

Yes avoid all norris style adjusters they don't work, except on one-hand-use block planes where the compact design is necessary.

Twadle. Veritas planes use a Norris style adjuster which having also owned a full set of Lie Nielson I can say in my opinion the Veritas plane (I now have just a No4, No6 with a Noris) is better and easier to adjust / hold its adjustment when encountering a hard knot.

 

[CaptainBudget]

You didn't say which make of no.3 your son liked. Most modern bench plane makers have opted to make their planes significantly heavier than the older models. Last weekend I picked up a Woodriver bench plane at the store display, put it back on the shelf, it was a boat anchor, good only for making a youtube video. Find a plane restorer that can take an old plane and restore it to almost new condition. I've an acquaintance that does this kind of restoration. That'll give you an idea of what can be accomplished.

+1 for a restorer. I've purchased "new" planes from Axminster in the early days of my hobby (4.5 and a 7); I'd say they are more or less as good as the wood rivers, etc. but they are heavy as ****.

My go-to planes these days are a ~1950 Record no.4 I restored myself (lot of effort), and a vintage Stanley no.5 (60s I think, still has wooden handles) I bought from Tooltique. I also have a Record 5.5 I bought from them as well that actually seems to weigh less than the modern 4.5 and is a joy to use.

I don't use the 4.5 at all any more, it's just gathering dust because the lighter no.4 is easier to use and produces a beautiful finish; if I needed to use it more frequently I'd seriously consider swapping the no.7 for a much lighter vintage Stanley/Record version

If I was starting again I wouldn't even consider buying a "new" plane and would go straight for a well restored vintage plane; my only problem with Tooltique is they put them up as and when they restore them and they don't hang around very long... I'm in my 30s and I already know these vintage planes will see me out, and they are so nice to work with.


In short, get him a well-restored no.3 or no.4 Record or Stanley from someone who knows what they are doing, they are just better than what's off the shelf today. You could always make him a gift box...

 

[bilspe]

Agree with the above. A well restored, or just good condition, vintage Stanley or Record is often much better than a new off the shelf plane (unless of course you spend alot of dollar on a Le Nielsen etc)
Also there's an infinite supply of spares and blades for these older planes. If you drop or damage your Le Nielsen, or even Quangsheng, how much will it cost to replace a part or even obtain one.

 

[richarddownunder]

Supporting your local manufacturers...https://www.flinn-garlick-saws.co.uk/product-category/clifton-hand-planes/

 

[Jacob]

Twadle. Veritas planes use a Norris style adjuster which having also owned a full set of Lie Nielson I can say in my opinion the Veritas plane (I now have just a No4, No6 with a Noris) is better and easier to adjust / hold its adjustment when encountering a hard knot.

2 Ds in twaddle.
They work but they don't work well.
That's why the Stanley/Bailey design has dominated the market since it was introduced 100+ years ago. It looks fussy but it works really well.
Stanley got it completely wrong with their new SW range - well made, cheap, would have been highly competitive but lumbered with the Norris style adjuster. They threw away the one thing which made Stanley/Bailey design utterly superior and went for fashion instead!

 

[TRITON]

and easier to adjust / hold its adjustment when encountering a hard knot.

Did you learn that at the school of hard knots ?


Is that my coat...

 

[clogs]

have several planes that dont get used much....but my Stanley pocket plane I'd be lost without now......
the best tool for a good feeling in use is my leather handled Estwing.....gifted from a departed old friend.....
off topic sorry......

 

[Jarno]

+1 for old tools, especially over in the UK (but USA also) so many excellent planes available, with minor TLC are most excellent.
I am partial to pre-50's Record planes (but Woden or Preston are also nice). Recently bought a Record 03 from just after WWII and it is a delightful little plane.
Not sure if weight higher in similar planes than earlier, there certainly are some generations which have planes that are a lot heavier, but pre-50's castings of at least Record will be a bit chunkier than 60's and 70's, but I do agree that current Stanleys are really heavy again. And I have an 80's Stanley no.6 which is also an absolute behemoth.
So yeah, buy an early Record 03 for instance:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23528649...5rlAO3fDwQWNNDo3hskLj7QA==|tkp:Bk9SR-qP4vf6Yg
Look past the Stanley iron, but that is a 30's plane, for about 40GBP (+postage), with rosewood handle and knob. Pretty shure that will be a fantastic plane, add a Ray Iles blade if you are worried about the quality of the iron. The 03 I recently bought was half that amount, the point is, you can find superb planes for little money, no need to shell out 100's. If you are worried about tuning them, watch the Paul Sellers video on youtube, or any of a multitude of others.

 

[Adam W.]

Agree with that @Jarno , I too have a thing for pre war Record planes with rosewood handles and buy them off ebay for about £20 each + post.

I think they are a proper bargain.

 

[TRITON]

Another Record plane fan here too. I find them less chattery.

Love a record hand router(got a LN one) but they all sell for high prices.

 

[Jacob]

I have a Stanley 3 with plastic handles.
Actually it's a top quality little plane and you'd hardly notice that they are plastic, except for the ghost of a moulding seam. I thought they were rosewood at first.

 

[Max Power]

I have a Stanley 3 with plastic handles.
Actually it's a top quality little plane and you'd hardly notice that they are plastic, except for the ghost of a moulding seam. I thought they were rosewood at first.

They've had those horrendous plastic handles since the 70's.

 

[Ttrees]

They've had those horrendous plastic handles since the 70's.

I'll bet anyone who's got both, what's not tucked away inside a Tetris puzzle box...
has picked up their plastic handled plane, and tore the $hite out of the work with it,
before copping on it was the wrong plane they picked up!

Still wouldn't swap the tote out for a Veritas wrist breaker from the nicest of timber,
those are far more upsetting looking to me.

 

[Jacob]

They've had those horrendous plastic handles since the 70's.

Nothing horrendous about them at all.
Sellers says "Stanley actually introduced a plastic handle in the late 60's that is extremely comfortable and was in fact unbreakable...."
Maybe later ones weren't so good.

 

[Jarno]

I get sweaty hands from them, at least from the very shiny plastic handles, and I like the tactile feel of a wooden grip (removed the shiny, but cracking, varnish from all of mine, and applied a thin wipe-on poly).
My later Record 07 also has a plastic handle, but that sort of has a wood texture, somewhat better, IMHO.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've never used one new enough to have a plastic handle.

 

[Sideways]

A project one day if I ever get a seriously thick offcut would be to make a replacement plane handle out of tufnol or the like.
Unbreakable in use.
Hardwood is lovely but the design of a plane handle is inherently vulnerable to snapping in a couple of weak spots. The laminates ( epoxy + paper / cloth / glass ) have proven to be the most durable handles for knives and can be shaped and finely finished to whatever degree you choose. Too costly for mass produced planes but I'm surprised not to have seen someone trying them out on custom builds.

 

[Max Power]

I'm astounded anyone would be fooled into thinking those brown plastic faux wood handles were actually rosewood

 

[worn thumbs]

I have a No3 with wooden handles and a No4 with plastic handles,they both work well.Having worked with a variety of different Tufnols,I would confirm that it is a durable material but I wouldn't be in any hurry to make a plane handle from it.Would it attract much disdain from the traditionalists for having a plastic resin holding the cloth together?

 

[Jarno]

A project one day if I ever get a seriously thick offcut would be to make a replacement plane handle out of tufnol or the like.
Unbreakable in use.
Hardwood is lovely but the design of a plane handle is inherently vulnerable to snapping in a couple of weak spots. The laminates ( epoxy + paper / cloth / glass ) have proven to be the most durable handles for knives and can be shaped and finely finished to whatever degree you choose. Too costly for mass produced planes but I'm surprised not to have seen someone trying them out on custom builds.

The only way to break a wooden handle is to drop a plane, in normal use (not ape on meth use) I don't think you'll ever break one, especially since that nowadays, we use them for finer work.
But if you drop a plane, that's another matter, you'd also run the risk of cracking the cast iron too. Better to be careful with a precision tool.