hand plane collection

selly · 2 Oct 2007

Hi guys just starting a hand plane collection now for general pleasurable use.

i've got a record no 5 from a car boot and it is pretty nice.
I've got an old wooden jointer plane (22") which i think needs a new blade (one side is weak on it) and so should I go for a top quality blade or nothing too dear. I guess I'm asking will a top quality blade transform this tool or not? I realise it will always lack heft.

also got a rapier no4 a quick site search doesn't rate this but again will a better blade be worth it?

Finally looking to get a shoulder plane and a block plane. Been recommended a LN 60.5 block - is there anything old and second hand and less trendy to look out for on ebay for either of these two equivalents.

not looking to have the best kit- just some nice stuff that i enjoy using and picking up.

Thanks for the advice.

George_N · 3 Oct 2007

Hi Selly,
I'm sure there will be better qualified members than me along to offer advice but I thought I'd pitch in with a couple of thoughts about the woodie jointer. The blades on many of these were tapered, with the iron being a lot thicker at the business end. I don't know if a modern iron, designed for a metal bodied plane, would fit. As for lack of heft, a jointer is used for final trueing of edges and as such it is not usually required to hog off lots of material (that would be done with a jack plane). You say the iron is "weak" at one side...not sure what you mean...corroded? steel lost temper by over aggressive grinding on a bench grinder? Car boot sales and Ebay are a good source of old wooden bodied planes because few people want them as users, they are more likely to want them for decorating a theme pub or something. As such, they can usually be had for a couple of quid. On Ebay you will almost certainly pay more for P&P than for the sale price. The point I'm trying to make is that even a beat up old plane may have a good iron in it that can be transplanted into your jointer and would be more appropriate than trying to fit a modern one.

matthewwh · 3 Oct 2007

The No. 5 is an excellent all rounder; not quite as good as the purpose designed tools but if it's nicely fettled you can smooth, joint and shoot with it.

If you are going to buy more blades I would get three for the No.5. Grind one with a curved edge for jointing and smoothing, one with a tiny 5 degree back bevel to give you the option of york pitch for curly grain (if necessary) and keep one square for shooting.

Rapiers may not be the finest bench planes ever made but they certainly aren't the worst either, with a few tweeks you may even be able to interchange blades between the 4 and 5 - thus giving you an even wider range of options.

I'm a little confued about the issue with the wooden jointer, normally it's the wooden bit that goes wrong, and therefore usually fixable. Could you post a photo of it?

ByronBlack · 3 Oct 2007

Hi Selly,

If you want a useful second hand ebay special, a 60 1/2 block plane would be good.

And a couple of others that would be useful are: Stanley router plane No.71 and a plough/combo plane such as a Record 043.

Good luck in your purchases!

For another place to buy older planes, you could try: www.oldtools.co.uk, i've bought almost all my planes from there (Except my veritas block which came from Matts place: workshop heaven).

George_N · 3 Oct 2007

ByronBlack":37qekns3 said:
Hi Selly,

If you want a useful second hand ebay special, a 60 1/2 block plane would be good.

And a couple of others that would be useful are: Stanley router plane No.71 and a plough/combo plane such as a Record 043.

Good luck in your purchases!

For another place to buy older planes, you could try: www.oldtools.co.uk, i've bought almost all my planes from there (Except my veritas block which came from Matts place: workshop heaven).

My experience of looking for a 60 1/2 on Ebay was that they tend to go for silly money, almost the price of a brand new Veritas block plane, which would probably be a better plane anyway.