Silly_Billy
Established Member
It turns out the answer to the original question is personal preference, based on having actually used the planes. Also, I'd forgotten the obvious: muscular endurance has got to impact personal preference for size of jack plane.
I've now managed to beg, borrow or steal a 5, 5 ½, 6 and low angle jack to try out. With a sharp blade, they were all good. Also, I was surprised to find that the No 6 was nothing like as cumbersome as I'd imagined. In my (not small!) hands I liked a Quangsheng No 6 the best, but I'm probably unusual in liking the No 6.
If I could only have one jack plane, however, I'd probably pick a low angle jack. I liked it almost as much as the No 6, but the low angle jack's speed of mouth adjustment and versatility/ease of changing blades were brilliant. None of my beginner's worries about the low angle jack (e.g. sharpening the thick blade) materialised.
If any other beginners read this thread, then I'd recommend trying out as many planes as you can. If that's not possible, then I think any of these planes will work well provided the sole's flat and the blade's kept sharp.
I've now managed to beg, borrow or steal a 5, 5 ½, 6 and low angle jack to try out. With a sharp blade, they were all good. Also, I was surprised to find that the No 6 was nothing like as cumbersome as I'd imagined. In my (not small!) hands I liked a Quangsheng No 6 the best, but I'm probably unusual in liking the No 6.
If I could only have one jack plane, however, I'd probably pick a low angle jack. I liked it almost as much as the No 6, but the low angle jack's speed of mouth adjustment and versatility/ease of changing blades were brilliant. None of my beginner's worries about the low angle jack (e.g. sharpening the thick blade) materialised.
If any other beginners read this thread, then I'd recommend trying out as many planes as you can. If that's not possible, then I think any of these planes will work well provided the sole's flat and the blade's kept sharp.
