Stanley No 7 new or old

[iNewbie]

Why would someone who knew planes as well as he did not have utilised the relative advantages of other sizes for their respective purposes?
Indeed. Just as illogical as Paul Sellers saying the universal plane should be a No.4? You might get away with using a jointer as a smoother, but you'd have hard work using a smoother as a jointer.

I posted this in another thread - its sellers musing:

https://paulsellers.com/2013/07/15446/

 

[Jacob]

I use a 7 not for fine work but for long work. I did some newel posts - much too big for over the top of a planer and the only way to get one face flat/straight is by hand. 5 1/2 to clean it up, take out the obvious bumps, get it flat with winding sticks, then get it straight with a 7. One face flat and it'll go through the thicknesser for the other. Then square up another face by hand ditto.
Also used 26" woody - very useful when sharp but got bored with having to sharpen and re set it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Why would someone who knew planes as well as he did not have utilised the relative advantages of other sizes for their respective purposes?
Indeed. Just as illogical as Paul Sellers saying the universal plane should be a No.4? You might get away with using a jointer as a smoother, but you'd have hard work using a smoother as a jointer.

I posted this in another thread - its sellers musing:

https://paulsellers.com/2013/07/15446/

So a shorter plane is better than a longer plane that is not flat ... yeah ... well ...
presuming your material is square, flat, dry etc. because it's come from a merchant and it's been through a machine is a bit of a leap of faith.

 

[Jacob]

...
So a shorter plane is better than a longer plane that is not flat ... yeah ... well ...

Yeah... definitely.
I had a concave faced 7 and it was unusable - except for planing stuff with approximately the same radius. Had to use smaller planes.