What should my first plane be??

[Alf]

Prepare yourselves for a shock, chaps - I don't have a #6. Or, come to think of it, a #5 any more either. I like me fractions. :wink:

One advantage of the block plane as a first plane is the shallower leraning curve - no cap iron or frog to learn to adjust and swear at. That's the same argument for the bevel up bench planes too of course.

Cheers, Alf

Not taking any notice of Scrit's outrageous 2 1/4" 5 1/2 drive by

 

[bugbear]

One of the problems with a #6 is that it is a tad too big to fit into my bass, however the #5-1/2 does so quite well.

How do you protect the edges (of the irons) in there?

I've seen some nasty things come out of chippies' canvas bags, up to and including a #5 that left nasty gouge marks.

The toe of the casting had been dinged and burred in the bag!

BugBear