Which ONE plane?

[tnimble]

Have you picked up one more recently. 30 years ago is somewhere in the 1970ies 1980ies, the era when the drop in quality started.

And how would you fettle for instance the contact area of the bed to the frog, when the maker has reduced it to a tiny strip of metal in order to reduce machining time/costs to a mimimum, weld extra metal on the bed or weld the frog in place?

Further more a LV, LN or Clifton costs around £150 - £2400 depening on type and where you buy it, not £400! Nobody is advising on high end market makers, getting starters to buy Anderson, Bridge City (commemorative), Holtey, S&S, Blum etc.

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Hi Mike
Having worked wood for the past thirty years, you likely also had access to woodworking classes at school. This isn't a luxury afforded to many today, and the hobby woodworker who did have such opportunity in his youth may instead have opted for sciences (mys case) or humanities, or have just plain forgotten his schooldays.
Without an inkling of how a work ready tool behaves, nor even how to shrpen an edge, the new user has but few choices - either buy a higher end brand (Clifton, LV, LN) or find a mentor or tutor, that they might learn what to avoid and how to correct a cheaper or older tool. Muddling along in the dark with a blunt, poorly designed/manufactured/maintained/set up tool will enthuse none but the stoutest of heart.
I bought new Clifton and LN originally because I wanted to know that any fault was indeed mine, and nopt the tools'. With hindsight, I should perhaps instead have first attended a course. But with neither direction nor reliable equipment I have little doubt my interest would have waned long ago, as results would have undoubtedly been most unsatisfying.
Cheers
Steve

 

[MikeG.]

Steve,

no, I've never had a woodworking lesson, at school or from anyone else. I never had a conversation with another woodworker until I joined the Get Woodworking forum earlier this year, and my entire workshop experience has been self-taught and solitary. I just worked out that with a well sharpened blade planing was much more about the wood and the user than the tool.

Laura,

whilst I generally glaze over when the conversation turns to LN/ Veritas etc, I did see a price of £400 quoted for a plane the other day. Because I don't really take an interest in these matters, I'm not sure which plane it was. I don't doubt you know your plane prices, but I'm not making that figure up.

Mike

 

[Karl]

If you are a novice, then you need something very basic to learn with.

Why?

Personally, I would stick to buying the best tools you can afford.

By working with a top quality plane (as a Novice) you know that if things aren't going well then it is you and your technique which is at fault, not the tool.

Cheers

Karl

 

[tnimble]

In the sorts of LV / LN / Clifton the only plane that comes near the £400 would be the LN no 8 jointer plane at about £380. Its their lagest plane (th weigth equals its price). A very good plane for people that prep their boards from the rough by hand and either have large hands and upper body strength, or do use longs boards regularly. Other wize the LV bevel up no 7 jointer would be a better choice for prepping yours boards from the rough. (I use an antique Stanley no 8 by the way, and have a scrub plane on the wish list to replace one of my no 6s)

 

[Escudo]

Don't tell me you have to spend £400 to scrape a layer off a piece of wood!!!!!

Have you been talking to my wife, Mike? :lol:

 

[Hokie]

I first got my LN LAJ it was horrible. Sharpened as much as I could, it just chattered and was generally awful. After each sharpening, it got better and better. Now, it does everything but the really rough stuff. Great smoother, shoots, end grain trimming, etc. However, the extra long toe of the Veritas version is much easier for a beginner as they are less likely to plane everything convex (not putting enough pressure on the start of the cut at the toe).

I don't put a radius on my plane as much as I sharpely relieve the corners using the veritas jig so as not to leave tracks. When finely set, you can plane a board with a straight blade without leaving tracks. I love my old planes, but don't have the time to invest in getting them squared away. That can be a hobby all by itself.

 

[BradNaylor]

Given that most people prepare their wood on machines these days, I reckon the only planes you need are a smoothing plane and a block plane.

Mine are old Stanleys and Records I bought years ago second hand. They're fine. I've never tried one of these new-fangled planes but I doubt that one would replace a Domino at the top of my 'wish list'!

Dan