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RWW 127 Get Hand Planes

10 comments
13 years ago
Hand Planing     Hand Tools     Videos

So Get Woodworking week is here and I have been saving this post for a while for just such an occasion…

Getting Started with Hand Planes

The popularity of hand tools in recent years is truly staggering. Just look at the rising costs of rusty old iron in antique stores or look at the number of “boutique” dealers to have sprung to life to get a feel for this phenomenon. Both of these are indicators of increased demand for hand tool and probably the most sought after is the hand plane. Nothing embodies the nostalgia of traditional woodworking like the hand plane and when someone decides to “get into” hand tools the hand plane is the first place they start. With so many models and makers around this quest quickly becomes confusing.

I put this video together to give a very high level overview of where to start when looking at adding hand planes to your woodworking tool kit. There are many opinions, methods, and schools of thought on this and no way I can cover them all but here is a quick look of the basics.

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Dave P.

Nice video! I just received my first bench plane in the mail; an old eBay Stanley No.5! The No. 4 is on the way…my next one will be a new jointer plane or a used one from a reliable source that can tell me the sole is flat. And I need a backsaw, and need to sharpen the panel saws…oh wait, I NEED a router plane, too!? Awesome!

One of these days I’ll get my Hand Tool School membership in the mail, too!

Thanks for the great podcast and good advice!

Alex

This is so precisely what I needed to know today (before I went out and recklessly bought planes with too little knowledge of what I was doing), it’s like you’re psychic. Thank you!

Dean

I greatly appreciate your posting this wonderful video Shannon. Up until your video all I would hear as a recommendation for a first hand plane purchase is the block plane. I think this recommendation was more for the power tool user than someone getting into predominately hand tool woodworking. Then I started to hear that one should get a #5 hand plane as their first plane. This made a little more sense. Thanks to your video, I see the logic in getting a #4 smoother first. Thank you for your generosity in sharing so much useful information. Your going to convince me yet to sign up for your hand tool school.

Andy

Shannon, Great video. Succinct and very informative.

I’m still relatively new to handplanes, but I have already accumulated most of the knowledge you presented. The big difference is that I had to spend hours and hours reading different books/sites and watching videos (not that I mind looking at woodworking stuff, mind you!). This was the perfect introduction for someone about to take the leap – something I wish I had about a year ago! Thanks and nice work!

    Shannon

    LOL sorry to be a year late for you Andy! I’m glad to hear you say this because I was hesitant to put this out thinking it might be too basic and result in a general “duh!” reaction. The fact that the video is being praised so widely across various channels reminds me that what is basic to some is gold to others. Definitely a point worth remembering.

Henrie Schumacher

Dear Shannon,

Thank you VERY much for you great video(s).
I’m in the same boat as Andy, new to hand planes, therefore was your last video very instructive for me.
But actually I would like to make a step back, preparing a new hand plane.
I have a new block plane and a #4 smoothing plane from the same factory as the Woodriver from Woodcraft.
It would be great if you could make a video or if you knew a good video that explains how to make a new hand plane
ready for its first use, the first sharping method for a new hand plane.

I want to thank you for all the work you do for us woodworker all over the world

Thank you very much, from a learning woodworker from the Netherlands.

Henrie (Schummie)

Sorry for my English

    Shannon

    Schummie, have you seen the out of the box setup podcast I did a while ago on a WoodRiver plane? That may help you. There isn’t much to do with the better manufactured planes. You question made me realize that I have not done a restore and set up video on planes and I’ll add that to the list. There are lots of great articles on the net if you google restoring a hand plane, but I’m happy to take on the challenge too.

Chad The Tool Guy

The perfect video at the perfect time. Just picked up my first two good hand planes this weekend. Thanks for all the content Shannon.

Aaron Gough

Great intro, thank-you! I’ve just started making furniture, and given that I am working mostly with well-milled boards I was trying to work out which planes to buy… This video made things a lot clearer!

Thanks!

Chuck M

is that a Scioto Works wooden plane? I recently got 2 Scioto planes and a New York Tool Co plane that were my great grandpa’s.