Back in early 70’s my school woodworking classes provided the whole class with Stanley 5’s for general work, there were a handful of 4’s for finer finishing and a couple of 8’s with shooting boards for jointing or end grain planing. A big stack of old wooden planes we never got to use were in the store room. 2/3 staff had missing fingers from the circular saw!

I accidentally ended up with both of these. I kept bidding on used planes on eBay, only to be outbid at the end. So I started bidding on multiples. Ended up winning the bid on a Stanley #4 and a Record #5. Best thing that could have happened. I use as you described here. The Stanley is tuned to take paper thin shavings and leaves a beautiful finish. The Record does everything else. I added a Veritas low angle block plane and I’m very content.

@starshot5172

Жыл бұрын

How much did you end up paying for them? The No. 5 is up for sale here for around 100 euros in general

@22busy43

Жыл бұрын

@@starshot5172 I think I paid in the $50 range for each of them. There was nothing special about them from a collectors standpoint. Probably dated in the 70s, which are not that sought after.

@peterdickason9147

Жыл бұрын

well, score ;)

@peterdickason9147

Жыл бұрын

I was bidding on a #3 and I was sitting there watching it come down to the wire. I was not about to get sniped out of a #3 for only 35 bucks. After all the nonsense I paid $47 which I still thought was a good deal. The only bummer is that he had already restored it to tip-top condition which took my fun away. lol

@newbluerugby

7 ай бұрын

What the difference between using this & a sander? I understand a table planner. & the handheld ones to take large pieces off, but if it’s just paper thin why not just sand?

I’m still enjoying the Grizzly hand planes I got at your recommendation. I’d really like to know if their new premium bedrock style options are worth the step up in price as an alternative to Woodriver or the premium companies though. They currently have a 4, 5, and 6 in the bedrock style. Any plans on reviewing one of those?

A 62 is also nice. Very long, bevel up, does everything

I would tell them nice try. Who ever heard of buying one plane.

I inherited a 5 1/2 corrugated plane from my grandfather. I like it more than my other planes.

I think you need both. If you are using a very accurate jack for foreplaning, it's much easier to pull out a 20 dollar smoother than trying to put in a new set of blades and fiddle with everything. If you are using a jack for smoothing, your premise is that you've already done the foreplaning with something equally as accurate. You probably can get away with either, but get both.

If one can afford it, I'll argue low angle n5 is even better for beginner: no cap iron, easy mouth opening setup.

My low angle jack is the one I reach for 99 percent of the time.

@allanblount4956

Жыл бұрын

I'd really like a low angle jack, I've thought about attempting to build one, you know that 8th day of the week called "someday"😊

@insanecomicdude

Жыл бұрын

@@allanblount4956 well if you keep putting it off, the modern Stanley sweetheart one is really great.

Where do you suggest shopping for a good hand plane?

I agree, but I would keep an eye out for a decent stanley bedrock plane. Seems standard stanley planes are more often beat up and need a lot of work to get fine-tuned. Or I am a snob. Haha

thanks for the review

Depending on where you are on this earth the one is easier found than the other, grab it if condition and price are agreeable. Don´t let a nr 3 or one of the halves slide if it is within budget. Yes, both is better, a combination deal can be very nice.

I own two no. 5 Jack plane's and two no. 4 smoothing plane's. I absolutely love them both equally, but I would have to say my no. 4 likes me more then the no. 5 lol🤣

Hey Rex, would you ever sell me one of your jointer planes that you rarely use? 😉

Thank you Sir.🎉

What about the 5 1/2?? Could that be even better?

@MintStiles

11 ай бұрын

Much heavier than 5 and rarer (read pricey) with no obvious benefits over a 6 if you are not finicky for another pound. Both are great foreplanes, but I think you will find a great 6 far easier than a medicore 5 1/2.

Great now i have to throw out my #4

W,R. 5.5

If I can't find a vintage one, should I get the Stanley sweetheart version? Or a clone from another manufacturer?

I see a Stanley Bailey no. 5, 14 inch bench plane sold for 53$. I dont think this is what you are talking about. How can I tell which Stanley no. 5 is the one you are talking about?

So, not the Stanley 55 then Rex? LOL.

Stanley bailey # 5 is only 50 something bucks. Is stanley today not stanley anymore?

Thanks for this, Rex. I just wondered... Wouldn't it be possible to make shoes which fit over a small plane to extend its footprint rather than have to buy more and more planes?

@RexKrueger

Жыл бұрын

It seems possible, but it's totally impractical. Buying one more plane is way less trouble.

@mafiacat88

Жыл бұрын

Speaking from someone who tried to do this (for space reasons); *not* worth it. I tried to extend the sole of one of those smoothing planes with a bit on the back and front-these would be bolted to the main body of the plane with some bars running in-line with it all, and could be removed. There were a TON of issues getting them flat, and keeping it flat, so most of the time it wasn't doing anything the plane wasn't doing on its own. Plus crap got lodged in the seam, and then it all had to be taken apart and reset anyway. AND it was shedloads of work for such a shoddy result-though I will admit my machining is...not great, so that didn't help. Then I considered a full-sized sole which could be added to the bottom, but decided against it because from a space perspective, that's just like keeping extra plane bodies and swapping the frog, which saves almost no space, and is again-too much work. So I just got a few more planes. They don't take up *that* much space, they aren't much money if you buy them used, and you can keep some for finishing which lets the blades stay sharp, cutting down on maintenance time.

not another plane lecture.

Good luck with only one plane. If your only working in hardwoods, and face/edge grains, then maybe you can get away with it if you're only going to be an entry level hobbyist. I have multiples forface/edge and end grain in both hard and softwoods, myself, in both metal and wood bodied planes. And I am only a hobbiest, not a serious furniture/cabinet maker.

I agree. But I still have a 3, a 4, a 5, a 6 and a 7. Why? Because!

Amen

This is good advice. But... In my own experience, don't obsess over a choice of planes. Concentrate on learning how to use what you already have properly. At which point, the differences won't matter quite so much. That said, after half a century, I of course have most of them. Including a couple of Japanese pull affairs, and a range of specialist planes, some of them ancient ahd wooden. At 80, I'm so often happy to simply pick them up and fondle them. Sad, or what?

how much

I found 2 #5's at a thrift store near me, the only planes I've been able to find. They wanted $49.95 each. One had no iron, chip breaker or cap and the other was complete but with a broken handle and the side of the body was broken from top to bottom. I tried to haggle and they said no. When I told them I wasn't going to pay that much for 2 broken planes they said if I bought the one they would let me have the other for half price. I left them there and ordered a new Stanley #4 for almost $10 less than their asking price for one of the broken ones. Planes are rare around here and I had to do what I had to do. Is there anything inherently wrong with new Stanley planes or anything that I need to look out for? Everything online only deals with vintage planes, I haven't seen anything about new ones really.

@davidgee1585

Жыл бұрын

You need to set it up right, there’s lots of videos showing this, making sure the sole is flat and the blade is correctly positioned and sharpened. Rare they are good to go, straight out of the box. Sure Rex has covered this and know that Paul Sellars has.

@Jason-jd1jv

Жыл бұрын

@@davidgee1585 Thanks for the reply. I actually did spend quite a while flattening the sole and scraping and sanding the mold lines off of the handle and knob. The back of the iron was dead flat but I didn't attempt sharpening yet. I want to wait until I get a guide to do that because I don't want to take a chance on changing the bevel then having to fix it later. I had to work on the chip breaker and the cap iron a little as well but not much. Is there anything hidden I should be looking for? I've watched countless videos on setting these up but they mostly deal with flattening and sharpening. Not much about tension on the screws or setting the mouth opening just right or things like that. They sometimes get mentioned but kind of glossed over. Sorry for the questions, I've never had a plane before and I had to get a new one and no one talks about new Stanley's, only vintage ones

Don’t take a chance on dulling your planer blade. Set them down on the side. Don’t forget use them one sanded wood either.

@roofermarc1

3 ай бұрын

What do mean. Not to use on sanded wood?