Advice on Hand Planes

Planes are really simple tools, as long as the blade is sharp and the sole is flat they all work the same. The only things that separate the high and low end are fit and finish. Something like a Veritas plane will have a beautiful finish on the metal, buttery smooth adjustment mechanics and be ergonomically fantastic, whereas a Harbor Freight special will look like crap, be a touch more of a pain to adjust and might require a bit of TLC to clean up the metal and flatten the sole. Still though, a bit of work and the HF plane will preform just as well as the Veritas.

One thing to note, thats the plane itself, NOT the blade. The higher cost planes are more likely to come with a quality blade, a lower cost plane is more likely to have a crappy blade. Not really something to stress over though, a place like Hock Tools can get you set up for ~$40. So you figure, $20 for a cheap plane, $40 for a blade, $10 for some sandpaper to flatten the sole and you only come in at $70, bout $130 cheaper than a fancy one, and itll work just the same.

If you really want to have some fun, try making one:
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f13/making-wood-bodied-block-plane-146649/

Once you get your plane flat, and your iron sharp, it should work pretty well. Fettling a plane takes some getting used to so practice on some scrap wood. I have several planes by Stanley, a #4 and #7, a Stanley Defiance #4 and #5, as well as a Stanley 12½ veneer scraper and a 12-151 spokeshave. I converted the Defiance #4 into a scrub plane. Having said all that, there's pretty much nothing the #5 and #7 can do that the #4 can't also do. The #4 is pretty much a shorter Jack and is so versatile that its what I do 95-99% of everything I do, which is also furniture making.

Mainly I would ask myself, does it do what you need it to do, and are you happy using it? If yes, then great! When I started out a few years ago, my first plane was the Defiance #4. It wasnt as easy to adjust as non-Defiance but it was $20 at an antique shop. The plane iron has to be adjusted with the tap of a hammer but when adjusted, it worked as well as my (newer to me but about 35 years older) other #4. For furniture making, rather than shell out for other planes, I'd suggest getting your hands on a new Stanley spokeshave like mine the 12-151. It'll run around $15-20 on Amazon and then keep an eye out for a router plane.

Just to add, I'd also suggest you check out Paul Sellers on YouTube. He does almost everything with just a #4.

All the best,
Aaron

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