Advice on transitional planes

[Master-of-None]

I've got an itch to try a transitional plane, maybe a smoother or even a jack plane size.
Anyone out there has some experience with these? Which brands, which models, which sizes to keep an eye out for?
Thanks

[GeorgeV]

I picked up a No.26 for $20, cleaned it up an sharpened the blade and it produces shavings of 1/thousanth. I am happy with it and just wanted to try a transitional.

Is it any better than my Bailey's? I don't see any difference, but at least I gave it a try at an affordable price. The No.26 is generally available without a discouraging price tag.

[Admiral]

Many of the transitionals I see have been trued up so many times that the soles are quite thin, resulting in very wide mouths; when buying, try and avoid them, or if it is in otherwise good shape, you can try re-soling by laminating on some extra wood; I did that once with a smoother and it worked ok, I used hard maple. I've often wondered how much work it would take to get a new piece of beech, or hard maple, and make a new wooden body.

Otherwise, if found in workable condition, they are very usable planes. Sharp iron, sharp iron, sharp iron . . . cannot be repeated too much.

[Blacky's Boy]

I have a bunch of transitionals that I use on occasion. My favorite is a No32 Jointer that I repaired and added an Apple sole to.



Because it's wooden, I can throw that thing around nearly twice as long as I could a No 7 or 8 before my arms give out.

[MikeS.]

Transitional and wooden bodied planes are very nice if you are working green wood as they don't rust or leave black marks. transitionals also make excellent fore planes where a wide mouth is a benefit.

[bridger]

Get the size you need the most
A transitional jack was my main plane for a bunch of years.

[Carl Grover]

I bought a transitional at a flea for $5. After I cleaned it up I realized I hated the tote and knob on it. Both were very small, especially the tote. Made it difficult to use and I don't have really large paws. So I made a new set and it was more comfortable. It's kind of fun and wooden planes give off that slightly burnt smell in use which you don't get with metal bodies. They also sound better.



carl

[WoodTinker]

There is a recent article in Wood magazine (Oct 2015) taking the frog, iron, & cap-iron from a transitional and making a whole new body out of wood. Looks like an infill, but without the metal exterior.

[Scott W]

WoodTinker said:

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There is a recent article in Wood magazine (Oct 2015) taking the frog, iron, & cap-iron from a transitional and making a whole new body out of wood. Looks like an infill, but without the metal exterior.

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Looks Iike a marples. Interesting.

[Rob Young]

WoodTinker said:

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There is a recent article in Wood magazine (Oct 2015) taking the frog, iron, & cap-iron from a transitional and making a whole new body out of wood. Looks like an infill, but without the metal exterior.

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https://paulsellers.com/2015/03/making-a...ied-plane/
http://www.leevalley.com/US/newsletters/...ection.htm
http://www.handplane.com/44/marples-pref...ing-plane/