First Plane Purchase

[SCMedLion]

I don't see your location in your profile, but one of the best t things you could do is see if any hand tool forum members are local.  I am sure they would love to give you a tour of their fleet of planes, tell you the pros and cons of their own past choices, and let you "try before you buy."

[hbmcc]

I have a fairly (very) helpful Woodcraft store I visit in Seattle. There were several rehabbed Stanleys and a sample of every boxed plane they sell--Wood River, dominant. They are there for testing. Do it at your store. The bench they had was a junky toy, so conditions are never ideal. I bought and returned all the new ones, but left with a replacement blade for a Stanley. 

I ordered and returned two or three versions from Lee Valley before settling on one. I have three or four block planes but use only two; the LN 102, and a strange one with Millers Falls base. The dust catcher blocks are Stanley.

The issue with shopping for a plane is you need a good one to compare to. I had a Lee Valley LAS with qwerks that bothered. The light weight was to help with bad shoulders, but that lack of mass and a bad tote angle (too vertical) combined to force far more leverage from arms and upper trunk, exacerbating shoulder and arm pain. The tote can be rebuilt, but I have a good bevel down now in the LN #4. When I get off my lazy bottom the LAS (with several irons) will be posted downstairs. It's a good tool, but won't work for me with my disabilities.

If you have a machine to surface wood, consider a hand tool as a final surfacer, or quick alternative for small projects. He-men types who throw away the key, or machine, are simply gluttons for punishment. I can live with noise--and, be vindictive to neighbors with yappy rats at 5 am/ll pm when I fire up at 6 am to bring down 2-bys and lots of goods. I load up and leave my box planer and vac screaming while looking for more wood. 

[Tynyyn]

Terry, 
Had to try those diamond plates at that price.  Hopefully they aren't radioactive or something

on edit: they might be here sometime between Jan 2 and Feb 22!  So I might forget I ordered them

Don't get discouraged on the shipping times.  The Chinese seller gave me a tracking number and I was able to track it to an ISC in NYC.  It sat there for a couple of weeks and then all of the sudden it appeared in my mailbox.  It took about three weeks.  Wrapped in bubble wrap and each plate had a protective clear plastic envelope it was slipped in.  Overall I am very impressed with the plates.  Each has a lot of heft and are dead flat.

[Adnick]

Highly recommend-- "TRADITIONAL WOODWORKING HANDTOOLS" by Graham Blackburn

Simple, straightforward and well researched, one of my very favorite wood working books and I own all the others that have been recommended previously.

For a more in depth read without going back a century or so, recommend "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FURNITURE MAKING" by Earnest Joyce, revised and expanded on by Alan Peters.....

Best of luck,
Andy

[Tom in Tipp ℗]

This is a short (5 mins) video from FWW.  Phillip Lowe answers the question with short demos of each of the 3 planes he feels should be among the first to buy.  

http://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/11/0...handplanes

<edit> I should add there are 8 videos on different plane use at that page

[MattP]

Taunton Press released a collection of articles from Fine Woodworking in book form called "Working with Handplanes." It was back in 2005, so it won't have the modern information on the chipbreaker placement someone mentioned above. But it has good articles dealing with specific issues ranging from which planes to buy first to things like "Flattening Wide Panels by Hand." I'm glad I bought it.