Recommendations for hand planes

[luckyGoose]

Hi,

I'm looking for a good block plane and a general purpose plane (maybe a no#5 jack). I did look up Lie Nielson planes but they're too expensive for my budget right now. Does anyone have recommendations for planes that won't break the bank?

Thanks,
Yogi

 

[Phil S]

Take a look at the Hock Block Plane Kit from Ron Hock. Easy build, great blade, simple to adjust. It is my go to block plane. Retails for about $80 and can be built in an evening. You can stop by my shop in NE Raleigh and test drive one.
I also have a Lie Neilsen skew block plane and a Stanley Sweetheart you can try

 

[PappiJoe]

@luckyGoose I will be posting a couple of planes on ebay soon: a #110 block plane, a #4, and a #5. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[luckyGoose]

Thanks @Phil S, I have a regular 9-5 job but I could swing by on the weekend if your shop is open.

@PappiJoe Thanks, definitely interested. Please let me know when you post.

 

[Raymond]

Take a one hour trip from your location to Ed's Tool Shop right above the Woodwright's School, Hillsboro St, Pittsboro, NC 27312

You will need to take a drool towel with you.

 

[zapdafish]

If you email Ed with your original post he would be able to give you several options to choose from. I've ordered a few things from him before based on his recommendation and they all worked out. But best is to go there and drool abit first, lol.

Take a one hour trip from your location to Ed's Tool Shop right above the Woodwright's School, Hillsboro St, Pittsboro, NC 27312

You will need to take a drool towel with you.

 

[Gofor]

For a block plane, the $35 Stanley 12-960 Low Angle Bailey 6" doesn't take too much fettling and does a good job. You will have to spend some time on the back of the blade as well as give it a good honing, but once done, works well. I also had to do a minor bit of smoothing the sides of the adjustable mouth plate to get it to slide smoothly, but all in all, a decent plane for the price. I don't remember if I smoothed the sole or not. It is my "go to" block plane for most projects. The adjustable mouth makes it easily to set for anything from fine work relieving an edge to leveling out dowels or dove tail ends.

I bought mine at Lowes, but see that they only carry the Kobalt line now. Don't have any experience with them. Home Depot does show the 12-960 in their inventory.

 

[Roy G]

Last time I went to Klinspor's in Cary they had a nice selection of planes (old ones). Stanleys and Records are usually there.

Roy G

 

[luckyGoose]

Thanks all! I do have a 7 month old baby at home so long trips need to be planned, but I'm definitely going to take a trip to Ed's shop. Good news is, its 30 minutes from work, so I could finagle a long lunch on a friday or something and set something up with Ed.
I'll also check out Klingspor as well, never been there.

 

[Jeff]

Thanks all! I do have a 7 month old baby at home so long trips need to be planned, but I'm definitely going to take a trip to Ed's shop. Good news is, its 30 minutes from work, so I could finagle a long lunch on a friday or something and set something up with Ed.
I'll also check out Klingspor as well, never been there.

Contact Ed to make sure that he'll be at the shop when you plan to go. He's not there all the time so you can't just drop by on your lunch break.

edlebetkin@gmail.com

 

[luckyGoose]

Contact Ed to make sure that he'll be at the shop when you plan to go. He's not there all the time so you can't just drop by on your lunch break.

edlebetkin@gmail.com

Absolutely. That's what I meant when I said I'd set something up with Ed. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[luckyGoose]

I managed to find an old bailey stanley #5 with a chipped blade while cleaning up the shop. I'm going to replace the blade and I should be good to go
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[BWhitney]

Post pictures of the #5 with empahsis on the blade. While replacement blades better than the original are available, sometimes the blade only needs resharpening.

 

[RedBeard]

There is a guy I’ve bought 3 different planes from in Rolesville. His name is Chris Black. He posts all his stuff on Craigslist. He buys old and refurbishes them. He worked at Highland woodworking and wrote some articles for their website years ago. Super nice guy and prices are pretty reasonable. He doesn’t stock a bunch of stuff so it’s hit or miss on if he has specifically what you’re looking for. If I’m looking for something specific I just text him and ask if he has any of that item coming up in the near future. Here is a link to the items he currently has for sale on Craigslist.

https://raleigh.craigslist.org/search/sss?userid=59126874