What are the different types of hand planes?

Types of Hand Planes

• Block Planes. Measuring around 150mm in length, block planes are sized to be used with one hand and excel at making fine finishing cuts and trimming end grain.
• Smoothing Planes.
• Jack Planes.
• Fore Planes.
• Jointer Planes.
• Shoulder Planes.
• Bull Nose Planes.
• Rabbet Planes.

What type of plane is a block?

Block planes come in two varieties: standard, with a blade pitched at 20 degrees, and low-angle, with a 12-degree pitch.

What do Stanley plane numbers mean?

The numbering system was devised about one hundred years ago at the Stanley Rule and Level Company to differentiate the size and types of planes they made. The numbers 1 to 8 simply refer to different lengths of plane with #1 being (very) short and #8 being pretty long.

What is a Stanley No 5 plane used for?

The Venerable Bench Plane Model The first plane to touch the wood is called the fore or jack plane. It’s typically 12″ to 20″ long, and is used to hog off material. In the Stanley numbering system, this would be the No. 5 (called a jack) and the No.

Which hand plane should I buy first?

Your first purchases should be a low-angle block plane and a shoulder plane, above. Both help you put a refining touch on the less-than-perfect cuts produced by your power tools.

Can you smooth with a block plane?

long, a block plane is designed to be used with one hand, and it can fit easily inside a tool pouch. For projects such as cabinets, these small planes have a variety of uses: chamfering, cutting end grain, leveling corner joints, trimming miters, cleaning up saw cuts, and smoothing straight and curved edges.

What plane should I buy first?

Your first purchases should be a low-angle block plane and a shoulder plane, above. Both help you put a refining touch on the less-than-perfect cuts produced by your power tools. For example, with a few strokes, a finely tuned low-angle block plane shaves burn marks or fuzz off end grain that saw blades leave behind.

How big is a number 4 plane?

The #4 plane, which is 9 inches (230 mm) in length, is the most common smoothing plane in use. Historically wooden smoothing planes in the United States have typically been 7 to 9 inches (180 to 230 mm) long with irons 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 inches (38 to 64 mm) wide.

What is a number 4 hand plane?

4 Bench Plane. The No. 4 smoothing plane is historically the most common size. It is an excellent balance of sole length and cutter width to be useful for typical furniture parts.

How long is a Stanley No 5 plane?

around 35.5cm
A #5 jack is excellent for luthier work and will straighten and thin all of your stock for fronts, backs and sides and it will do that within thousandths of an inch as needed. The jack plane measures around 35.5cm (14”) long and has an overall width of 64mm (2 1/2”).

What kind of Block planes did Stanley make?

Stanley no. 9-1/2 and no. 16 c. 1904-08 No. 9-1/2 – 6 inches long and standard angle, this was Stanley’s most successful block plane. Featuring a hooded lever cap, lateral adjustment lever, iron depth adjustment, and an adjustable throat, this plane set the standard for the industry.

What’s the difference between a 9 and a 15 Stanley Block?

No. 16 – 6 inches long and standard angle, this plane was identical to the no. 9-1/2 except it had a nickel plated lever cap whereas the no. 9-1/2’s cap was japanned. No. 17 – 7 inches long and standard angle, this plane is otherwise identical to the no. 15 except it had a nickel plated lever cap whereas the no. 15’s cap was japanned.

How big is the Stanley low angle plane?

No. 203 – 5-1/2 inches long and standard angle, this plane featured the same hooded lever cap found on the 9-1/2 series, a screw type depth adjustment similar to the low angle blocks, and a wooden front knob. No. 220 – 7 inches long and standard angle, this plane is otherwise identical to the no. 203 but was far more popular.

Where can I find a Stanley plane type?

There are other good sites for dating stanley planes (like Patrick’s Blood and Gore), but I’ve tried to make my stanley plane type study the most clear and understandable resource, with plenty of photos to help you understand what you’re looking for. You can also download my free Stanley plane identification PDF chart here.