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Posts: 597
Joined: Jan. 14 2007
From: York, England
What Planes to buy?
I've decided to upgrade my planes because mine are old and of poor quality and leave me with too much scraping to finish soundboards and backs/sides. I have a Stanley smoothing plane and a small block plane and i use cabinet scrapers to achieve a fine finish. It works, but I'm sure there are better quality tools out there. Can anyone recommend a good combination of planes and/or scrapers for luthiery? What do you use?
Maybe there is no need to replace your old planes if you make some finetuning of their different parts. You can try to true the sole and the chip breaker for example.
My favorite plane is an old Stanley low angle block plane. It belonged to my father and he bought it used. I suspect it was made in the 1920's or earlier. The plane irons were thicker in the old planes which makes them easier to sharpen and less likely to chatter. You can find planes like this on ebay. Don't waste your money on those expensive new ones. I consider the early Bailey and Stanley planes to be unsurpassed in quality but as Per says you might have to put a little work into restoring and tuning them.
By the way a couple of years ago I bought a brand new set of Stanley chisels. Nothing fancy just the yellow handled variety made in USA. They are a remarkably good product. Well balanced, durable and fit my hand well. When they require shapening which isn't often it takes no more than a minute or two to bring them back to razor sharpness. I test them by shaving the hair off my arm.
Maybe you're right and i could probably improve my block plane with a little effort.
But my bench plane is an old Stanley 'Acorn' type. I think this was a budget model and I'm pretty sure i'm going to pay the money for a good Clifton or Veritas bench plane.
I'm not convinced i need a scraper plane? Ordinary cabinet scrapers are simple and, often, simple is best?
I have a Lie Nielsen and a Clifton bench plane. I actually prefer the Clifton but of course it is only a matter of taste since both really are superb products.
Tools are overrated. I own a TON of tools, and while I'm not a luthier I have a very complete shop.
What I have found is that you can buy every expensive gadget/gizmo known to man in the quest to find the right tool, but in the end it will filter down to the tools you like to use, and that feel comfortable.
I have found that some of my best tools, are the least expensive pieces of junk you can buy, what makes them good is that I spent the time to set them up so they would work well. I think tool setup is more important than the $$$ spent on them.
Cutting tools, like chisel's and knives, sometimes lesser quality steel is better because it sharpens more easily ... Knowing how to sharpen a blade, is more valuable than owning the finest steel ever produced ... as well. Take for example our kitchen knives at home. The knife we use more than any other is a cheap malaysian knife picked up in chinatown for about $3. It dulls quickly but it hones to razor sharpness in about 2 seconds with absolutely zero effort. I'm not just talking about a little sharp, but razor sharp.
Everyone in this thread is right. I work in a cabinet shop, am an avid tool collector and have a lot of gear (also often known as mess). Expensive tools are nice to have, but aren't neccessary to get results. My beater Stanley jack plane can be tuned to do most of what I need and I'm less worried about taking it out of my home shop than my Lie-Nielsen and Veritas planes. If you're considering spending money on plane upgrades, though, maybe all you need is a better iron for the one you've got. Since you're looking there anyway leevalley.com sells Hock blades that hold a smart edge and are thicker like old irons. They also sell (or used to sell) a scraper insert that fit a regular smothing plane.
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