# What is your FAVORITE Hand Plane?



## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Sort of like handplanes of your dreams, except this has to be something you ACTUALLY OWN.

DO:
+Post a description, or photo, or both.
+Pick a favorite ONE! (no wishy-washy "I like them all" business).
+Wait until you get your new favorite for Xmas, if you want to…or don't, then you can post one now, and another in a few days.

DON'T:
-Post multiple planes…Just make a decision!
-Use a post just to say, "I could never choose."

HERE'S MINE:










I briefly considered my "new" Type 4 Stanley No. 3…but this one gets way more use. It is an Ohio Tools 22" try/jointer plane with a really thick wedge-shaped iron. Sharpened with a gentle camber, It handles jointing edges and flattening faces easily…and a little work on the wedge means it now adjusts easily both forward and backwards with hammer taps. Plus It has a great patina!


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

A Bedrock #2 that was my grandfather's. That might be my favorite tool in the whole shop, not must my favorite hand plane.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Picking just one of my planes is hard, since there are various things I like about different ones, but picking my favorite to use is not, so we'll go that way.

This Type 4 Bedrock 606 was a restoration project and is the most used plane in my shop.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Nothing fancy for me, I'd have to go my 60 1/2 Stanley low angle block plane that I bought new back in the 70's. It is the one I've had the longest and seem to use the most. It's like an old friend, I did upgrade the iron to a Hock and now I get a little more time between sharpenings.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

A FrankenBailey#5 jack plane. Handles were remade from Walnut to fit MY hands. Iron is a new Buck brothers from home depot that i sharpened up. Will even do end grain!









Bailey made the base casting, well it was cast by Stanley. Frog and chip breaker, I think came from a Stanley/Victor parts plane. Nice comfy jack of all trades plane. Will do jack plane work, smooth plane work and even shooting board stuff.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

I think mine is still my WoodRiver #6. Even after buying some Veritas and Lie-Nielsen planes, I still always reach for this Chinese-made fore plane… it just works really well and is the perfect size for most of my planing tasks:


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

My favorite plane is, funnily enough, my newest. Veritas double convex squirrel tail.


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## racerglen (Oct 15, 2010)

Got one of those Bill, they're a neat little guy aren't they ..


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## knockknock (Jun 13, 2012)

My favorite is my Veritas left skew block plane. I love how the skewed low angle blade shaves wood.


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## FatherHooligan (Mar 27, 2008)

Hands down my Veritas low angle block plane.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)




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## Thrakintosh (Feb 1, 2008)

The LN 62. Versatile, cooperative, it can almost do it all. I've got three blades with differing bevels that I change when i need to configure it for a different job. LOVE it.


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## alohafromberkeley (Oct 26, 2011)

Sorry don't have a camera- but my favorite plane is the #78 I got from Mauricio. It was a gift from the heart with no strings attached….can't get any better than that….


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## richardwootton (Jan 17, 2013)

Don, what I wouldn't give to have one of your infills. Absolutely gorgeous.

I'd have to say my favorite plane would be my flat sided Bedrock 605 with a sweetheart blade. It's definitely the one that I reach for most often.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

The plane I like to use the most is a Record #05-1/2. The plane I like to show off the most is a Bailey 5-1/4 Type 13.


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## JohnChung (Sep 20, 2012)

My most used and favourite hand plane is Stanley #4. Next comes LV LAJ when the job requires various 
blade configuration.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

This is my other favorite, the DX60. My 2nd newest. I read about these for years and thought it was all hype. How good can they really be? A mate in seismic exploration gave me his for 6 weeks….I didn't want to give it back!










PS.. I've ordered a new Harold & Saxon plane iron to use in my Stanley #6 and #7 and an H&S iron for my Stanley 151 spokeshave that I have ground double convex for rough shaping the inside of archtop guitars.


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## Wolfdaddy (May 18, 2013)

I don't have very many planes, but my favorite that I own is a Bailey #3 that was my dad's and I think may have been my Grandpa's before that. It's been getting more use since I've been on LJs.










These shavings were made with a dull iron. I've since put a slightly better edge on it


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## mking1 (Jan 11, 2011)

LN #4 with 55 deg frog


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

The planes I use the most are the ones that I hand scraped to a master reference to a flatness of .0002".
Can take considerable time, but well worth it.


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## 12strings (Nov 15, 2011)

Sounds like it unbob…I think it took me about 5-10 minutes to flatten my wooden try plane.

Thanks for all the replies…I'm definitely now wanting one of those little squirrel tail planes, and you've got me wondering if I need a premium block plane…the one I have now is nothing special.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

unbob, could you explain a bit about " hands craped to a master reference"?


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## unbob (Mar 10, 2013)

On the reference I mentioned, I am using one of three Brown & Sharpe 36" cast iron Master straight edges.
I have 3 of that size, as it takes three to work off each other with touch up scraping "on the straight edges themselves" to keep them true.
I have these straight edges to maintain the ways on grinding machines, and other equipment.
A less expensive reference would be a granite surface plate.
I prefer to use the cast iron references, as its easier to apply dye to, and keep clean then granite.

I work it like this, apply a thin coat of Prussian blue dye to the reference, slide the reference across the planes sole. The high spots on the plane will catch the dye, then using a carbide scraping tool work down those spots until an even pattern is produced after repeated applications.

Most all the cast iron planes I have, 18 of them are out .015" or more. To facilitate more reasonable progress, I have used milling, and machine grinding the soles. Only to find due to the shapes, and variable thickness of the casings, machining processes tend to add stress and still not getting them flat.
The best I found for me is a 14" Nicholson Magicut file, working the sole to more reasonable flatness, then finish scrape them.

What got me on to this was, a friend sprung for a set of LN planes, after trying those, I realized I had severe problems with the planes I have, and the old planes my friend gave me. He was though with old planes.
I started experimenting with two #8 size, one a Stanley type 7, the other an early Diamond Edge. The DE plane worked better then the Stanley. The Stanley was lumpy and had a twist. I began working on the Stanley #8, and noticing improvement as I got it more true. Then the Stanley was a better plane then the DE. I followed up reworking the DE plane. The results, both of those old planes seem to work the same, one is not better then the other.

My view on this is, the flatter the better, but its not an easy task. When I see an old plane for $15 now, I think its worth $5 due to the time it takes to correct.
Sanding plane soles will not get them flat, rolls up the edges, may improve them to some degree however.


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## Texcaster (Oct 26, 2013)

Thanks Bob, quite a bit to think about now.


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## 489tad (Feb 26, 2010)

The one LukieB sent me from the plane swap. He certainly knows how to sharpen an iron. Sweet!


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## BigRedKnothead (Dec 21, 2012)

LN 4 1/2. Straight buddah.


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## lateralus819 (Mar 24, 2013)

Probably my #6 i picked up at a flea market. Brought it to DonW for a tuneup and a new knob and tote. It just feels like a high class plane. Works exceptionally well too. On ANY wood. It's amazing..


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## theoldfart (Sep 9, 2011)

At the moment it's a 40 1/2 Stanley SW Scrub









Working on rough sawn red and white oak prepping it for a bench top and it takes stock off in a hurry.
As soon as I'm done it'll probably be a type 9 # 8 I got from Lukie B!


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## TheTurtleCarpenter (Jun 25, 2015)

The first one I bought back in 1980, a KK 5 with the nicest feeling rosewood totes I've come across. It also has nickel tote screws, a chip out of the front right side and a good hang hole in the back sole but it's my favorite !


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## TheTurtleCarpenter (Jun 25, 2015)

Don W, that infill is Awesome, I see you posted without a comment, It needs None.!


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I like my LN rabbet block plane.


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## mramseyISU (Mar 3, 2014)

Here's my favorite. It's a No 4 Bailey I picked up in an antique shop in Quincy Illinois the day my sister got married. My wife was a bridesmaid so while the girls did their thing during the day I went rust hunting. I don't remember what type it is but I think it's a pre-war non sweetheart. I had to epoxy the tote back together and I had to drill out and re-tap for the knob. It's not a collector it's a worker.


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## CB_Cohick (Dec 22, 2014)

The current favorite is my Stanley 60 1/2.


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## SignWave (Feb 2, 2010)

Cheap #4 gets the most use. Works fine but required a bunch of work. Maybe someday I'll get a nice #4 and like it even more.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

With new acquisitions and shop-made planes, I would like to change my answer from when the thread started almost two years ago. The current favorite, though not the most used, is my shop-made shooting plane


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## daddywoofdawg (Feb 1, 2014)

Don W,enough said!If a picture Is worth a thousand word that's a book right there!


> - Don W


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## derekcohen (Jul 15, 2007)

Let's see if anyone knows what this is …. 










Regards from Perth

Derek


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Derek, you have an original Krenov, made by the man himself?


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## derekcohen (Jul 15, 2007)

Yep.










Regards from Perth

Derek


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## dbray45 (Oct 19, 2010)

All of them


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## BLarge (Aug 29, 2011)

> The LN 62. Versatile, cooperative, it can almost do it all. I ve got three blades with differing bevels that I change when i need to configure it for a different job. LOVE it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I second the 62- I have 2 blades honed for different uses, super fast to pop one in and out. I also use this plane to shoot end grain. Fabulous tool that does almost everything I need to do outside of my block plane.


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## Ocelot (Mar 6, 2011)

I'm not going to vote yet, but I noticed that 2 or 3 of you chose a No 6, which was surprising. No 6's go dirt cheap on ebay. They don't seem to get much respect. I've got 4 of 'em and like 'em a lot. Why get a 5 1/2 when you've got a 6 (unless you want one of those old 2 1/4" ones)?

Right now, if I just want to plane something, I'd start with one of those.


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## jmartel (Jul 6, 2012)

I like my #6 as well, Ocelot. But then again, I haven't gotten my #8 up and running yet.

My favorite probably has to be my Veritas Router Plane. Not sure why, but I just really like using it.


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## kiyoshigawa (Aug 30, 2013)

It's a tough call, but my first plane, and probably the plane I use the most is my Millers Falls #90. It's been serving me well for over 2 years now.










I've been using it since I tried to square my very first piece of wood. It may have taken me a while longer than it would have today, and about half the block of rosewood scrap a friend gave me, but it got the job done.










It has served me well on every project since. I'm expecting to be using it for the rest of my life.


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## paratrooper34 (Apr 27, 2010)

I am a big fan of my Stanley 45. It does so many things and because of that, I always look forward to dragging it out and giving it a workout.


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