A very common question that we get asked is if I could have one plane what would it be?
And also we get asked a very similar question, is, I'm a beginner and I want one plane to
get started, what should it be?
Now the answer to both in my opinion is definitely a Jack plane.
It's, it's probably the generic option it's the Jack of all planes.
This is a No. 5 Stanley, just a Bailey's.
I spoke about it in the last video and you'll also notice if you watched that video that
I never did any work to the plane.
This is pretty much out of the box how it is.
I haven't flattened the sole or nothing.
Now this is definitely the plane that I would have and still to today I use this, this is
a very commonly used plane in my workshop.
And I would say that if I burglar turned up and robbed all me tools, but left me this
Jack I wouldn't be too upset because I could still get on just fine with that plane.
Just that one plane.
Now the reason I choose the Jack is, is it's length's very nice, particularly for a beginner
and also just as a versatile all-round user.
Something like this which is a jointer plane or a try plane it doesn't take a bloody brain
surgeon to realise that it's quite cumbersome.
You can sort of see the size of it on a small piece like that, it's a bit pointlessly cumbersome.
Something like this which is a smoother, is very, very useful handy plane, is very fast
and light, so you know it scores a lot of points there.
Now if I had a, if I was planning by machine, you know doing all my preparation by machine
this would be a great first plane because just for light dressing it's all you'll ever
need.
But I'm giving my recommendation on hand tool woodworking from start to finish so we've
got our sawn material, our sawn wood and we've got to prep all that, we've got to dress it
all.
This plane can do it all it can go right up to smoothing.
Now I would cheat a bit, I would want two irons if I could.
I could set it up if I only had one iron for a nice medium cut, and that would do a variety
of things.
But if I could I would have an iron like this which is a nice curve on it, a nice camber
on that.
That would be my roughing plane, iron should we say.
I would do all my roughing work with that, any sort of edge work that I needed to do,
and then I'd have a second iron.
Now this iron, I just nicked it out my smoothing plane so I've spent a lot more time on this
iron than I did with this, this was the iron that I keep in this plane.
And I'll tell you the truth I haven't even flattened the back of it.
I just rub it about a bit on the stone, never polish it and it works.
This iron, like I say it's out the smoothing plane, it's out of a number 4, I've give it
a considerable amount more work.
I have flattened the back spent a bit of time with the cap iron, and I normally polish the
edge when I sharpen, we'll go in to that later.
But I wanted to really show you how a plane that's truly had nothing done to it can work
material as atrocious as this.
Now I'm building a bit of a chair / commode in oak.
I've built one in pine as a prototype and I'm working on a oak version at the minute.
And I've got a load of old gate posts that were kicking about the yard, and they must
be over a hundred years old.
Great big thick things they're about 10" x 10", so I ripped them down on the bandsaw
and just to get enough legs for one chair took me two bloody bandsaw blades so it was
a bit gutting.
It's like a stone, old oak it goes like rock, it's real hard, and really knarly.
I'll show you, you might be able to see it, you can see how here, oh it's treating us
lovely, and then here it does this uy on us and comes right back at us.
I mean that's nearly vertical that, it continues like that all the way here and then it comes
back round again, it's doing all sorts round here.
But a plane like this you just, you'd think you'd have to have some sort of super smoother
specked plane but you know once you sort of, for having that second iron that's been worked
well I can jump from this which is, you know that's a nice shaving you can here there is
absolutely no sound of tear out, tear out you can actually hear it, I always hear it
before I see it.
You can just hear that tone change as it goes against that grain, but honestly there's nothing
there.
That is, that impresses me even now, it, you can see how the colour probably changes it's
very reflective here and here where we're going with the grain but as we go against
it it does dull it.
But no tear out, I could wax that.
And I'll show you in comparison now, I'll just whip this bugger out.
I'm gonna put this blade in it, this is the one I normally run in it this is just taking
shavings off as quick as we can.
It's not as coarse, I could set this up a hell of a lot coarser if I wanted to as well.
If I had these two irons going and only this plane I'd make this iron a lot coarser.
I'll back it off, that one's worn a lot more so I have to take it out, but, I'm not changing
anything on the mouth I can't because I'd have to strip the plane down to do that and
that would be impractical.
But it's just for having the different set ups.
See how that goes, I'll just wax it up.
I like to use a little candle for wax over oil and things, the only thing is I always
put them in my pocket I'm like bloody Willy Wonker when I go to the shop and I'm trying
to get a bit of loose shrapnel out to buy whatever it is I'm buying and I've got a candle
in there and a few gold coins.
Here we go look, now this is a nice general purpose shaving, oh.
It's shagged already, already it's knackered.
Let me take a few more so we can try and get the camera to see it, yes.
That's it.
So that would be fine, that would be absolutely fine if I'm trying to hog some material off.
Look at that, I hope you can see that, I always just wish I could get you here just to touch
it because you can really see it I mean that is absolutely, it brings tears to your eyes
if that was the surface you was leaving but as I showed you you know by switching that
iron over I've got a super smoother.
Now you imagine what this could do if I actually gave the plane some work, it you know, it
would be a phenomenal tool it really would.
So that's why that is my one and only plane.
I want to go back to the smoothing plane because I think it's quite important this, the difference
in how we're, what we're calling these planes is you know we're saying this small plane's
for smoothing and this long plane is for roughing work.
Well it's, I find it a little bit more than that.
I don't judge a plane's use on it's length as such, I judge it on how it's set up and
as we've mentioned with the cambered irons.
A Jack plane you want a nice cambered iron you want to be hogging that material off,
a smoother you want something much straighter for final cuts like we had in that plane earlier.
So a smoother there's no trouble with its size for intended use, light work, light shavings,
effortless.
If we put a cambered iron in this, technically we can turn this in to a roughing tool, so
why aren't I picking it?
Well it comes down to this tiny little bit in front of the mouth, in front of the cutting
edge, I think it's barely two inch.
Look at it on the length of this Jack plane, it's huge.
Plenty of surface.
So what's the importance?
Well it's reference surface particularly for a beginner.
Now that tiny surface is not a problem if you're only taking light cuts but if we're
taking much heavier cuts like we was a minute ago, we're sort of pre-charged with a bit
of a power burst to push it through, and look it's very difficult to reference, if we're
going to put power behind it you could end up going up in to it, you could end up chattering
the cut.
These are things that you'd overcome with experience, but still, it's something you've
got to think about.
Also you're kind of like niggling on the end there, something like this you know it, it
references itself you just drop it on and it does it.
It's much easier to start you can plonk it right down, a good reference surface and then
power your blow through and that really changes everything on a roughing tool.
And something I'll point out, something on a modern plane, sorry I'm not, this is not
about comparing old to new, I don't want to go there on this video.
I'm talking about Jack planes whether it was new or old that's the way I'd go, but here
they've clearly thought of beginners in mind, look at the bloody length of that.
You know, plenty of space and there's so much mass at the front of that, honestly it just,
I'd say the centre of gravity was about where the mouth was.
You know, it's a lovely, it's a lovely sort of positive feeling when you start your stroke.
Something that a little smoother lacks.