|
This page is designed to help new woodworkers purchase planes in an
order which will suit their skill level based on projects they will most
likely start out with. This is only a guide based on how I
progressed through the leaning stages of using planes to make furniture.
This list is for a basic kit of planes I would use for furniture
making in order of priority is as follows:
Smoothing plane This plane will allow you to learn the
basics of planing a machined dressed piece of flat wood
smooth or to join short lengths of wood up to 0.9m long.
Projects wood include coffee tables, bed side tables and small cabinets
where the length of wood won't be longer than 1 meter.
1" shoulder plane (make that a 3/4" shoulder plane if you have small
hands) - This plane is necessary if you want to make mortice and tenon
joints accurately. It can also be used for make rebates.
Trying Plane - This plane becomes necessary once you start
to do projects where the length of wood you are using gets over 1
meter. This plane makes it a lots easier to join and flatten long pieces
of wood.
Block Plane (this could be a palm smoothing plane depending
on your preference) - A small plane is very desirable to the small
triming jobs you encounter when making furniture.
This is only a basic kit and you can make a whole lot of nice
furniture with these 4 planes. As your skill and confidence
grows you will want to branch out into more complex designs which
require more specialised planes.
The following list is based on what you want to achieve
which will vary from person to person. Here are the options in no
particular order.
Aussie Jack Plane - This is necessary if you want to buy
rough sawn wood and dress it without a machine. This would be your
First plane if you want to do this.
Large Flat Spoke Shave - This is necessary if you are
profiling straight pieces of wood into round or oval shapes, eg making
spokes.
Large Curved Spoke Shave - This is necessary if you want to
introduce inside curves into your work eg curved legs in chairs or the
back supports in chairs.
Jointer Plane - This is desirable if you are planing lengths of
wood over 1.8m long. eg for long tables etc
Skewed Rebate planes - These are desirable if you are doing a lot
of long rebates. Also desirable if you are making mouldings in
conjunction with Hollows and Rounds. Size depends on your task at
hand.
Side Rebate planes - These are necessary if you want to do
advanced joints like siding dovetails and are very good for trimming
dados and groves if you want the perfect fit. They are also
desirable if you are making mouldings. Best to have both the left
and right handed planes.
Snipe Bill Planes - Highly desirable if you are using Hollows and
Rounds to make mouldings. They simplify starting Hollows and
Rounds and ensure they are in the correct position. Best to have
both the left and right handed planes.
Hollow and Round Planes - Essential if you want to make mouldings
for your furniture.
1/2" Shoulder Plane - Desirable in box making for small
decorative rebates or small joints.
1 1/4" Shoulder Plane - Desirable when making large mortice
and tenon joints. Works well as a rebate plane also if you
prefer a square blade setup as opposed to a skewed rebate.
HNT Gordon Makes two styles of smoothing, trying and and jointer
planes. If you have used metal bench planes quite a lot the
Tote and knob style which has a mechanical adjuster is probably your
best bet as you will be used to using this type of plane. If
you have not done much woodwork and have no preconceived ideas about
handle designs in planes, the horizontal handle style has some
good advantages as you can push or pull the plane with ease which is
useful when planing long table tops.
To read
about the properties of woods commonly used by HNT Gordon go to
wood information. |
