Popular Woodworking 2000-12 № 119, страница 40
Common Types of Hand Planes r d LOW-ANGLE BLOCK PLANE This essential little plane is great for leveling joints after your glue is dry.Thanks to its adjustable throat and the fact that the iron is set at a low angle, this block plane can also tackle tricky trimming chores, such as planing figured woods or end grain. The plane numbering system can be confusing. For Stanley's Bailey-style planes (shown at lefy) the company used a system where #1 was the smallest and #8 was the largest. Shown here are some #3s on the right,a few #5s in the middle and a #7 on the left. bench planes as well as some not so basic. In simple terms, the bigger the number, the bigger the plane. These all-metal Bailey-style planes are essentially the same form but on a different scale. And all have pretty much the same function: to make the wood flatter and smoother than it is. The smaller ones are better for small work while the larger ones are best for leveling out the large boards. See how simple hand tools are? I don't own one of each of these sizes, nor do I need to. There is not much size difference from one number to the next, though there is a lot of difference between a #1 and a #8, and understanding these differences will make using hand planes more of a pleasure than a pain. If you ever come across a Stanley #1, type 1, and it costs less than your house payment, buy it. These little gems aren't much for actually cutting wood (you could pull it out of your shop apron to trim a joint), but they'll cut plenty deep into your wallet. Numbers 2 through 4 are smoothing planes from 7" to 93/4" inches long. While not as small or pricey as the #1, the #2 is still on the smallish side and is not usually available from modern plane manufacturers today. That makes it more of a collectible than a good working tool. The old #3s from Stanley are 8" long, while the ones Stanley makes today list at 9". I have an old Trustworthy-brand plane that I rescued from a garage sale and restored. It's 91/2" long, about the size of a #4. I use it RABBET PLANE Whether you're cutting a rabbet from scratch, or you just need to clean up a less-than-perfect attempt, this tool is sometimes the only one that can do the job. when I'm flattening boards from their original rough sawn, air-dried state. It helps me get at some of the high spots that my longer planes sometimes ride over. I have some 12"-14" wide air-dried pine boards that I use to make reproduction furniture. My Trustworthy/ Stanley #4 look-alike is good for this task. It's also good for jointing the edge of shorter boards. The #5 jack plane is right in the middle of the normal range of bench planes and, as you might expect, it is the most versatile. It's 14" and has a good heft to it. That length makes it work well for jointing short boards. I have a couple of Stanley "transitional" jack planes about this size, a #26 and a #127 (these fall outside that numbering system from #1 to #8). "Transitional" planes have a wood bottom and metal upper structure. This type of plane was common at the end of the 19 th century into the start of the 20th as planes "transitioned" from all wood to all metal, thus their name. I use mine for leveling 58 Popular Woodworking December 1000 ESSENTIAL PLANES FOR THE POWERED SHOP Plane Low-angle block plane Rabbet plane Shoulder plane #4 or #5 jack plane Uses Trimming high spots and leveling joints.The low cutting angle of this plane allows it to trim end grain. Most rabbet planes are based on the Stanley #78 and excel at cleaning up rabbets.You can also trim tenons with this plane,though you'll have to clamp your work to your bench. Shoulder planes quickly trim tenons down a hair so they fit just right. Much like a rabbet plane, these planes are great because the blade runs the full width of the plane's body. However, they are designed to be used easily with one hand. These mid-sized all-purpose planes are useful for trimming inset doors to fit their openings or for trimming drawers so they slide smoothly. |
