104
THE PRO'S
ADVICE
THE RIGHT PLANE FOR THE JOB
TRY PLANE, JOINTER/FORE PLANE
Ideal for truing the long edges of timber in readiness to join the edges
together to produce a wide board as for a tabletop. The long plane sole
bridges all of the high spots on the timber and ensures that these are
removed first. The cutter must be absolutely square across its width.
MARK SMITH
CARPENTER
SMOOTHING PLANE
Perfect for producing a fine finish to the surface, particularly if you are
working in a hardwood with interlocking grain, that is when the structure
flows in both directions and is roughed up by the plane at the same time
as it is being smoothed just a few millimetres to the side. Its compact size
also makes it a good general-purpose plane for trimming and fitting on
the job site, but it tends to follow the undulations of the timber and so
cannot be used to create true long surfaces.
BLOCK PLANES
Designed to accurately plane end grain. In this situation with a bench
plane the cutter tends to vibrate or ‘chatter’, which can mark the surface,
whereas with a block plane the vibration is reduced because the cutter
works with the bevel uppermost. The range of 5 planes differs mainly in
the type of adjustment offered. Stanley’s top two products are fully
adjustable for depth of cut, cutter alignment and mouth aperture, an
often-overlooked feature but which is critical to controlling the fineness
of the cut. Other block planes in the range will work just as efficiently as
the fully adjustable models but you will need to take more time to adjust
them manually.
THE LOW ANGLE BLOCK PLANE
This is the best specialist end grain plane and it is also perfect for
trimming the edges of decorative laminate; although you will need to
hone the edge more frequently.
DUPLEX REBATE PLANE
So called because of the two cutter positions (standard and bull nose), it
is designed to produce rebates.
JACK PLANE
The best choice for stock removal and preparation of timber from the
sawn condition. To function properly the cutter is honed to a slight
convex shape between 0.5 and 1mm at its maximum for rapid stock
removal.
