Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Russell Seaton

>I only have experience with number 7 planes so take this for what it is worth. I don't see the need for an 8 if you have a 7. The 8 is wider and 2 inches longer. Not really enough longer to allow you to do anything more with an 8 than a 7. The extra 1/4" of blade width to me would be too much drag. I'm average size and it takes a very fluid stroke and some muscle to move the 7 cleanly through a cut. That extra 1/4" width would bother me. And sharpening the wider 8 blade would be a hassle. My ubiquitous Eclipse gray side clamp jig cannot handle the 2 5/8" blade. And my Shapton stones are just big enough for the 2 3/8" number 7 blade. Lots more sharpening hassle with the wider number 8 blade. And with Lie-Nielsen the 8 is $75 more than the 7. Not an immaterial amount.

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Rob Cosman

>Hi Greg, consider this, for $75 you get a plane 2 inches longer, 3lbs heavier and a blade that is 1/16 thicker and 1/4 wider. A sharp blade and that 10lbs will carry through just about anything. 99% of the time you are using your plane on the bench, the heavier it is the easier it is to keep moving. $75 is not much in the long run, I suggest you go for the big one! Size matters!

Rob

a plane set in motion.... *LINK*

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>...will tend to stay in motion. See thread below for several perspectives, but it boils down to whether you are going to be comfortable with the extra mass for the work you are doing. For jointing long boards, it's very nice to use, but for shorter stuff or most panel work, it would be overkill.




/jvs


porch thread

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Joel

>I don't have a LN #8 I have a bedrock 608 which I would assume is ligher then the 608.

I find the my 608 way to heavy to use comfortably and much prefer a 607. I have tried to like the 8 but so far have failed.

THey were far less popular of the STanley bench plane line than the #7.

that being said - some people obviously like it.

Mechanically it makes no difference - in theory the longer heavier plane might work a little better in some situations but in practice most of the time it's about picking up and returning for another stroke a few more inches of metal.

However the key is - figuring out what plane works for you. Which feels better in the hand. If I were you I would make an effort to try out both planes and see which is the right way to go.

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Dan clermont in Burnaby

>I have the Bedrock 607. I like it and will continue to use it but their are days the extra length and mass of an 8 would come in handy.

If it were me I would get the #8 and then follow it up with the 7.5 at a later date.

Dan Clermont in Burnaby

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Kelby

>FWIW, think about spending $120 on one of these and spend the other couple hundred you save on more tools:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3263904727&category=13874

Seriously, I have some Lie-Nielsen tools, including planes, and they are mighty fine tools. They are also awfly purdy. But my wife picked me up a Knight jointer for Christmas (what a great wife), and it is extraordinary. I have picked up several knight planes in the last couple months, and I couldn't see spending three times as much on the Lie-Nielsen unless one had a strong aversion to wooden planes.

Hey Rob Cosman!

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>I presume that you have a pretty complete set of L-N bench planes. Do you ever choose not to use the #8 for jointing? If so, what plane(s) do you use in those instances, and why?

Re: Hey Rob Cosman!

Rob Cosman

>Mornin Don, to tell the truth I have not used my #7 since Tom came out with the 8's. I remember attending a seminar with Iam Kirby several years ago, he used his jointer for everything.

I don't lift my plane off the wood on the return stroke so unless you weigh 100lbs or less I wouldn't think pulling back an extra 3lbs is going to tire you out. Waxing the sole makes a big difference. LN is about to release a video on sharpening by David Charlesworth. He teaches in that video a technigue I think is the smartest tip on sharpening I have ever seen. I think I have a bit of experience and what he taught me made a huge difference in my work. Happy New Year.

Rob

sharpening tip?

Jonathan Ronnow, Sweden

>Now, that made me curious. I would like to know what that tip is?

I use a one degree back bevel on my bevel down plane blades, so I only have to polish that 0,5mm strip. It saves me quite some time when sharpening(no need to polish the entire back), without changing the performance so much. Also, a somewhat pitted blade is no real problem since the back bevel would erase the pits if extended enough.

Is that what he teaches in the video?

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Ernie Miller Topeka

>I only have Stanley planes but I grab my #7 most of the time. it is lighter and less work to push do to the narrower blade. But on varge surfaces I still grab the 8 and if there is somthing that needs a little mass to get past it's the 8 I would get both or the 8 and Steves razee.

I agree

Roger Nixon

>I have a pair of Stanley #8's I rarely use because they require so much more effort than my #7's. I recently acquired a Sargent VBM 424C and tuned it up last weekend to get ready to flatten my bench top. I had hoped it would be a little easier to push thant the Stanleys but it wasn't. Nice plane, though.

I do like using the #8's for match planing edge joints on long stock but I use #7's for 90%+ of jointer type work.

I woulda thought you would be using a 30" C&W :).

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Patrick Gibbons, Houston, TX

>I go the other direction in size and it might be something for you to consider. I use a #6 for most panel and boards and save the #7 for joining edges. I've been intrigued with the idea of getting a long woodie like others have counciled but in the long run, my use of a 6 and a 7 has worked just fine. You might consider the Veritas #6 and the LN #7 as a good combo.

Re: I agree

joel

>Well a 30" C+W is overkill for my purposes but their standard Try (20-22" plane is one of the most wonderful planes I have every used -

For long planes you can't beat the lightness of a wooden plane and in a trick Larry Williams taught me - the large mass, high sides, and light weight of a wooden plane make them very easy to hold square to the floor and plane square. The stanley design have a low center of gravity and high weight so it's a lot harder.

(With a complete line of both Bedrocks and Norris planes in my shop I am loath to get yet another string of planes so I borrow the C+Ws from my store and the one that's been a keeper for me ( so handy ) is their narrow 1 1/4" coffin smoother - bailed me out of trouble more than a few times. but that's on the other end of the size spectrum. Also they have a true Jack plane which I have my eye on.)

Incindently many people get into the practice of tilting the plane on edge (just a few degrees) when returning for the next stroke, slightly easier than picking the plane up, less wear and tear than just dragging the plane back.

Another factoid - the main reason for using long planes is accuracy. I find I do most of my milling with shorter planes - usually a panel plane and then go back to the longer planes just for accuracy. for doing basic leveling after using a jack plane - as long as I plane evenly, a shorter plane is more precises for selectivly planeing high areas, and a lot lighter. my goal is to plane the board or edge very slightly hollow. Then I use the long plane - in my case a #7 to do a few passes and level everything out perfectly.

Re: Jointer Plane Recommendations: 7, 7.5, or 8?

Dave Anderson Chester, NH

>I guesss I'll throw my $.02 into this discussion. For most board edges shorter than 2 feet I will use a #6 Stanley. Loner than that and I use a #7 Stanley or sometime my g-g grandfather's 28" long Union by Chapin jointer. I fail to see the need to spend a huge amount of money, and to me $400+ is huge, on a L-N plane for simple jointing of edges. I'd save the bucks and buy something more modest. You could use the savings for specialty planes like the L-N 073, 85, skew block plane, or something else not available readily or at a resaonable price in the rest of the tool market.

Re: Hey Rob Cosman!

Don Thompson - South of Miami

>Rob,

That's interesting - that you don't use the #7 anymore. Do you regularly hand-joint, and do you use the single- or double-board method?

I can certainly see that Mr. Plane (#8) would be better for flattening tabletops and the like.

Don

BTW, I am more than double the minimum user weight requirement :-(

Amen on the C&W trying plane!

Wiley Horne--Glendora CA

>

While you're here, Rob...

Don Thompson - South of Miami

>There is a thread elsewhere about jointing hard and difficult woods. Have you ever tried this task with a L-N #7 with the 50� frog? With the new chipbreaker?

Re: sharpening tip?

Rob Cosman

>Hi Jonathan, that is the bigest part of what he does. Allows a resharpen in under 30 seconds.

Rob

Re: Hey Rob Cosman!

Rob Cosman

>Hi Don, single joint. Slight dip in the middle to keep the ends tight.

Re: While you're here, Rob...

Rob Cosman

>I keep my york pitch in my 5 1/2. It weighs almost 1.5 times the 4 1/2. Nice to have that extra mass behind the increased pitch. Haven't ever used it in the jointer but it sure improves the surface in some of the more difficult wood. Did a little experiment at a show once. We had a piece of Sycamore that had patches of opposing grain the size of your palm. I planed the surface with the 4 1/2, sharp iron, super tight throat, surface looked OK but you could feel the areas of opposing grain with your hand. Took the same iron, put it in the 5 1/2 w/ the york pitch and after doing the surface again you could no longer feel the opposing patches, convinced me.

Rob

also in vol 1 of "furniture making techniques"

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>...along with a bunch of other stuff. Very handy tip; gets a lot more use in my shop than the bit on how to hand-cut full blind dovetails, and no, I don't use a machine, either.




/jvs

Re: Hey Rob Cosman!

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>Any chance of that or any titles coming out on DVD? To watch "video," I need to find space among the stuffed animals in a little girl's playroom, and said little one usually wants to watch "Wiggles" instead of Tom Law (no accounting for her taste from my side of the family).




/jvs, with his first attempt at thread hijacking. New at this, but willing to learn.

I hate mass...

Scott Post

>Today, between the long overdue flattening of my assembly bench and the levelling of 6 glued up panels I generated a 35 gallon garbage can full of shavings. The panels were a lot of work because they were the result of a rushed resaw job that left them a lot more uneven than usual. I did all of it with old wooden jack & jointer planes. No way would I have had the energy or enthusiasm to do that with a big hunk of cast iron. That same mass that wants to keep moving also takes energy to stop and return to the start of the stroke. A big #7 or #8 is OK for edge jointing but, in my opinion, they're too heavy for face jointing unless you're in Olympic caliber shape.

If I were recommending a jointer plane it would be and old woodie. If a person wanted one ready to go right out of the box I'd send them to Clark & Williams.

Mass aside, I don't care for Bailey pattern planes from an ergonomics point of view. It seems that no matter how hard I try not to I always end up resting part of my palm on the edge of the casting by the front knob. I envariably end up with a blister. In fact, I was eyeballing my LN #4 this afternoon thinking I really need to put it on ebay since I haven't used it in over 2 years. My go to smoother is a C&W.

Re: I hate mass...

Russell Seaton

>If I were recommending a jointer plane it would be and old woodie. If a person wanted one ready to go right out of the box I'd send them to Clark & Williams.

I have a Stanley Traditional, 28" long, whatever that number is. And it just does not plane as well as my number 7 planes.

Mass aside, I don't care for Bailey pattern planes from an ergonomics point of view. It seems that no matter how hard I try not to I always end up resting part of my palm on the edge of the casting by the front knob. I envariably end up with a blister.

Me too. A few weeks ago I planed the workbench top flat and ended up with a nice blister on the side of my left hand. And it was not a whole lot of planing really. I reckon the old time plane users developed a callous in that spot after a few weeks.