Shopsmith Forums

I bought this Ace Hardware hand plane years ago and works so well for me, but I don't know what style it is. The foot is 9½" long and the blade is 2" wide. overall it's light so will chatter if I let it, but I like it
Thanks

It's a Smooth or Smoothing Plane.

Not quite sure what you're looking for with the "style" - but that would be roughly equivalent to a Stanley No. 4 - a smoother plane.

Nos. 5/6 - used for roughing stock to initial flat
Nos. 7/8 - used for jointing stock after 5/6
Nos. 1-4 - used for final preparation of stock before finishing

(of course the above is largely based on how you grind the blade in the plane)

hope that helps

From looking at the picture I would say it is a bench (Smoothing) Plane. The short length makes them ideal for trouble spots where a board may have grain that changes direction and has to be planed in different directions along its length. These planes cut a very fine shaving giving less chance of tearout.

as others have said, it is a bench smoothing plane. it is equivalent in size to a Stanley #4 or a Millers Falls #9. yours has an interesting tote with the finger grooves.

yours is probably made of ductile steel and is more likely to survive a fall to concrete than the older cast iron planes. you can often find good deals at garage sales or other woodworking forums on user planes. the older planes (WWII era and earlier) are likely to be heavier than the one that you have. the latest upgrade (version 3) of the Woodcraft Woodriver planes seem to be a good price point for good quality new hand planes.

you might want to check out this web site for lots of plane info:
http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan0a.html

both woodnet.net and sawmill creek have active discussion areas for handtools and some helpful participants. do be warned that they can be addictive, though.

I just took my first feddling (tuning hand planes) class last week. most noteworthy recommendation from the class was to skip the water stones, oil stones, diamond stones, and Tormek systems and to get a Worksharp 3000 with the wide blade attachment. this from an instructor who had spent many thousands of dollars on those other sharpening approaches and was highly skilled with them.

Lots of great information about planes in general. Now I know what to call my only plane too. Smooth plane.
Thanks everyone

I've done some hand plane refurbishment and among everone who has bought a plane from me they think that Stanley is simply the best. My best cuts on planes have been on what some consider off brands. It all come down to the sharpness of the blade, blade angle and frog position. I actually only sharpen up to the 800 grit range. I have 2 diamond stones that are water lubricated and do very well. My hand planes couple with my Greenie shopsmith and I'm good for just about anything.

I have some if anyone's interested in getting one.

I'm really ashamed to admit that I don't know much about hand planes. The first time I tried to use mine was an attempt to level out my workbench, which is only pine. The end result was a top still not leveled and a lot of gouges in the surface. In the end, I used a belt sander instead and got the surface I desired. It wasn't nearly as fun but I was result oriented then.
Since, I learned a LOT about sharpening: techniques, angles, etc... and I got my blade very sharp now and have better success with it, but I still don't use my plane very often. Mainly to produce odd shapes from squarish blocks.
I do love the sound the plane makes while shaving just a thin slice off an edge. I even had good results planing end grain of an oak plank. My daughter likes the little wood bow knots that I tie with the shavings.
One thing I did read many years ago was to always store a plane on it's side to protect the blade.

Storing them on their side is smart, especially while in use. I do store mine belly down in specially made boxes. I store the 3,4,5 in one box and the 6,7,8 in another. The boxes are wooden and have slots to prevent the plane from sliding. They have sliding tops.
In addition to the bench planes (that belonged to my great grandfather) I aquired a low angle jack, carriage maker, a 45 and a 12 scraper. Once I used machines to create the rough piece I use planes to bring it to finish without any sanding.
There is just no replacing a #8 or 7 when dimensioning stock. Of course, it's the combination of both machine and plane that gives me all options. And paste wax is your friend. It's not just for way tubes.

dasgud wrote:I bought this Ace Hardware hand plane years ago and works so well for me, but I don't know what style it is. The foot is 9½" long and the blade is 2" wide. overall it's light so will chatter if I let it, but I like it
Thanks

IMHO, it is knot a 747! Sorry, I was struck with that thought and had to share.