Choosing and Using Wooden Planes: A Complete Guide

From adjusting to gripping to taking your first shavings, learn all about this historical tool.

Tools/Materials for Sharpening (affiliate):

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Wood Work for Humans Tool List (affiliate):
*Cutting*
(Winner of the affordable dovetail-saw shootout.)
(Needs tune-up to work well.)
(Works out of the box)
(My favorite affordable new chisels.)
(I use these to make the DIY specialty planes, but I also like them for general work.)

*Sharpening*

*Marking and Measuring*
(For marking and the built-in awl).
(Excellent, inexpensive marking knife.)

*Drilling*

*Work-Holding*

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[RexKrueger]

I forgot to mention: when you store wooden planes, you should knock the wedge free and store the plane with the wedge pretty loose. Just finger-tight is good. The plane might swell or shrink while it's sitting and you don't want it under tension while that's happening. Otherwise, there's nothing special about storing these. Just keep the dust off 'em.

[ryman]

Hi Rex. This is unrelated to this video and you probably won’t see this either but I just won an auction on eBay for 17 auger bits (varying sizes) for my brace that you inspired me to get. I am 16 years old and want to get into hand tool woodworking. You’re videos have helped me tremendously. Thank you

[DerMarkus]

"Oh my god! Something is ... completely different!"
Rex proceeds to go full berserk mode with that plane.
I liked that moment. It conveys a crystal clear message about body mechanics and working ergonomics. Aha moment right there! 😃

[Dseated]

Its amazing to see how different parts of the world came up with different designs to tackle the same task.

[johnfisher]

Rex - You really outdid yourself on this one! That was very educational. Thanks so much for all the time & effort you put into producing this amazing content!

[clappercl]

Glad to see horned planes getting some love. If you have hand use problems (nerve damage, arthritis, etc.) horned planes are a life saver!

[larsfrandsen]

This is truly an amazing historical lesson. I remember my now 96-year-old cabinet maker father standing EXACTLY like you demonstrated. As a kid, I always wondered why he did that. Now I know!

[hartleymartin]

Funny thing - when your videos were all about metal Bailey Planes I had Mathieson wooden planes the same type as you shewed in this video. I then acquired transitionals and they have been my daily drivers and my No.26 Jack travels to job-sites with me for things like planing down doors. Just as you released these two videos on using wooden planes I acquired my first No.5 Metal Bailey plane.

Oh, and I entirely agree with you. The No.6 is really too heavy to be used as a fore-plane on dressing rough-sawn wood. No.5 Jack or a wooden-bodied plane is so much better. My technical college uses No.6 planes and I am pretty sure it is to stop students from stealing tools.

[lanceyohe]

Thanks for keeping hand tool use alive! In the UK, a 50 degree pitch was also referred to a a York pitch.

[marksampson]

At 18:20 I watched you formulate that grip four times. That was brilliant, Rex.

[professor]

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: you are a master communicator, Rex! Bravo on yet another masterful educational video—the kind that is fun to watch as well.

[ombelle]

I don't know what I love most about you... The historical approach, the low cost aspect, or the skill centered attitude. You're awesome Rex

[arnoldkotlyarevsky]

"We are going to do more" Rex, my guy, I can't wait. I dream of making my own set of wooden planes. I am stoked. I would love to see you revisit your router plane....something with a more traditional bit and some of the nicer features! (I dont know if you appreciate the requests for content here, but until you tell me to stop, I will keep being a pest - I annoy because I love). Thanks again for the excellent quality! And dont think I didnt notice the visual effects you put in the vid. The quality is ever improving.

[Dravde]

Exceptional video! Thanks for putting up the metric sizes.

[CamQTR]

Hey Rex! I think I figured out something about using those big Stanley number 8s. I recently stopped using my 8 after I got a 6, for jointing for violin making. Then today, I took a table outside and turned on its side, to straighten out one edge, end grain of 3 jointed boards, about a meter long, about 2 cm wide. Had trouble with my block plain, so I grabbed the number 8 and it worked wonderfully. I think the secret is to have the plane and the work surface low, below your waist, so that your upper body leans over the plane, with both of you arms downward. In this posture, the number 8 was easy to control, I did not loose control of the balance of the tool, which is what happens when I worked with the tool above level of my waist.

[profifox]

I’ve tried the grip yesterday on a rabbet plane and it’s amazing. Thanks for showing I might start use wooden planes after all 😁 I have a bunch of vintage planes sitting on the shelf.

[GlenfinnanForge]

My wooden Jack is the workhorse of my shop. My go to for nearly everything. Light, runs smooth, easily adjusted. Just works.

[doczoff]

UK lockdown has forced me to buy wooden planes online and exactly as you predicted the lack of visual inspection results in tools needing far more clean-up. There are rewards to be found in the satisfaction of bringing a far gone tool back to life, but it's costly in time. I've been building a collection of restored vintage woodworking hand tools over the last two years and I'd estimate around 80% of my workshop time has been spent on tool restoration. I'll soon have a complete collection of quality tools that I know and understand intimately but this path is a long-term investment of time that the newcomer needs to anticipate. Now hurry up and unlock the timber merchants so that I can handpick materials to loose my restored tools on, they're very sharp and very hungry! Brilliantly instructive and entertaining video, I'll by trying out that stance. Thank you!

[chrisgreen]

Rex, thanks for this. I got a jack plane as part of a job lot of tools and, after a bit of restoration, it is working better than my Stanley No.5. I'm loving it!

[sullyprudhomme]

This is an incredibly good presentation. You should consider this as a TED talk...history, woodwork, perfect! (P.S. Just used a plane for the first time in years for a project and forgot how useful they are.).