What PLANES do you NEED?

Starting woodworking is a daunting process. What tools do you invest in? What do you need? What the bloody hell does that thing even do?!

This video clarifies some of the questions asked about planes. I'll also be covering topics such as chisels and saws in the future.

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PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED IN THIS VIDEO:
🔸 Lie-Nielsen Bronze No.4
🔸 RIDER NO. 5 JACK PLANE
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MY FREE ONLINE COURSES:
🚀 Purchasing and Using Tools Correctly
🎁 How To Make a Dovetailed Box:
🛠 How To Make a Cabinet:
🧰 How To Make a Toolbox:
✏️ How To Design Furniture
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WOODWORKING BOOKS I RECOMMEND:
📘 Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual
📖 Workbenches: Design & Theory to Construction & Use
📚 The Overstory - My Favourite Fiction Books about Trees
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MY FAVOURITE TOOLS:
🛠️ Knew Concepts Fret Saw
⬜️ Faithfull Engineers Squares
⚙️ Veritas Wheel Marking Gauge
🗡 Precision Marking Knife
🎥 Lumix S1H Mirrorless Camera

🔍 See EVERYTHING I Recommend HERE:

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KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ME:

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🕵️‍♂️ WHO AM I?:
My name is Matt Estlea and I’m a Woodworker from Basingstoke, England. My aim is to make your woodworking less s***.

I come from 5 years of TRAINING at Rycotewood Furniture Centre in Oxford, 5 years of experience WORKING at Axminster Tools and Machinery in Basingstoke, and 3 years TEACHING both day classes and evening classes at Rycotewood Furniture Centre. All while trying to get this YouTube thing off the ground.

By September 2021, I packed it all in to focus on YouTube and my business full-time.

Want to know more about how I crammed all this experience into such a short period of time? See my experience and qualifications here:

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GET IN TOUCH:
While I take time to read every single message I receive whether it's emailed, DMed or asked publicly on social media, sadly I do not have time to reply to everything. If you have a short message you’d like to send, it’s best to send me a message on Twitter.

For longer messages, please drop me a message via the contact page on my website.

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PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links that I get a lil’ commission from recommending at no extra cost to you. If you’d like to know more about how this works, and what businesses I work with, please read my affiliate disclaimer here:

[glennphilipson]

Hi matt I was pretty rude to you in a previous video. I was out of order and apologise. For your age your an impressive young man.
Stay safe

[pgtips]

Perfect video Matt, logical, no nonsense no fluff, just the facts and ended up with two very sensible all round planes at the end. This will have saved some people a ton of money.

[nelsonkerley]

"size doesn't matter, just get the one that fits your hand the best" ;)

[kevingirling]

I have worked in the industry for decades, I agree with your choice of planes as a basic set. I have a variety of bench planes, but only really use the 4, 5 and 7. But it all depends on the type of work you do. Larger work requires longer planes. The cabinet scraper is a very useful tool, simply hone the blade, and leave the burr on the back edge (this is what cuts the thin shavings), set the blade level with the sole, clamp it in place, the use the set screw to advance the burr till it cuts. The Router Plane is very useful if you don’t use an electric router, I use mine for housing joints. I didn’t see a rebate/plough plane…..I use a 1960s Record 405 multi plane for grooves and simple mouldings, I prefer this over an electric router….less noise 😂 And it looks impressive on your bench 😊

[brandon]

Can I send you some beer money or something? These have been some of the most informative videos in this subject matter I've seen yet. Objective opinions based on experience and real world applications, and refusing to talk about things you don't feel you're a subject matter expert on. Thanks a bunch.

[nomoremuda]

Well done! Your videos are getting more enjoyable to watch, don't stop being you and your approach. I watch your videos not only to learn things, but hear your perspective and approach. If you become too sterile or plain, I probably will stop watching. It is very clear that your presenting yourself in a sincere fashion, this is who you are, and you are not trying to be something your not... keep it up! Big fan.

[ronklimp]

I agree with Gary K - appreciate the way you explain the differences, then cut through all the confusion and recommend the most basic for those who want a simple starting point.

[lmcsquaredgreendale]

I have watched a good number of your videos and really enjoy your approach. My Father was teaching me fine woodworking as I was his "go for" on remodeling jobs and was basically a rough carpenter with some strong suits say for example reattaching plaster when the keys broke away from the lathe and repairing holes of all shapes and sizes. After he passed away I dropped the idea because I had no mentor. I have chosen you as my mentor because you are direct and unlike many other presenters you realize that not all of us are going to recognize the tool you are using and your explanations are clear and concise when you pull out a hand tool that we may never have seen let alone used. You also have a casual way of presenting your subject matter and I it feels like I'm one of your mates and you are just explaining how something works. I really appreciate the fact that you treat we inexperienced people with respect and don't talk down to us. Please don't change your approach, your doing a great job and have been of great help to me as I tackle my first and a rather large and somewhat overwhelming project that needs to be done.

[MrBrewzr]

Thank you for not giving the typical youtuber answer of “well it depends” I’m a beginner and I don’t always know what kind of work I’m gonna be doing. I’m trying to figure out what I like to build, and getting a straight forward answer of here these are the two to start with was just what I was looking for.

[ocediis]

I'm getting ready to take an intensive set of courses on woodworking, and the two must-have planes on their list are the two you finished off with: the low angle jack plane and the block plane. I'm only a woodworking weekend warrior, so it's good to see agreement on initial tool selection from two different sources.

[cerberus]

I just used my new LN No.62 LA Jack today for the first time. It's the first quality plane I've bought
for myself. Lie-Nielsen knows how to make outstanding tools, no regrets.

[AlistairLearmonth]

On starting my Apprenticeship I purchased a Stanley 41/2 on advise off my journeyman, its my go to today and shows in its wear and tear and looks the better for it. I then added later in my apprenticeship a Stanley 51/2 again handling my journeyman plane and after serving my time I added a Stanley 6. In use I made do with this three in my daily use and made my money over the years with this three. I added a hand me down Stanley 4, not a purchase I would have made. I also have added a Block plane Stanley, Stanley Router plane open throat, Stanley Edge plane a gift from a retiring tradesman I worked with. Do you need to go more expensive makes, nice to have but in same sizes as I have I would not see any greater benefit and price is important even for a tradesman. I always gave more thought to how they fitted my hand and did they do the job I required and longevity.

[devemch]

First plane I ever bought was a LN #1. While many think it’s a toy, I find it useful as a detail model plane for work on foundry patterns. While you could go to a violin plane or finger plane I have found the #1 my go to model plane. For general purpose use, I usually go for the jack. I had a Fulton #5 and recently a LN 5.5. While the 5.5 is a handful, it’s a nice combination of features going from smoothing to jointing.

[Zigge]

As a carpenter I would choose a #4, #5 and a block plane first. Then a router plane and a slim shoulder plane or an outright combination plane.

[simongee]

Haven't done woodworking for years but Matt's way of presenting and selecting works well, straight facts and views from experience. Odd about what I knew as a spokeshave, but then really a specialist tool for curved pieces of work.

[josephullman]

Beginning wood worker. Went to a high end woodworking store to get plane advice. They had non idea how to guide me. This was indispensable.

[rpols]

Finally an instructional video on hand planes that is actually understandable for beginners! I've watched half a dozen "so-called" instructional videos on hand planers and all of them were more "lets show-off my 80 planer collection and throw in my super technical woodworking lingo that only woodworking pros would/could understand." Thank you for keeping it dumb-simple. Keep it up!!!

[oneandy]

I only started getting hand planes because I saw one branded Winchester in an antique shop. Like the rifles. "Neat, what a cool old tool. I'll buy it."

Did a little research, and discovered it was something Winchester did (actually made by Sargent) to make ends meet in the interwar years. It was a 3010 smooth bottom plane, a little bigger than a Stanley #5.

Then I saw the next size down, a 3005 being sold for practically nothing... and it was in good shape. What the heck, I'll buy it.

Now I feel like I need a complete set. Even though I don't use hand planes. I've got a nice 6" jointer and a 15" thickness planer with a shelix head on it. What the heck do I need hand planes for? I dunno but I'm starting to feel like a plane addict.

[robohippy]

I did residential construction for years, mostly concrete work. Did one house where they wanted a hand hewn look on some beams. The carpenter used a scrub plane. It worked very nicely for that.

[derekmorris]

The best part of owning the Lie Nielsen 4.5, 5.5, 6 and 7 is that they all share the same iron which means you can buy a single high angle frog and swap it between all of your planes. Results in an extremely versatile setup that allows you to plane even the most tear-out prone woods.