Choosing and Using Wooden Planes: A Complete Guide

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.

"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! 😃

The first half of the youtube.com/post/Ugkx3ICSK6nSknaL_45CU2NmFSoXjarGM… book is everything about wood: types, tools, finishes, setting up shop etc. The second half is all about doing projects for inside and outside of the home. The color pictures are helpful. After reading a dozen of these types of books, this is probably the best overall (layout, color photos, plans). Only detraction is that many of the projects use a table saw/router/planer, which are usually expensive and take up space, so the plans are less friendly to newcomers and the budget conscious. But I know I can use a drill, circular saw or a jigsaw to make the projects.

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

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!

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

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

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!

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.

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.

"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.

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

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

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.).

The "physics" reason for why the iron comes back when you hit the body is actually not that complicated. You can picture that because of inertia, the iron wants to stay in place, but the body is going forward. So, the relative result is the iron going back, but what you are actually doing is "advancing the body" (which is a weird way of phrasing it). You can think of an analog thing: if a car hits your car from behind, you are going to feel that you are getting thrown back in the car, when what's really happening is your car being accelerated forward. (in that analogy, you are the iron and the car is the body of the plane)

Thanks a lot for this and last week's videos! I inherited more than 30 wooden hand planes from my grandfather, and I am about halfway through restoring them. I love using them, and your videos taught me some new really useful knowledge and technique.

The really nice thing to me about wooden planes is the ease of entry. A used iron bought online and a decent piece of firewood will get you a surprisingly competent piece of equipment.

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.

I finally, FINALLY found a good wood jointer after like two years of looking. Every flea market and antique store wanted like $150-200 for beat to crap examples. I finally found one in a really fancy antique store, where one stall had a few for $150-200 in rough shape, but another stall had a gorgeous one with barely any use, a nearly dead-square/flat sole, no checking, an original iron and breaker, and wedge. The handle wasn't even loose. $35. The iron had some pitting and an ugly hand-done scrub grind, but after fixing that and taking 1/64th off the sole with my power jointer to flatten it, it's so freaking nice to use. I wish I'd have found one sooner.

At first view I had no idea how informative this video would be. Wow! This video hits the mark. I am in the midst of refurbishing 2 wooden planes for my own use. All of this video is helpful including the proper stance to get the most out of my human effort. Thanks for the help and the great way you explain the process.