This page is about choosing, not explaining. What each kind of plane is and how it cuts is covered in the hand plane guide. Here the question is simpler: which plane suits the work you do, and what should you check before you buy it?
Note— How this guide was made
It compares types of plane and their published specifications. No plane was tested for it, no product is ranked, and no price or rating appears.
Start from the work
A good hand plane is the one that suits the surfaces you make most. Three questions narrow the choice. Does your wood arrive rough, or already surfaced by a machine? Are you mostly flattening faces, truing edges or fitting small parts? And how much end grain do you trim?
| Work | Plane | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Machine-surfaced boards: removing machine marks and smoothing before finishing | Smoother, such as a No. 4 | Lie-Nielsen describes the No. 4 as its standard-size smoother, for the final surface |
| Rough or hand-dimensioned stock, with one plane doing most of the work | Jack, such as a No. 5 | Long enough to flatten, short enough to handle; removes milling marks quickly |
| One plane for faces, edges and end grain | Low-angle bevel-up jack | Veritas lists shooting mitres, end grain, jointing edges and initial smoothing among its uses |
| Edge joints for glued-up panels | Jointer, such as a No. 7 | The long sole makes an edge straight along its length |
| Small parts, chamfers, end grain and fitting | Block plane | Held in one hand; a low-angle block plane eases end grain |
What each plane does is explained, with sizes, in the hand plane guide.
First plane, and the next
A jack is a common choice for a first bench plane, because its length sits between the two jobs that matter most: flattening and smoothing. A block plane is a common companion, because it does small work a bench plane cannot. After that, add planes as the work demands:
- A smoother when you want a finished surface straight from the plane, especially on figured wood.
- A jointer when you glue up panels and need long edges that meet without a gap.
- A specialty plane — shoulder, rebate or router — when you cut joints by hand; see the router plane guide for one of them.
Bevel-up or bevel-down
Both designs plane well; they suit different people. The hand plane guide explains the geometry. In buying terms:
| Consideration | Bevel-down | Bevel-up |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting angle | Fixed by the frog: 45° on Lie-Nielsen’s bench planes, with 50° and 55° frogs available | Changed by the blade’s bevel: 37°, 50° or 62° on Veritas’s 12° bed |
| Controlling tear-out | Chipbreaker set close, and a narrow mouth | A higher-angle blade, and a narrow mouth |
| Adjusting the mouth | Move the frog, where the design allows | Move the adjustable toe |
| Blades to own | One iron and a chipbreaker | One blade per cutting angle you want to use |
| End grain | Usable, at a higher cutting angle | A low 37° angle suits it |
| Second-hand bench planes | Stanley-pattern bevel-down bench planes are widely sold second-hand | Bevel-up bench planes are mostly modern designs; vintage bevel-up block planes are common |
Size, width and weight
Length decides what a plane does; weight decides how it feels. Lie-Nielsen’s iron bench planes run from 4 lb for the No. 4 to 5-1/2 lb for the No. 5 and 8-1/4 lb for the No. 7. Veritas’s low-angle jack is about 6 lb. A heavier plane carries momentum through a cut but is more tiring over a long session. Blade width matters for smoothing wide boards in fewer passes, and matters less on edges. If you are unsure, handle the size before choosing it.
Mouth, adjusters and parts
- An adjustable mouth lets one plane take heavy cuts with the mouth open and fine ones with it closed. Lie-Nielsen’s bench planes adjust the frog from the rear without removing the iron; Veritas’s bevel-up planes and Lie-Nielsen’s block planes have an adjustable toe. On a plane without either, the mouth is fixed by the iron and frog as made.
- Adjusters should move smoothly and hold their setting. A Bailey-pattern plane has a depth wheel and a separate lateral lever; Veritas’s bevel-up planes combine both in one knob, with set screws that guide the blade.
- Replacement parts keep a plane working. Lie-Nielsen says repairs and replacement parts are available for its planes. For older Stanley-pattern planes, replacement irons are widely made — Veritas makes them for Nos. 2 to 8 — though Veritas warns that an older plane’s lateral lever may need filing to fit.
What setup to expect
How much setup a plane needs depends on where it comes from. A new premium plane may need only adjusting: Lie-Nielsen says its bench-plane blades arrive ready to use, and suggests honing a secondary bevel to improve them. An older plane may need cleaning, a flatter sole, a sharper or replacement iron, and a tuned chipbreaker before it takes a fine shaving. Either way, you will need sharpening equipment, and the time to learn the adjustments: both are covered in how to use a hand plane and the sharpening guide.
New or vintage
| Consideration | New plane | Vintage plane |
|---|---|---|
| Sole | Ground flat by the maker — Lie-Nielsen to 0.0015 in | Varies; may need flattening, and a cracked or twisted body cannot be saved |
| Iron | Usually thick and ready to hone | Often around the 0.080 in standard Veritas cites; replaceable with a thicker iron |
| Setup time | Hone and adjust | Clean, flatten, sharpen and adjust — hours, not minutes |
| Parts | Available from the maker; Lie-Nielsen offers repairs and replacement parts | Depends on the model; irons for Stanley/Record Nos. 2–8 are widely made |
| What you learn | Little setup is needed to start planing | How a plane works, by taking one apart |
Virginia Toolworks observes that very few vintage planes are in perfect condition, and that careful tuning matters more than finding a flawless one. Setting up an old plane is covered in how to use a hand plane.
What matters less than it seems
- Owning a full set. Most work needs two or three planes, chosen for the work.
- Cosmetic condition on a vintage plane. Rust and worn paint come off; cracks do not.
- The exact number on a plane. It names a size class, not an exact dimension, and makers’ sizes differ.
- Blade steel, for a first plane. A sharp edge on any of the common steels planes well; see the plane iron guide for what makers say about each.
Common buying mistakes
- Buying a jointer first, when most of the work is smoothing machine-surfaced boards.
- Buying a smoother first, when the stock is rough and needs flattening.
- Buying a vintage plane without checking the body for cracks.
- Buying a bevel-up plane expecting a chipbreaker to control tear-out, or a bevel-down plane expecting to change its angle with the blade.
- Not budgeting for sharpening equipment: every plane, new or old, needs it.
Inspection checklist
What to inspect before buying a hand plane
- The body has no cracks, especially around the mouth and the sides.
- The sole is flat at the toe, around the mouth and at the heel — check with a straightedge along, across and diagonally.
- The mouth is not chipped or filed wider.
- The frog or bed is whole and seats firmly.
- The iron is long enough to reach the adjuster, and a replacement is available if not.
- The depth and lateral adjusters are present and move freely.
- The lever cap clamps firmly.
- The knob and tote are sound enough to grip safely.
- You have, or will get, what you need to sharpen the iron.
Once you have the plane, the next step is setting it up and using it: how to use a hand plane.
Sources
This guide is specification-based: it compares types of plane and published specifications, and no plane was tested for it. Lengths, weights and angles are the makers’ figures for particular planes, given as examples; other planes differ.
- 1.
No. 4 Smooth Plane. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: 9-1/2 in long, 2 in blade, 4 lb in iron; the standard-size smoother; soles ground flat to 0.0015 in; a frog adjustable from the rear without removing the blade; optional 50° and 55° frogs; blades that arrive ready to use, improved by a honed secondary bevel.
- 2.
No. 5 Jack Plane. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: 14 in long, 5-1/2 lb; removing milling marks and flattening before finer planes; replacement parts available.
- 3.
No. 7 Jointer Plane. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: 22 in long, 8-1/4 lb; truing and shooting joints.
- 4.
No. 60-1/2 Low Angle Adjustable Mouth Block Plane. Lie-Nielsen Toolworks.
Used for: A general-purpose block plane with a 37° cutting angle for fine cuts and end grain, 1.5 lb.
- 5.
Veritas Low-Angle Jack Plane. Veritas Tools Inc..
Used for: A 15 in bevel-up plane, about 6 lb, for shooting mitres, end grain, jointing edges and initial smoothing.
- 6.
Bevel-Up Planes — instructions. Veritas Tools Inc..
Used for: Changing a bevel-up plane’s cutting angle by changing the blade’s bevel; separate blades for different angles; an adjustable mouth; the combined depth and lateral adjuster.
- 7.
PM-V11 Stanley/Record Bench Plane Blades made by Veritas. Veritas Tools Inc..
Used for: Replacement irons for Stanley/Record Nos. 2–8, thicker than the 0.080 in industry standard; older lateral levers possibly needing filing to fit.
- 8.
What to Look for When Buying Vintage Hand Planes. Virginia Toolworks, 2012.
Used for: Cracks and repairs as the main faults in a vintage body; few vintage planes being in perfect condition; tuning mattering more than finding a flawless one.
About this buying guide
Written by BenchRoot Editorial. How BenchRoot sources, checks and corrects its pages is set out in the Editorial Policy. If something here is wrong or unclear, the contact page explains how to tell us.