Worth getting a block plane if have normal plane?

Got a normal plane, but these block planes are half price at my local iron mongers. Is it worth getting one? Do they have a different use to normal planes?

The record ones £46 and Stanley £26

Yes, a little block plane is always useful for delicate work. You can also take it with you to the wood yard to expose the ends of dirty/painted timber when selecting materials.

JobAndKnock said:

Plain to see you are no joiner....​

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Pardon me for existing on this DIY site. What would you call it then, oh great master?

Stanley tools are rubbish compared to years ago IMO. Bought a bullnose plane, fully adjustable so not cheap and the back iron didnt sit flat on the blade so blade chattered. Spoke so some old bloke at Stanley who could hardly be bothered to talk to me so I stuck it on Ebay and bought a nice simple 90J. But yes block planes are handy things to have - small, one handed use and low angle blade so good for end grain etc ( as mentioned above) BUT you'd be better off buying a vintage Stanley one.

You'd be better off getting a 1960's Stanley from ebay for that sort of money. Virtually brand new ones from that period still get put up for sale fairly regularly. I bought one a year or two ago. Just remember, as with any plane, to give it a tune up before use. Flatten the sole etc.

A block plane is only a great tool if it's properly sharp, but when they are, they are extremely versatile.

Careful shaving ends of stock at timber yards....I'd ask first...

This is my record block plane. Worth trading it in for a cheaper Stanley?

How do u use it by the way? There's a bit on the underside which opens forward

TBH the modern Records like that one aren't the best examples, but I don't see the point of swapping it for another new plane. Personally, I really don't like the knob/screw arrangement for locking the lever cap - very slow to use and prone to dig into the palm in longer sessions (older planes had a low profile cam/lever arrangement - the point about speed is that in some circumstances, such as trimming oak which rapidly blunts the edge of the iron - or MDF for that matter, you can find yourself repeatedly removing the iron to give it a quick home then replacing it) and I know I'm not alone in disliking the arrangement. But you already have it, so the easiest thing is probably to tune it. You need to flatten the sole, then regrind the cutter, flatten the back and finally home the cutting edge. Do you know how to do this? Have you got the necessary equipment?

The adjustable front sole, sometimes called a skate, is there to allow you to control the mouth opening when planing with the grain and if set finely with the iron set for a thin shaving it helps reduce the tendency of the plane to spit the timber - that can be very handy for dealing with rowed timber, reversing grain, etc (BTW it makes little difference when planing end grain as the waste tends to be very friable in any case)

purpleroad said:

This is my record block plane. Worth trading it in for a cheaper Stanley?

How do u use it by the way? There's a bit on the underside which opens forward

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I'm going to stick with my original post. If you really want quality you either have to stump up the cash, or go vintage. Stanley and Record, sadly, are now a shadow of their former selves. The products now have no resemblance to the same products from 30+ years ago aside from form.

The tasks JobAndKnock suggests re the sole and so on, you need to do with any newly acquired plane, even if straight from the factory. I'm not sure you'd need to regrind the "cutter" if he meant the plane iron, unless it's been really badly sharpened or unless you want to reset the primary bevel for some reason. For the whole job you could probably get away with a decent set of wide diamond stones (DMT or similar), or a properly flat surface (I'd go with thick float glass) with quality sandpaper on.

This is such a complicated subject that youtube is probably going to be invaluable. You want to be looking at plane refurbishment, reconditioning and those subjects. There are quite a few tutorials on it. It applies to new planes as well as old.

I have to point out here that this is what a lot of people dont tend to realise about woodwork. It's the preparation and numerous ancillary skills that MAKE a project and indeed, often take the most time. If you take the time, it will be rewarded in the results.

justbigboned said:

I'm not sure you'd need to regrind the "cutter" if he meant the plane iron, unless it's been really badly sharpened or unless you want to reset the primary bevel for some reason.

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Sad to say almost every modern Record and Stanley plane iron I've seen has a coarse ground bevel and a back which isn't flat. I tend to polish the bottom part of the back mostly on diamond stones (I use ITS double-sided ones rather than DMTs - more convenient as you only need carry two stones to get 4 grits) then flip 'em over and regrind the bevel before honing (I like a nice sharp edge even before I put a micro bevel on it). I've done this for quite a few of my colleagues irons too in recent years because I have a Sorby belt grinder so it's quick and easy to polish out the back if I get a bad 'un.

justbigboned said:

I have to point out here that this is what a lot of people don't tend to realise about woodwork. It's the preparation and numerous ancillary skills that MAKE a project and indeed, often take the most time. If you take the time, it will be rewarded in the results.

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To that I'd add that carpenter's tools are/were unlike power tools in that with many hand tools you need to spend time to adjust and tune your tools to get optimum performance before ever using them, then spend time regularly to oil them and sharpen/hone them. Possibly partly why ready to use tools by Lie-Nielsen, Veritas, etc are so popular with well-heeled DIYers. Not too many years ago they used to give us 20 to 30 minutes (paid) at the end of every Friday to do this (and you needed it), but that has fallen by the wayside nowadays.