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Choosing between joinery planes (self.woodworking)

submitted 2 months ago by almar_quigley to c/[email protected]

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Not sure how many hand tool users there are here but I’m going to buy a new plane and am debating between a plow plane or a combination plane (both Veritas). Plow plane gets me what I need today which is cutting grooves, dadoes, etc but the combination obviously gets a bit more in functionality and available blade shapes plus it has nickers on both sides so reversible direction. I already have a router plane with a fence which is almost as good as a plow but not quite. Trying to figure out if combination plane has any down sides to it at all that I’m not thinking about before I pull the trigger on it.

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[–] ganksy 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Not sure how the Veritas planes go but as for older Stanley, weight is definitely a downfall of the combo planes. Being able to switch directions can be valuable for tearout on some woods. I don't think I've gotten much use from the specialty cutters outside of curiosity though.

[–] almar_quigley 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The Veritas combo is definitely heavier but it’s not a behemoth like the 55, it’s closer to the 45. I like the idea of being able to do reads, flutes, etc but I’m also currently needing them for boxes I’m making so it’s a much smaller scale of work. I’ll report back what I end up going with and any insights I have if anyone’s interested.

[–] ganksy 1 points 2 months ago

That's good the 55 is quite a beast. It looks much sleeker too. Looking forward to hearing what works for you.