Rough lumbers are untreated wood. You can not use rough lumber for furniture without smoothing it. There are a lot of ways of planing rough lumber, and one of the processes includes hand planing rough lumber.
In traditional hand tool woodworking, the hand planer seems to be the most popular tool among new woodworkers. With a hand plane, you can easily smooth just a small piece of wood, round the corner of a board, shave the edge of a door, and straighten up a warped board. There are many different types, sizes, and shapes of hand planes. You should choose a hand plane based on its intended use.
Top 3 Hand Planes for Rough Lumber
There are many types and branded hand planes for you in the market. You just have to choose according to your needs. If you still get confused, then you can check out the top 3 hand planes for rough lumber, which are given below:
1. Stanley Low Angle Sweetheart Jack Plane
When it comes to smoothing rough lumber, the Stanley Sweetheart Jack Plane is a great choice. Similar to a Jack hand plane, the Stanley plan has a larger size than a bench plane, measuring 15¾ inches long and 7 inches wide, and it’s designed to smooth rough-sawn boards and timbers. With two handles for controlled planing, the Stanley jack plane is constructed from iron castings, weighs 6 pounds plus, and is made from iron castings. You can hold on to rough wood easily with its low-angle, one-piece base. This hand plane is a great tool for wood craftsmen who create projects from raw lumber. Also, it has a cherry wood handle and knob for comfort. You can also adjust the Norris type for easy use. Sweetheart Jack Plane can be the perfect companion, and you’ll be able to reclaim wood and get it back to perfect working order.
Pros
- Large in size
- Smooths rough-sawn lumber very well
- Longer durability
- Comfortable to use
- Worth the price
Cons
- Adjusting the plane can be tough
- The plane iron required almost a dozen full turns to get into depth
- A little bit expensive
Verdict
If you have no problem paying a bit extra money for your passion and getting the woodwork done neatly for your woodworking DIY projects, then Stanley Low Angle Sweetheart Jack Plane can be the perfect choice for you.
2. WEN 6530 Electric Hand Planer
With the WEN 6 Amp 3-1/4, it is possible to slice away irregularities until your boards are perfectly aligned and smoothed. The 6 Amp motor delivers over 34,000 cuts per minute. The cutting width is a minimum of 3-1/4 inches, and the maximum depth of cut is 1/8 inch. Increases of 1/128 in are made on each of the 16 positive stops. It can be anywhere between 0 and 1/8 inches. Additionally, the base plate shoe contains a V-shaped groove that allows for easy flattening of sharp corners.
With the Wen 6350 Electric hand planer, a straight cut is ensured as the strokes of this machine are parallel to the edge of the wood. This makes the wood trimming easier. By elevating the blade and keeping it away from the work surface, it protects both the blade and the item between uses. When you’re working on your wood DIY projects, you can keep your workplace clean with the additional dust bag.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Both options available- large and a small groove
- Budget-friendly
- The solid construction of the machine
Cons
- The blade is not long-lasting
- The blades can not be easily replaceable
- Not good for heavy use
Verdict
If you are looking for something budget-friendly for your small DIY wood projects, then Wen 6350 Electric hand planer can be a great choice for you.
3. GreatNeck C4 Bench-Jack Plane
GreatNeck C4 Bench-Jack Plane is a professional quality hand planer. With an iron body that has been precisely fabricated and polished, it is highly durable. The cutting edge is particularly powerful due to its hardened and tempered 2-inch wide high-speed steel cutter. It has also been designed to provide you with comfortable, precision control in order to allow you to do the work you like
You can easily adjust the depth of cut fully and the cutting depths with this GreatNeck C4 Bench-Jack hand planer. Furthermore, this hand plane can be distinguished by being extremely durable and being made of high-quality materials.
Pros
- Outstanding value for the money
- A square cut is a sign of good machining
- It is an excellent shooting plane
Cons
- No additional bag to store dust
- Hard to sharpen the blades
Verdict
This compact hand planer provides an excellent value for your money as you get so many things in this compact GreatNeck C4 Bench-Jack Plane.
Things to Consider While Choosing the Best Hand Plane for Rough Lumber
If you are new to woodworking crafts, then you must gather knowledge about the tools and materials you are going to need and how to identify the good ones. You should consider the purpose of the plane when selecting it. Also, choosing the right length will help you to achieve the best results and to be comfortable as you work.
1. Metal Body or Wooden
Whether you choose a metal body or a wooden body is entirely up to you. Wooden and metal-bodied planes each have pros and cons. Planes with metal bodies are heavier and more durable than wooden counterparts, especially when using rough woods. While a wooden body is naturally lighter, the wooden sole won’t damage or mark the work unlike a metal body plane. A metal-bodied plane will perform beautifully on any wood, but a wooden plane will finish it to perfection.
2. Blade thickness
How rigid a blade is depends on its thickness. A thin blade may flex slightly, increasing chatter. This will leave a poor, almost rigid finish on the surface of the wood during use. When using thicker blades, the finish is smoother and more resistant to stretching.
3. Angle of the Blade
How well and what can be cut depends greatly on the blade angle of the plane. For cutting end grain, block planes are ideal since the blade slices rather than scrapes. The scraper planes use blades that are very high in angle. When used with hardwoods or softwoods, most bench planes present the cutting edge at an angle of 45 degrees.
4. Frog type
In order to buy a bench plane, you need to consider the frog, which supports the blade. A good design and the fit of the frog to the plane’s body will impact the performance of the plane. The two most common types of frog are Bailey and Bedrock. Bailey frogs typically adorn hand planes and rest on top of machined surfaces on the plane surface. It is used to adjust the position of the plane and to open or close the plane’s mouth. On the other hand, Bedrock style frogs sit on a machined surface on the plane’s body and are located on two ridges located on the plane’s body by holes on both sides. In this way, the frog stays squarely on the body.
Tips to Use Hand Plane on Rough Lumber
Starting with the jointer is the best way to smooth rough boards. Make sure the board is dead flat by continuing to plan it. When you arrive at your smoothing plane, do a few light passes to ensure the entire image is nice and smooth. Your jointer is finished when the ridges are gone. You won’t need to use a smoother if the boards are coming out of a power planer. Here are the tips for using hand plane on rough lumber-
- Put the parts in order first.
- Set the depth 1/32 inches on the jointer and start from a side
- Do not use too much wood at once unless the sawn is bent.
- You can use 1/16 inch on the bent sawn.
- Take a small amount on each pass if you want to avoid chattering and tearing out.
- Make sure to keep the bone side up when you are doing the first step.
- For the opposite side, make sure to maintain the first step, which you did at the start.
- Start with less depth and gradually increase as you can see the high spots disappearing.
- Then take the board back to the jointer and joint one edge with the bone side up.
- Check it with a square to make sure it is straightly done.
- Joint the board with the other end first if you notice tears or chatter.
- In case the tear-out remains after the side has been flattened, let it go after the flattened side has been sent through the planer.
- Jointers produce a rougher cut, whereas planers produce a smoother one. It may be necessary for you to sand yourself out of this jam if that doesn’t work.
Conclusion
The things to consider while buying a hand plane greatly depend on your work type. You can use wooden or metal hand planes to smooth surfaces, create grooves in the wood, and shape corners. Because metal soles are durable, you should buy planes with them. It is also wise to shop around for sharpening tools when selecting hand planes.
By maintaining the condition of your blade, you will be able to work more efficiently. When it comes to hand planers, Stanley Low Angle Sweetheart Jack Plane is highly recommended because it will provide you with the best service.
