Plane (tool) - Types of Planes

Types of Planes

Most planes are categorized as either bench planes or block planes. In modern-day carpentry, electrically powered hand planers (also called hand or handheld power planers or simply power planes) have joined the family.

Bench planes are characterized by the cutting iron bedded with the bevel facing down and attached to a chipbreaker. Block planes are characterized by the absence of a chipbreaker and the cutting iron bedded with the bevel up. The block plane is usually a smaller tool that can be held with one hand and is used for general purpose work such as taking down a knot in the wood, smoothing up small pieces, making the end of a sawed board square and smooth.

Different types of bench planes are designed to perform different tasks, with the name and size of the plane being defined by the use. Bailey iron bench planes were designated by number respective to the length of the plane. This has carried over through the type, regardless of manufacturer. A No. 1 plane is but little more than five inches long. A typical smoothing plane (approx. 9 inches) is usually a No. 4, jack planes at about 14 inches are No. 5, an eighteen inch foreplane will be a No. 6, and the try planes at 22 to 24 inches in length are No. 7 or 8. A designation, such as No. 4½ indicates a plane of No. 4 length but slightly wider.

A typical order of use in flattening, truing, and smoothing a rough sawn board might be:

• A scrub plane, which removes large amounts of wood quickly, is typically around 9 inches (230 mm) long, but narrower than a smoothing plane, and has an iron with a curved cutting edge.
• A jack plane is around 14 inches (360 mm) long, continues the job of roughing out, but with more accuracy than the scrub.
• A jointer plane (including the smaller fore plane) is between 18 to 24 inches (460 to 610 mm) long, and is used for jointing and final flattening out of boards.
• A smoothing plane, up to 10 inches (250 mm) long, is used to begin preparing the surface for finishing.
• A polishing plane is a traditional Japanese woodworking tool which takes an even smaller shaving than a western smoothing plane to create an extremely smooth surface. Polishing planes are the same length as western smoothing planes.

Planes may also be classified by the material of which they are constructed:

• A wooden plane is entirely wood except for the blade. The iron is held into the plane with a wooden wedge, and is adjusted by striking the plane with a hammer.
• A transitional plane has a wooden body with a metal casting set in it to hold and adjust the blade.
• A metal plane is largely constructed of metal, except, perhaps, for the handles.
• An infill plane has a body of metal filled with very dense and hard wood on which the blade rests and the handles are formed. They are typically of English or Scottish manufacture. They are prized for their ability to smooth difficult grained woods when set very finely.

Some special types of planes include:

• The spokeshave, which has a very short sole, either flat or curved, and is used for smoothing curved surfaces.
• The shoulder plane, is characterized by a cutter that is flush with the edges of the plane, allowing trimming right up to the edge of a workpiece. It is commonly used to clean up dadoes (housings) and tenons for joinery.
• The moulding plane, which is used to cut mouldings along the edge of a board.
• The grooving plane which is used to cut grooves along the edge of a board for joining.
• The rabbet plane, also known as a rebate or openside plane, which cuts rabbets (rebates) i.e. shoulders, or steps.
• The plow plane, which cuts grooves and dadoes (housings).
• The router plane, which cleans up the bottom of recesses such as shallow mortises and dadoes (housings).
• The chisel plane, which removes wood up to a perpendicular surface such as from the bottom inside of a box.
• The finger plane, which is used for smoothing very small pieces such as toy parts, very thin strips of wood, etc. The very small curved bottom varieties are known as violin makers planes and are used in making stringed instruments.
• The bullnose plane has a very short leading edge to its body, and so can be used in tight spaces; most commonly of the shoulder and rabbet variety.
• The combination plane, which combines the function of a moulding and rabbet planes, having different cutters and adjustments
• The circular or compass plane, which utilizes an adjustment system to control the flex on a steel sheet sole and create a uniform curve. A concave setting permits great control for planing large curves, like table sides or chair arms, and the convex works well for chair arms, legs and backs, and other applications.