The jack plane is one of the most commonly
used of all of the bench planes.
The jack plane is used for rough work, straightening surfaces, reducing
the thickness, it can also be used for accurate shooting of moderately
long edges. One very common job a user will use this tool for is to
take shavings off of a door which is sticking.
The best description to answer the question 'what is a jack plane?' is:
they are best known typically as 14 - 15 inches in length with a 2 - 2 3/8 inch wide
plane blade.
The '2 inch' planes are generally known as 'number 5' planes and
the '2 3/8 inch' planes are known as 'number 5 1/2' planes.
These types of plane are very convenient to handle; with the use of
a rear handle and most commonly a front knob (infill jack planes had
a front bun infill; a raised shaped piece of wood).
A jack plane is usually the first plane reached for in the process
of preparing a rough piece of timber for flattening. Once the timber
has been worked with a jack plane, depending on what workpiece is being
planed will depend on the next choice of plane. If a large piece is
being work like a large table top then
a fore plane
may then be used, or/and
a jointer plane / trying plane
and then finally finished with
a smoothing plane.
The term 'jack' is an old word used in reference to an item which is
used for rough and familiar work. There are numerous old items which
have references to the word 'jack' such as a 'jack' (a tool for raising
heavy weights), 'boot-jack' (a tool to assist taking off boots), 'jack-boots'
(pair of boots worn for rough work), and 'roasting-jack' (a tool for turning a spit).
The jack plane has evolved slowly over the last few centuries,
during the evolution a variety of different planes have appeared
on the marketplace.
Whilst the core design and function has remained the same, the materials and
construction of these planes has evolved. Each evolutionary phase coincided
with new technological advances which enabled makers to make enhancements
or make changes to suit mass production techniques.
The below charts the evolutionary stages of the jack plane from its
early form through to its recent form.
Click on each era of jack plane to see the full list of jack plane reviews..
WOODEN
The commonly used jack planes of the 17th, 18th, 19th and the first part of the 20th century were made of wood.
INFILL
The second part of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th also saw the 'Rolls Royce' of jack planes, the infill planes.
TRANSITIONAL
The second part of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th saw the transitional plane; a plane which was half way between a wooden plane and a metal plane.
A typical metal / iron jack plane consists of the following parts:
The same blade setup and adjusting process is used for nearly all common iron planes
such as the
Stanley No. 5 & 5 1/2, Record No. 05 & 05 1/2, Woden W5,
Marples M5 & M5 1/2 and many other similar types of
iron jack plane.
The process for adjusting the blade on these types of plane is as follows
(refer to the parts image for parts identification)...
The blade (K) is secured to a cap iron (I) with the use of a cap iron screw (J).
The blade (and cap iron) is laid on top of the frog (D) and through the
locking screw (H) with the cutting edge protruding through the hole (mouth) (G)
in the sole of the plane; the blade cutting edge should be set with the
bevelled side of the cutting edge facing downwards.
The blade (and cap iron) is locked in place with the use of the lever
cap (L); the lever cap is locked by pushing the lever (M) at the top of the
lever cap towards the blade until the lever cap locks and it feels
like the blade is locked firm with no movement. If there is movement
tighten the locking screw.
The blade can be adjusted laterally by moving the lateral adjuster (E)
from side to side; the lateral adjuster is located just behind the
top of the blade. This is useful if the blade cutting edge is protruding
slightly more on the left or the right.
The blade can also be adjusted using the depth adjuster wheel/nut (O); the
adjuster wheel is located behind the frog. This is useful for
setting the blade cutting edge to protrude to the required depth of cut.
At the beginning of the stroke the hand holding the front knob pushes down tightly in order to prevent 'dipping' at the rear end; this pressure is relieved as the stroke is being completed.
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to good safety practices for the safety of you and others. Refer to good practices
for the good health of your tool and property.
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and evolving, there is scope for error and shouldn't be fully relied upon,
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