Ever found yourself roaming around a tool shop and thinking which bench plane you should buy?
A fore plane, smoothing plane, or a jointer plane can be an option, but you are definitely looking for a plane that is the jack of all trades and will be the bang for your buck.
Well, the jack plane is that versatile tool for you. It is the master of all jobs that the other bench planes can do.
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Our Top Picks
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Top 5 Best Jack Plane in 2022
So, if you have made up your mind to buy this handy tool, we are here to help you in finding the best one. We researched and compared jack planes available in the marketplace and came down to the top 5 jack planes for you. Read along to learn what they are offering.
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1. Bench Plane No. 5 Iron Jack Plane
Woodworkers always look for a comfortable grip while selecting a jack plane. A jack plane with a closed conduit grip should be top of any list that concerns the jack plane.
The winner of our list is the iron jack plane from the Caliastro brand that is a premium-looking classy choice for a jack plane.
After seeing it, the first thing you’ll notice is the handle. Well, this is something you’ll love. The solid wood knob and handle with glossy finishing will take all your attention.
We know that look doesn’t define what’s inside. But in terms of Bench Plane No.5, this might be proved completely wrong. The 2-inch high steel blade offers absolute sharpness. Test it on any hardwood you can manage; it will give you stunning results.
We recommend you not to use your finger to test the sharpness of the blade. The materials used in blades are carbon steel which also ensures durability with sharpness.
On a different note, this jackplane offers an extra blade with a pre-mounted one. So, it’ll take years to buy a new blade for the jack plane. The blades are also adjustable. There’s a cool-looking screw you can loosen or tighten to get the perfect depth of blade for your wood planning.
Here are some tips to get the ultimate output from the iron jack plane.
After purchasing it, the pre-mounted blade is ready to start the job. The challenge is to keep both blades safe from rust. For that, keep the spare blade packed in rust-free paper.
The jack plane should be oiled and held in a rust-free area to get the perfect result. It is also recommended to sharpen the blade after prolonged use.
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2. STANLEY 12-137 Hand Planer No.62 Low Angle Jack Plane
When many users give positive feedback with satisfaction, then that product is worth becoming a member of this list. We did consider the overwhelming user support while creating this list. What they love about the STANLEY jack plane is the comfort, quality, and durability.
STANLEY low angle jack plane is probably the most accurate jack plane in this era as it offers the base and frog as one single cast. So, you don’t have to worry about the base and frog loose joinery. It also provides lateral adjustment locking in the base.
Though the whole body is a single cast, the handle is wooden for comfort reasons. The cherry wood handle and knob will give your hand a comfortable feeling while using it.
The brand, STANLEY, definitely claims praise for giving extra attention to the joining knob and handle. They used solid brass adjustment to lock it perfectly so that you don’t have to worry about the durability of the joint.
The more the jack plane weighs, the more it stables while working. STANLEY Hand Planer has a cast iron body that adds extra weight and offers the plane durability.
Different types of wood offer different textures and densities in fibers. So, smoothing different lumber with the same blade depth can ruin and waste wood. STANLEY’s No. 62 provides a mouth adjustment that will help you to adjust blades with varying types of wood.
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3. Grizzly Industrial H7566-14″ Jack Plane
Every piece of wood needs the magic of a jack plane to become the perfect furniture. We’re a long way ahead of time, but still, wood is a premium choice for any furniture.
There’s a lot of work needed in wood before making its journey from the forest to your dining room. In this journey, the primary step is to make those rough wood into smooth panels. For our no. 3, we got a kind of jack plane that’s one of the primosin this business.
Grizzly Industrial H7566 is a 14-inch-long jack plane that can change your rough wood surface upside down. The two inches wide blade can cut through all the roughness of wood and bring you a smooth low-friction surface.
And the tool is wonderfully crafted; we have to say. The well-designed handle, brass-made knurled adjusting nuts, and vertically mounted frog with lever caps are proof of that.
The handle and knob will assist you with the perfect grip during work. The adjustment setting of Grizzly Plane is also quite interesting. The primary screw helps to fix the blade and the second one works for adjusting the blade depth.
In terms of the durability of the Grizzly Industrial H7566, it uses a cast iron body with a perfectly flat base. The rust-free flat base will ensure that your smooth wood surface doesn’t get any scratches. And it features ground serrated soles as well that minimizes friction and improves sliding action.
The whole package weighs 5.74 pounds. You might think of it as heavy but keep in mind weight of a jack plane provides stability in the job.
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4. GreatNeck C4 9 Inch Bench-Jack Plane
Not every craftsman like a 14-inch-long jack plane. Many craftsmen like smaller hand tools that take smaller space in storage and are easy to carry. Well, now it’s time to introduce you to our No. 4 jack plane of this list.
GreatNeck C4 Bench-Jack Plane is a compact designed jack plane. The length is only 9-inch which is significantly low concerning other jack planes. However, it serves better when you need to level off high spots and offers a top-notch job to cure the roughness of woodblocks.
Also, we see no compromise in the blade quality of GreatNeck C4. The standard 2-inch-wide hardened high-speed blade will assure good results. The tampered high-speed blades are durable as well.
The blade is adjustable, too, so that you can switch from coarser to finer and vice-versa with ease. All credit goes to the two screws in the frog that will give you the freedom to adjust blade depth.
The tool consists of a cast-iron body that is precisely crafted and polished to ensure better durability and strength. It is also tasked with the job to keep the base smooth with minimum friction.
Another great thing about GreatNeck C4 is they’re offering replacement blades with the package.
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5. Stanley Low Angle Sweetheart Jack Plane
After seeing Stanley’s jack plane again, you might be asking what’s so special about Stanley. If any manufacturer in this world knows and has the most experience in making woodworking hand tools, then it’s Stanley.
They have been in this business since 1870. It’s not like they’re making the same old thing from the 1800s. Over the years, they significantly upgraded their tools.
Our listed 2nd product is Stanley 1-12-137 is a low-angle jack plane for making smooth wood surfaces. As we talked about earlier, this one tool is made from a single cast in base and frog, which significantly increases the accuracy of the job.
Let’s talk about durability. The cast iron used in the process is ductile, which means even with a significant impact on the iron, it will not break. Also, the cast iron puts extra weight and keeps the jack plane stable while working.
The ductility and weight of the cast iron ensure one of the top durability in the market. Like the first one on this list, this one’s handle and knob are also made from cherry wood.
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Jack Plane vs. Smoothing Plane
The working method has similarities, but the jack plane and smoothing plane have a lot of differences. First of all, the traditional tags and numbers. The No. 4 and No. 4-½ bench planes are usually called smoothing planes. The blade width varies from 1-¼ inches to 2 inches.
On the contrary, jack planes are no. 5 planes and also the most popular one too. The length of the jack plane varies from 11 inches to 14 inches. The standard blade width is 2 inches.
In terms of similarities, both have the same iron angle of 45 degrees. Both differ in the angle of exceptions.
The jack planes are very helpful in jointing work. It works excellent in flattening the edges of boards that are made to join together. Well, the reason behind this is the cutting edge of the jack plane. Its cutting edge has a rounded corner so that it doesn’t leave any tracks on the surface.
In the case of smoothing planes, the cutting edge is a little bit cambered. It doesn’t have any sharp edges, so you don’t have to worry about any ugly trails.
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No. 5 Bench Plane’s Specifications
You heard it a couple of times that the No. 5 bench plane is a jack plane. So, what are the factors that fill the quota of No. 5 bench planes?
The standard No. 5 bench plane has a specified length. The sole length is 14-inch and the blade or the cutter length is 2-inch. Though there are other jack planes with differences in length, 14-inch is the specified one.
Jack plane is the most popular bench plane because it is made to do most of the woodwork like doing joinery work. You can use the jack plane as the fore plane too. For that, you need to camber the iron and it will do the stock removing in no time.
It can serve the duty of a jointer plane too if you set it up with a straight iron. If you are on a tight budget and looking to buy fewer tools, then buy a jack plane cause it’s multipurpose.
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FAQs about Jack Plane
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What is the difference between a jack plane and a bench plane?
A bench plane is a typical classification of a woodworking tool. The name bench plane came from the usage of the bench rather than working on complex wood projects. On the other hand, a jack plane is a type of bench tool. It is a versatile tool to do the smoothing and jointing wood operations.
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Do you need a jointer plane?
Most woodworkers prefer to have a jointer plane for the joining of panels. If you’re not a professional woodworker, we won’t recommend buying a jointer plane. You can do the job with a jack plane. So, buy a jack plane first, then utilize it to the fullest.
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What is a low-angle plane for?
While you need to clean up end grains from a surface, the tool you need then is a low-angle plane. It makes the surface smoother by removing the arris and also helps to shape the curves. It has a lower bevel angle of 25 degrees and a bed angle of only 12 degrees.
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At what angle should a plane blade be sharpened?
If you know the properties of the blade, then you already know enough to sharpen the blade. The primary angle is 25 degrees. But the front of the blade makes it more round rather than sharp. So, make the degree of the blade edge 1-4 degrees higher than the primary angle.
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Final Words
Jack plane is a versatile tool that can make your woodworking tasks more accessible, and the multipurpose tool will also save you from spending money on buying extra hand tools.
The marketplace has a lot to offer when it comes to jack planes. Finding the best one can be tricky. With all those options, finding all the features and comparing them can take hours. We did the hard part for you in this article.
We hope this article has been an excellent companion to your journey in finding the best jack plane.
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You May Also Read:
Top 5 Rabbet Plane for Woodworking Jobs.
A list of Our All Time Favorite Shoulder Planes.
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