Do Woodworkers Use Hand Planes?

The traditional woodworking hand plane (often called a “hand planer” by new woodworkers) seem to be the most popular tools in traditional hand tool woodworking. Hand planes make the most exciting changes to your wooden work piece.

What planes should a woodworker have?

Every shop needs these planes: an adjustable-mouth block plane, a smoothing plane, a jointer plane, a shoulder plane, and an edge-trimming plane (or pair of edge-trimming planes). Master these five, and you'll see a huge improvement in your woodworking output.

What does a woodworking hand plane do?

A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood using muscle power to force the cutting blade over the wood surface. Some rotary power planers are motorized power tools used for the same types of larger tasks, but are unsuitable for fine-scale planing, where a miniature hand plane is used.