Planes

A plane is a trowel-shaped carpenter's tool with an adjustable blade for smoothing and leveling wood, or the surface of clay, sand, or plaster in a mold. There are a wide variety of hand planes , which may be made of steel or from wood and almost all planes are meant to smoothen the surface. The hand plane is one of the most basic of wood working hand tools.

Usage
There was a time when a hand plane was considered to be an indispensable tool, used to shape, straighten or smoothen just about every piece of wood in a house. Today, inspite of the emergence of power tools like routers, belt sanders, jointers, and power planers, the hand planes are still in use because no tool is better for shaving the edge of a sticking door or straightening a piece that is twisted or warped or or chamfering the corner of a board. Planes are used for trimming, beveling, fitting and shaping wood, and smoothing rough spots left by sawing and drilling.

Quality determinants

Steel used in the cutter, cap iron, sole and body of the plane: The cap iron should be of hard steel so adjustment screws will not strip. Hard steel cutters hold an edge longer.
Precision manufacturing: The sole of the plane should be perfectly flat and the mouth opening narrow and precisely ground for the plane to shave wood flat without splitting the grain.

Parts of a plane

Parts of Planes

Types of planes
There are a large range of planes available and each plane is used for different purposes. Some examples of hand planes are as follows:

Smoothening plane: It is used for smoothing short pieces of wood and its length ranges from 8 to 10 inches.		Jack plane: This plane has a steel body, from 12" to 15" in length, and used for rough shaping of boards and smoothen long surfaces.
Wood block plane: This type of plane is still available in the old design and is used to remove a large amount of wood. They are light in weight and can be used comfortably for longer periods.		Jointers: They are very long planes (from 18" up to 30" or more ) and used to flatten and join the faces of boards.
Instrument maker plane: Made out of brass in lengths from about 1" to 2", they are meant for shaping and sizing musical instruments.		Router plane: They are held across the wide part with both hands and drawn towards you as you work. It is used for cutting or cleaning a groove and not for use across the grain.
Small block plane: Used for light work like producing 'chamfers', this planes is smaller than a wood block plane and normally held and used in one hand.		Miniature Planes: These type of planes may look like small toys but they are highly suitable for getting into small areas and come in several profiles for different tasks.
Radi Planes: This comes with replacable blades and used to remove the sharp corner from the edge of material.		Bullnose plane: It can make a surface plain right into corners.
Rebate plane: This type of plane is designed for producing shoulders or rebates. For example: a base to a jewelry box which is rebated into the sides.		Combination plane: This plane is used for creating a shoulder or a rebate on the piece of wood's edge and it is adjustable for different widths, unlike a rebate plane.

Classification of planes on the basis of materials of which they are manufacturer

Wooden plane: It is entirely made of wood except for the blade. With the help of a wooden wedge, the iron is held into the plane and is adjusted by striking the plane with a hammer.
Transitional plane: It has a wooden body with a metal casting used to hold and adjust the blade.
Metal plane: It is constructed of metal, except, for the handles.
Infill plane: It has a metal body filled with very hard wood on which the blade rests and the handles are formed. Construction is purely of English or Scottish style.

Other classification

Shoulder plane: Trims tenons and other joints.
Molding plane: Cuts moldings along the edge of a board.
Plow plane: Cuts grooves and trenches.
Chisel plane: Removes wood up to a perpendicular surface like that from the bottom inside of a box.
Fore Plane: A fore plane is used for fine, flat finishing work.
Bench plane: They are adjustable; the best have lateral as well as fore and after cutter adjustment and a movable frog to vary the mouth opening.
Surface Forming Plane: A surface-forming plane, also called a file, cuts rapidly and smoothly on wood, aluminum, copper, etc. It is made of die-cast aluminum, has high-quality steel cutting blades and is available in circular and regular patterns.
Circular Plane: Circular planes are made with a flexible steel bottom that can be adjusted to plane on concave or convex surfaces.