I like a 4 1/2, I don't have one, but was eyeing the Lie Nielsen one.
Nice and hefty. I have a no 5 bailey. But I bought a Lee Valley Low
angle Jack, I like the adjustable throat.

Why do I need an adjustable throat on a jack? ... I use it like a
smoother. I have a few blades and close the mouth instead of adjusting
the frog and can really get a nice finish on tough grain boards.

If I had your collection I probably wouldn't use them all. I would have
favorites. I would like to have all though.


On 6/21/2012 4:08 PM, Steve Turner wrote:
On 6/21/2012 2:32 PM, Buddy wrote:
On Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:16:37 -0500, Steve Turner
wrote:

Just a curiosity question - why do you suppose the #5 1/4 plane is
smaller than the #5?
Very nice collection. Do you use all the planes?

The 5-1/4 is usually referred to as a "Junior Jack" plane (and the 5-1/2
is sometimes called a "Jumbo Jack"). Apparently these planes were often
used in schools to train younger students, for which the regular No. 5
"Jack" plane was just a tad too big. I love the 5-1/4; it's basically a
longer No. 3 (and except for the base they share all the same parts),
and one of the tasks I use it for most is to make a final pass over
boards that have been edge-jointed on the power jointer to make them
glassy smooth prior to edge-gluing them together.

Yes, I use ALL of my planes (even the No. 2!), and it's hard to even say
which ones I use more often than any others. I reach for the 4-1/2 and
6 quite a bit, but they all get a good workout.