In common with many on here, I have a lot of DIY toys and in particular, power tools. Over the years I've acquired drills (corded, cordless combi & SDS, pillar), sanders (ordital, rotary, belt), router, circular saw, jigsaw, electric plane etc.

What I notice is that there are many jobs too small/unimportant to break out the serious gear, or create the associated mess. This applies particularly to woodworking, when cutting bits and pieces to cobble together into something useful that doesn't need to be pretty. However, while the appearance doesn't matter for such things, it still annoys me to see crappy, wobbly edges (e.g. cut with a jigsaw, when a circular saw would be the proper tool).

In a nutshell, I'm thinking about getting a manual plane; something to make a rough edge cut flat and smooth, without throwing clouds of dust everywhere.

The first question, then, is: should I buy one new?

The second question is: for a given size and with the use I have in mind, does brand/quality matter that much?

The third question is: for shaving wood in the range 1ft to 3ft in length and typically no more than an inch wide (edge to be planed), what size (length) of plane is best?

Thanks.

Bill.