mart: Thankyousir. I'll definitely look for instructional videos on the interwebs - good idea. & Yes, I realize that sharpening is a big part of planning and although I have a good set of stones, I’ll need to invest in a jig and either a few more stones, or the sandpaper, as you suggested. So, if you were just starting w/ planes and could only afford 2 Stanleys, which would you choose and why?
If just two planes, I'd go with a 4 1/2 sharpened with a camber for surfacing and a 7 for jointing. A #5 would be okay but the 7 has a lot more mass, not a bad thing when planing. I'd probably look for a Stanley Bedrock 604 1/2 and a 607. They were an improved version of the originals and regarded as a better plane. Here's a very good link to some great information regarding Stanley planes. I'd use the 4 1/2 for the same reason, a little more mass and a slightly wider cutting surface.
Stanley planesBoth Veritas and Lee-Nielsen make modern planes that are every bit as good, if not better than the original Stanleys. And they are built like the Bedrock models rather than the original Stanleys.
Power tools are great time savers and I use them far more than hand tools but there is something almost cathartic about using a sharp hand plane and rolling up those whisper thin curls and listening to the plane glide over the surface of the wood. No hearing protection required.
