Any long plane will serve, IF it is well tuned and sharp. Especially sharp. Do not assume a new plane will be as sharp as possible out of the box.
Suggest you look up "scary sharp" on the net, and invest in a device that holds the blade at a constant and correct angle. There are lots of diffirent ones. And lots of info on plane tuning and sharpening on the net.
Have fun!

I tried to find info, but I really don't know witch plane to choose ? Someone could advise me on a good plane to buy from LeeValley or a store like HomeDepot :-/ ?
thanks for your tips !

You don't necessarily need a plane or planer for this project.

If you use a Kreg system with the larger face clamp, you can get alignment good enough to sand with 60 grit, it'll cost about the same as a good powered hand planer, and you'll be able to do a lot more with the jig after this project is done.

Just using enough clamps in the right way can get you close enough too. For a 48" long glue up, you need a minimum of three transverse clamps to get good joints all the way down, and you can get good face alignment with two or three more pairs holding 1x3's or 1x4's on edge across the face of the assembly. Get the lateral clamps in place and medium tight, then place the one by's and clamps, and keep making circuits of the clamps, loosening and retightening two or more at a time in the proper order to allow the components to move where they need to be.

Weigh the cost (and future utility) of extra clamps, versus the Kreg jig, versus the plane or planer to make the decision.

On a project like the one you describe, Iusually go with 9 clamps and some 60 grit. That doesn't rule out other methods though, and if you look at powered hand planers, you might get a deal on a Makita, since they seem to be moving out of the general market, or at least some stores are. I've been watching the prices drop on close-out Makita hand planers now, and the last time I checked you can get one for right at a hundred at the right store. Even with the price deal, the Bosch hand planer has one featurethat's hard to pass up. After you spend a while eating sawdust from a Makita for a day or two, you'll really appreciate the Bosch's directionally adjustable exhaust port. Food for thought.

Keep in mind that the grain on every piece of the assembly has to be aligned to avoid planing problems, and that can sometimes be hard to mesh with getting good joints and good appearance of the finished grain patterns. Even then...

Yesterday I was doing a very light sand between stain coats, 220 in an orbital, and somehow the paper got ripped off the machine and stuffed under a new, and disturbingly large corner splinter so tight the only way to remove it was to chisel out the splinter. Front dead center on the joint between the lid and bottom of the nearly finished project.

Fortunately it is a toolbox for work, so a little gouge isn't going to affect functionality, but no matter how well you plan and execute, wood is not a homogenous medium and all your planning and work can go down the drain with just a tiny bit of bad luck. Fortunately, good technique makes it rare.

A big THANK YOU for your comment !!!!
I'll probably get a DeWalt Random Orbital planner this week from HomeDepot at 65$can (~US50$). With 60 grit :)

For clamps, I didn't buy anyone yet, so 9 of them is a lot ;) 24" clamps should be enough ? or longuer ? maybe 2-4 good ones and 2-4 more cheap.

I'll probably join 3x 10-11 3/4 pieces together first and join the 3 big pieces together after that !

*Another question : you think I could try to join some pieces of another wood type (darker than Maple) to make it "original" ;) If yes, witch hard wook would be easy to find and not to expensive ? :)

Jeffers is right, but I've never had that much luck. I started out in woodworking years and years and years ago after building my first house, and trying to "decide" whether to get into woodworking or not. At that point I wasn't sure, so I spent a winter trying to "learn" with handtools before I spent big bucks on things like planers and jointers and so on. Well, nearly 20 years later, that education has paid off in spades, because I am one of the few (if any), carpenters that I know who actually CAN use a handplane.

But I digress. In short, the longer the plane (like a #7 jointer), the better/smoother the surface. But they're big, and somewhat expensive. I think a good #5 would probably suit you well....but if it were me, I'd probably go with a Jack (#5), and a joiner (#7). I like the Lee Valley ones (I have a couple); I think they are excellent tools for the price, and work very well. For my money, however, I generally buy Stanley Bailey models from Amazon; the British planes are made much better than corresponding ones here in the US, and they are not that expensive....but you do have to tune them.

I have a full set of them from #3-#7. I used to get them from William Alden, which, in my mind, was the premiere woodworking catalog, but now that they've gone out of business, the best place is Amazon.

Hope that helps.

If your working on endgrain such as on a butcher block, you
might wanna go with a low-angle block plain. I bought one a
couple years back from Lie-Nielsen. Great plain, but a bit
pricey. They just came out with another model at half the price.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lie-Neilsen Toolworks

Sorry, I meant plane, not "plain".

This is not that easy of a project for a beginner. For a 48" long glue up, you should probably start with boards 50" long or so for trimming. You need at least seven clamps evenly spaced down the length and a few more to maintain alignment. If I read your last post correctly, you're going to glue this up in full-length sections, that's good. You might stick to gluing up no more than 3-4 strips at a time. You will need a large, fairly flat workbench. The DeWalt you mentioned is not a planer, but a sander. Even with 60 grit, you're going to have a tough time getting it smooth, let alone flat. What you need is a hand plane, like the others mentioned. A long one, sometimes referred to as a #7, or Jointer plane. If your boards are fairly smooth on the wide face when you buy them, they won't need any 'adjusting'. Glue them up, and when it is all dry, use the plane to flatten. Then sand it. If I were you, I wouldn't mix in any other species of wood for now, as most of the 'dark' kinds have more open grain then maple. You might try cherry, but it's expensive.

'Pony' pipe clamps at Home Depot, etc. $13 US. Plus 3/4" black pipe, $10 for 10 ft. Use at least 5 ft lengths. Harbor freight has a cheaper version of the clamp. Stanley makes a jointer plane, so does Lee Valley in Canada. Much better. With some knowledge of how to tune them, you can get good results from either. Without that, you're going to struggle.

Good luck!

The the DeWald tool, I wanted to say "Sander" of course :)

For the hand plane, I can't pay for a LeeValley #7, too expensive for me :( Maybe I can find a Stanley plane...

For clamps, why do I need 60" long ? Do I need clamps all arround the table to maintain alignment ? not only for 24" side ?

I'll probably glue up 3-4 strips at a time like you said, but I saw people on the web gluing up no more up to 20 strips at time ! :-/

My mistake. Your board is only 24" wide, not 48". The pipes will have to be longer than 24" so they reach, AND you have room for an extra board on each side (called a "caul") to distribute the pressure. When you get to gluing up, especially with yellow glue, the first ones you glue are going to start drying before you get to number 20. They're also going to squirm around when you start to squeeze. If you are not in a rush, try searching for sources of antique stanley planes. There are a lot of people selling them, and the quality is much higher than new.

Yes, 24"wide, 48"long !

Thanks for your comments ! I'll probably try to buy 3 30-40" good clamps with large clamping surface area (like Bessey K-Body Clamps), will I need more or will those clamps be enough to distribute the pressure ?

If you're looking to buy new handplanes which you plan to use the rest of your life, the Lee Valley Veritas planes are excellent choices. Ideally you'd want a #7 and #5 as Jason said, and a #4 if you're a perfectionist. If those are too expensive you could probably manage to do a passable job with just a #5 and some care.

Look on eBay for used planes as well. But used handplanes can be a minefield for the newbie, so I'd stick to looking for the LV/Veritas planes, lightly used. You'll also need some sharpening supplies - a honing guide and a couple stones at least.

Me, I just bought the LV benchtop slabs. Much easier than trying to make them yourself! But you know what, if all this is too expensive then why not just buy a couple sheets of plywood and laminate them to make your benchtop?

Bessey's are good clamps, but they aren't magical! They're very good for keeping things square and parallel, but three of them won't do the job. You really do need a clamp about every 6", alternating top and bottom, to get the pressure. For the price of three bessey's, you can probably buy six pipe clamps & pipe. It will pay off to buy the good planes from LV, they're ready to go out of the box.

ok, thanks for the comment, I'll try to use 6 clamps at least, probably 8 ! ;)

For LV/Veritas planes, it's hard to find them bellow US150$ :-/ But I'll thing about it !

I don't want to buy LV benchtop slab, I know it should be easier and not a lot more expensive, but, I would to do it myself ;) And, I don't like plywood ! ;)

The reason so many are recommending the LV handplanes is because of what Bob_AM says - they're ready to go out of the box. If you go with cheaper new planes like Stanley, then what you really get is more of a handplane kit. All the parts are there, but they require substantial tuning to get into proper working order, and once it's tuned to perfection it's still inferior to the LV out of the box. The tuning may actually be appealing to you since you want the adventure of making your own benchtop. If you want to try this route, I highly recommend Garret Hack's "The Handplane Book" to get you started. After reading the book you may decide to go with vintage Stanley/Bailey planes instead.

Oh, one other brand (for new planes) nobody's mentioned is Clifton. I've heard good things about their planes and they certainly look good. Pricewise they're probably pretty close to LV, though.

Actually, the Stanley Bailey's I have not had to tune, out of the box. The American Stanlesys are worthless, as are Record (in my opinion). I've never seen a plane, chisel, or other cutting edge similar that didn't need to be fixed, out of the box, including my Lee Valley plane blades.

Clifton, as well as Lie-Neilsen probably make some of the best planes in the world. But I don't know if I'd want to spend the money on them, personally.

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but it would only cost a few bucks to have a lumber or woodworker shop plane it down for you. I happen to be making countertops out of old 2"thick maple and not sure I can handle that size & weight (1 will be 8 feet long) I decided I didn't want to risk ruining it, Besides I'll have enough to do gluing, finishing & etc.

Off we go on a tangent....

Jason, I'm not very familiar with the new Stanley Bailey's, but I'm not sure if you're aware that Stanley hasn't made a plane in the US since the 60's. All the cheap new ones you are familiar with are actually made in England. I suspect the 'Bailey' name was resurrected to introduce a new line that may be a little improved, but still same point of mfr. The ones that are so desirable (and old) were made in the US. Records are a little better, but not much. Also, made in England. Just an fyi.

Bob; thanks for responding. No...I don't think that's quite correct. The ones I'm referring to (the ones you get at Home Depot and the like), that have the Stanley name on them are actually made in China. I looked at one today, and the box says "Made in China". The Bailey's are made in either England or France. And I must admit that I kind of disagree that the Records are better. The cap plate (at least on the ones I've seen), is much rougher, the stupid thumb screw (as opposed to a lever), on the cap is ridiculous compared to a lever, and the mouths' are generally out of square. No...I'd have to say that the Records I've seen rank at the bottom. I'm not trying to start an argument, but I do want to point out that I use handplanes as part of my general assortment of tools for a living. And no, I don't want to take this too far off on a tangent either, but I will interject one more thing. First, however, I'll apologize; I know that this will be controversial; I know some will find it hogwash, and I know some will argue from the start. However, this is my opinion:

I am always kind of insulted, and perhaps a little perplexed, by the group of people who say you need X brand or X tool to do a job. Yes, I completely agree that Lee Valley, and better yet, Lie-Nielsen and Clifton planes are better than Stanley or Record. I also agree that a Delta tablesaw is better than a benchtop saw...but I don't think it matters. I do not believe that people need to have the absolute best equipment, or the best tuned equipment to turn out beautiful, functional woodworking projects, nor do I think people need to spend massive amounts of money to get into this hobby or profession. There are plenty of builders and others who make cabinets using jigs and circular saws; both Fine Homebuilding and the Journal of Light Construction both have numerous articles on this; there are a great many people with cheap planes, sandpaper, and patience who can turn out great work without spending $500 on some other tool.

I, and other builders do it every day. To suggest that someone has to buy a specific tool, or specific price level, is in my opinion, just not true. Yes; we'd all like to have the nicer ones; but it doesn't mean you can't do nice work with "lesser" tools.

Record has recently stopped manufacturing in England and has turned to the far east.

Ok, here's what I'll probably try to get for my project... Tools that I need for this project and that will last for my others ideas :) Furniture I need too, of course. So if you have any tips, advice or ideas for me, you're welcome to help me :)

TOOLS
-------------------
- Plane : Basic Stanley or other brand (~50$ maximum)
- Basic Cabinetmaker's Sharpening Set from LeeValley (~50$)
- DeWalt Ramdom Orbital sander with 60 grit (I just bought it from home depot for ~us50$)
- Clamps : I'll try to borrow 3-4 36" clamps, and I'll buy 3-4 more (~us20$ each).
- Cabinet scraper (I own it)
- Handsaw (I own it)
- Glue Spreaders (~us3$ ;)
- Router + router bit (to finish the butcher bloc with "round" corner)(I own it).
- Sanding block for "perfect" job ;) (I own it)
- Â ???

FURNITURE
-------------------
- 32 strips of 1x2x48" Hard Maple (I'll probably get 1 more to do some tests). I saw the price for a 1x2x96" at HomeDepot, ~10$can(~$US 7,50 each). So a total of ~160$can(~$US 125).
- Lee Valley Cabinetmaker's Glue 2002 GF : how much (? fl oz?) do I need to join my 32 strips ???
- 100% Pure Tung Oil to finish the job ? how much (? fl oz?) do you think I need ?

I don't know if the plane is essentiel, like Bob_AM said "If your boards are fairly smooth on the wide face when you buy them, they won't need any 'adjusting'", the Hard maple strips I saw looks great.

Comments are welcome !
Thanks to everyone who helps me :)

Good luck!

1. The plane is for flattening the finished glue up.
2. Titebond II is just as good, maybe cheaper?
3. Your mother gave you 10 free glue spreaders.
4. You'll definitely need to plane the ends!

1. Hmm, interesting, I didn't think about it, maybe Scraper will be usefull too...
2. LV Cabinetmaker's Glue looks a little bit cheaper...
3. hahaha, great answer ;)
4. Should I really need a low angle plane ? or a "normal" could do the ends job ? ends are plane after joinery ?

A normal plane well sharpened will do the ends job. Does your
Home depot carry hard maple? Around here there's just one kind
sold and it seems a bit soft.
Hey, on the topic of handplanes, I bought a book recently
by David Finck called Making and Mastering Wood Planes.He
shows how by buying a high quality blade and chipbreaker,
and using some scrap wood, one can build all kinds of cool
handplanes, from block planes to long jointers. I Plan to try
building me some.

Here is a link that might be useful: David Finck Book about Making Handplanes

"Home depot carry hard maple?"

hmm, I think the maple strips were good enough... and there were a little bit darker than usual... ?!

Swanz is referring to the fact that there's two different types of maple (for woodworking purposes). Hard maple is significantly harder than soft maple. Probably the HD maple is soft maple. For getting the ends of your bench even, I'd just use a circular saw and a straightedge. Clamp some scrap at each end to reduce splintering. Hand-planing end grain can be a lot of work.

Hey Jason, you made a good point. Alot of us (me included)
are introduced to woodworking by reading magazines like Fine
Woodworking. When you read all the power and hand tool reviews
you start thinking that you can't start making furniture
untill you have a classic European style workbench, A 3hp cabinet
saw, and a couple of thousand dollars worth of handplanes
by Lie-Neilsen or Clifton. It took me a while to say the heck
with it and start making due with what I had. (Though I did
buy a Lie-Neilsen low angle block plane a couple years back,
nice tool )

Swanz

My big eye opener was seeing an article in the Journal of Light Construction about a company that specializes in putting in "traditional" style kitchens (face-frame), on very high-end reproduction houses. They used circular saws (with very good blades), routers, and a block plane (and it was a Stanley at that!). Nothing fancy, but very fancy work.

Come to think of it, when I did my FIRST woodworking, back in the 70's, I actually helped hand build a large bar in East Lansing, Michigan. That guy used some pretty low-end tools, as well, but really knew how to make them work.

THANKS for all the info, have been reading this thread, since I happen to be planning to make maple counter tops using similar process (although I think I'll have the wood planed by professional woodworker to uniform thickness before gluing, then hand plane after gluing if needed-- but maybe not).

QUESTION about glue, is there such a thing as wood that is too hard for glue to absorb and hold? I've never seen wood as dense and hard as this 100 yr old maple I'm using. Id rather not have to bother w/ biscuit joining or dowels but... would that make a difference in how well it holds?

Hello, all should be ok for the butcher top. And should cost me arround ~US 160$ including stripes, glue and tung oil.

The "problem" is for the others parts of the table (legs, etc.). Should I use another type of wood ? Because, maple would cost me arround 160-200$ too, just for this part :/

If someone could help me with theses questions ;) thx !

- Lee Valley Cabinetmaker's Glue 2002 GF : how much (? fl oz?) do I need to join my 32 strips ???

- 100% Pure Tung Oil to finish the job ? how much (? fl oz?) do you think I need ?

Tombed, I'm planning on building a bench out of dimensional
lumber using the plan from the website below as a rough idea. I know
you already have a top,but this might give you some ideas
for the base.

Swanz

Here is a link that might be useful: Bobs Fast and Cheap Bench

For the BASE, what king of wood (cheaper !!) or oil or ... ? do you think I could use for a great looking with Maple top ?

thx

Since you're on a tight budget, why don't you just use poplar or pine? You might also want to check the yellow pages for a real lumberyard or place that sells furniture-quality wood. The Home Depot wood might not be well-dried and I often have difficulty finding straight and true boards there.

Someone told me yesterday a method of using a jig with a router w/ a rabbiting router bit, & running the router back and forth to get a planed surface. Time consuming but effective. The problem is I couldn't quite follow how he said to do it and I didn't want to make him repeat it a THIRD time! Has anyone done this, and can explain or direct me to the info. THANX much!

Kashka Kat,

The router flattening method is tough to explain without visuals, and I haven't figured out how to attatch pictures just yet. Basically you have 2 parallel wooden straight edges clamped to the long sides of the surface you're flattening, sticking up above the surface to be flattened. You then make a sliding bridge, which is just a length of plywood with a slot down the middle (for the router bit to drop through) and on-edge boards screwed to either side to guide the router and stiffen the bridge (think of a U-beam-like structure). The bridge spans the straight edges, the router hangs through it, slides back and forth, just skimming the surface of the workpiece.

Tombed,

How is your project coming?

Hello, my project will probably change a little bit, because I finally won't need it for a Kitchen Island, but I want to do it for a "traditionnal" workbench :-)

So the project still be the same, but for another use !

For next 2 weeks, "I'm going to Disney Land !", so I'll work on it after this :)