What it's for
Millwork and shop build
Workbenches, sawhorses, shelving, doors, trim and moldings, where the stock is long and rough and there's a lot of it. Here the big tools pay their way. A full-size hand saw breaks down boards, a long jointer plane trues edges and benchtops, a fore or jack plane takes off the rough, and a combination plane cuts grooves, beads and tongues along a board's length. A framing chisel handles the heavier joinery.
15 models we cover.
Starter kit
Where we’d start
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 5Stanley No. 5 Jack Plane
1869–1984
$65–$90 typical ask
161 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 5½Stanley No. 5½ Jack Plane
1898–1958
$110–$200 typical ask
26 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 6Stanley No. 6 Fore Plane
1869–1970
$80–$120 typical ask
134 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 7Stanley No. 7 Jointer Plane
1869–1970
$130–$210 typical ask
68 on eBay
Stanley · Bench plane
No. 8Stanley No. 8 Jointer Plane
1869–1961
$200–$290 typical ask
34 on eBay
Stanley · Specialty plane
No. 45Stanley No. 45 Combination Plane
1884–1962
$90–$260 typical ask
84 on eBay
Stanley · Specialty plane
No. 55Stanley No. 55 Universal Plane
1897–1962
$500–$850 typical ask
31 on eBay
Stanley · Specialty plane
No. 78Stanley No. 78 Rabbet Plane
1885–1973
$40–$65 typical ask
116 on eBay
Stanley · Marking tool
No. 21Stanley No. 21 Combination Square
1918–1941
$25–$50 typical ask
23 on eBay
Witherby · Bench chisel
Socket framing, 1 inchWitherby 1-Inch Framing Chisel
1840s–1955
$55–$110 typical ask
6 on eBay
Greenlee · Bench chisel
No. 230Greenlee Socket Firmer Chisel
by 1928 into the 1970s
$25–$45 typical ask
53 on eBay
Buck Bros. · Gouge
Firmer gouge, beveled outsideBuck Brothers Out-Cannel Gouge
1900–1917
$25–$50 typical ask
39 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
D-8Disston D-8 Hand Saw
late 1870s–1955, sold on under H. K. Porter into the 1970s
$50–$130 typical ask
111 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
D-23Disston D-23 Hand Saw
1911–1955 (lesser H. K. Porter versions to the early 1990s)
$50–$90 typical ask
159 on eBay
Disston · Hand saw
No. 12Disston No. 12 Hand Saw
about 1865–1928 (then the D-12 to about 1953)
$95–$250 typical ask
14 on eBay
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Tool
Use