Jack plane

File:Women Carpenters Then and Now- Women at work in England, 1941 D2694.jpg

Jack planes are typically {{convert|12–18|in}} long and {{convert|2+1/2–3|in||abbr=}} wide, with wooden planes sometimes being slightly wider. The blade is {{convert|1+2/4–2+1/4|in||abbr=}} wide. Historically wooden jack planes in the United States have typically been {{Convert|15-18|inch|mm|abbr=}} long, (180 to 230 mm) long with irons {{Convert|1+3/4 – 2+1/2|in|mm|abbr=}} wide.{{Cite book|last=Sellens|first=Alvin|url=https://archive.org/details/woodworkingplane00sell|title=Woodworking Planes: A Descriptive Register of Wooden Planes|publisher=Sellens|others=Internet Archive|year=1978|location=Augusta, Kansas, USA|pages=28–32}}

Under the commonly used Stanley Bailey numbering system for metal-bodied planes the {{Convert|14|inch|mm|abbr=|sp=}} long #5 plane is a jack.{{Cite web|title=Stanely Bailey Planes Miscellaneous Data|url=http://primeshop.com/access/woodwork/stanleyplane/DataMisc.htm|access-date=2020-10-16|website=primeshop.com|archive-date=2020-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112012200/http://primeshop.com/access/woodwork/stanleyplane/DataMisc.htm|url-status=dead}} However, not all early metal plane manufacturers used the same number scheme for their planes. For example Millers Fall and Sargent used different numbers to refer to the same planes.

The name jack plane dates back to at least the 17th century, and was a term used to describe many tools used for rough work. Being a common first name the term jack came to be used as a disdainful name for the common man, as well as common tools and jobs.{{Cite web|title=jack plane, n.|url=https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/100529|url-access=subscription|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Oxford English Dictionary|language=en}}{{Rp|48}} The jack plane has also become associated with the related term "jack of all trades" as they can be adjusted to perform some of the work of both smoothing and jointer planes, especially on smaller pieces of work.{{cite book|last=Tolpin|first=Jim|title=The New Traditional Woodworker|publisher=Popular Woodworking Books|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4403-0428-6|location=Cincinnati, Ohio}}{{Rp|34–36, 48}}

File:Wooden Jack Plane.jpg

As with other bench planes, until the end of the 19th century the bodies of jack planes were predominantly wooden, typically made out of beech (Fagus sylvatica in Europe, Fagus grandifolia in North America). Wooden planes were largely superseded by iron-bodied planes and to a lesser extent transitional planes. Although there were earlier all-metal planes, Leonard Bailey patented a number of highly influential all-metal planes and improvements in the late 19th century.{{cite web|title=A Brief History Of The Woodworking Plane|url=http://www.handplane.com/879/a-brief-history-of-the-woodworking-plane/|access-date=Oct 15, 2015|website=Handplane Central|date=15 November 2012}} Despite the predominance of the heavier iron-bodied planes, vintage wooden planes remain in common use, while new wooden jack planes are available from a small number of manufacturers.{{Cite web|date=2015-07-03|title=Another Great Maker of Wooden Handplanes|url=https://www.popularwoodworking.com/woodworking-blogs/another-great-maker-of-wooden-handplanes/|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Popular Woodworking Magazine|language=en-US}}

The irons (blades) on jack planes are often ground with a slight camber, allowing more material to be removed without marring the work.{{Cite book|last=Hayward|first=Charles Harold|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19496718|title=Charles Hayward's Carpentry Book.|publisher=The English Universities Press Ltd|year=1958|isbn=9781440304286|location=London|pages=32|language=en|oclc=19496718}} For a finer finish, the irons can also be ground like a smoothing plane – with a straight edge and a very slight curve on the corners.

The cut is generally set deeper than on most other planes as the plane's purpose is to rapidly remove stock rather than to gain a good finish (smoothing planes are used for that).{{Rp|34}} In preparing stock, the jack plane is used after the scrub plane and before the fore plane or jointer plane and the smoothing plane.{{Cite web|date=2017-02-09|title=Bench Planes: The System of Three|url=https://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/bench-planes-the-system-of-three/|access-date=2020-10-16|website=Popular Woodworking Magazine|language=en-US}}

The woodworker will often start planing across or diagonal to the grain ("traversing") to roughly level the workpiece before planing in the direction of the grain.{{Cite book|last1=Wells|first1=Percy A.|url=https://archive.org/details/moderncabinetwor00well|title=Modern Cabinet Work: Furniture & Fitments|last2=Hooper|first2=John|publisher=Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott Company|others=The Library of Congress|year=1922|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA|pages=60}}{{Cite book|last=Schwarz|first=Christopher|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/875304703|title=The Anarchist's Tool Chest|publisher=Lost Art Press LLC|year=2011|isbn=978-0-578-08413-8|location=Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, USA|pages=79–80|oclc=875304703}}

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Category:Planes