I started making wooden planes because I needed a jointer plane to flatten my workbench.

The Lie-Nielsen jointer was too expensive, I had trouble finding a vintage Stanley locally, and I was afraid if I bought a vintage Stanley over the internet that I’d get something with a sole way out flat. Planemaking is fun, but it’s not really a way to save money.

I wanted to write a little about my experience so hopefully you can learn from some of my mistakes.

Here’s the planes I’ve made in order. Each one taught me something.