>Is there a plane that is a good all around plane or does each one have a
>specific purpose which forces a person to buy more than one? Regards. -Guy
www.supertool.com, aka Patrick's Blood and Gore, is a work of love, and
maybe a small bit of obsession, by a Wrecker of days of yore. One of the
best resources freely available on the Web. (Patrick also sells handplanes
and hand tools of all vintages.)
That said, what you need depends greatly on what you want to do. Getting
started for many people usually means a block plane (trimming, end grain,
small touch up types of things), and a bench plane of some sort. Again, it
depends on what you are planning to do.
When I sent my eldest son off with a basic set of tools for taking care of
a house last summer, he got the well used, disrespectable looking block
plane and #4, which his grandfather had passed on to me. Sharpened, tuned,
and with a number of lessons.
(And following a neat suggestion from another Wrecker last month, I got my
Dad a Veritas block plane for Christmas to 'replace' to one he passed on to
me. We're doing furniture and built-ins together now, as I learn more
about this. Special times, while he can still enjoy it.)
Patriarch.