A woodworking hand tool consisting of a sharp blade held at a fixed angle within a rigid body. As the operator pushes the tool across a board, the blade projects slightly below the flat bottom surface to slice off a thin, continuous shaving of wood. Planes are used to reduce thickness, flatten warped boards, and leave a glass-smooth finish that requires no sanding.
Set the blade on the smoothing plane for a gossamer shaving before you tackle that figured maple.
Also heard as
- hand plane
Do not mix it up with
- Planer: A plane is a manual hand tool, whereas a planer is a stationary power tool that automatically reduces board thickness.
Related terms
Planer
A stationary power tool that machines a board to a uniform thickness.
Jointer
A woodworking machine or long hand plane used to create a perfectly flat and square edge on a board.
Shoot
To plane the edge or end of a board perfectly straight and square.
Compass plane
A specialized hand plane with an adjustable flexible sole used for smoothing curved surfaces.