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SKU: 101-571

Kunz Plus No. 5 Jack Plane

$299.90
Shipping calculated at checkout.

German Design & Construction Make a Great Plane

Even if you do most of your work with machines, you should have at least one useable bench plane in your shop. They are useful for all sorts of situations, especially fine tuning joinery and cleaning up the faces and edges of workpieces. These classic tools make quick work of tasks that would otherwise be difficult and require time-consuming machine setup. Infinity Tools is happy to offer three useful Kunz Plus bench planes that we believe will handle most of your planing tasks. The No. 4 is perfect for final smoothing and refining of your piece's surface before sanding. The No. 5 is called the "Jack" plane for a reason: it can handle jobs where the No. 4 might be a bit too small, and where the No. 6 might be overkill. The No. 6 is technically a fore plane, but it can be used like a jointer for small and medium-sized stock, which is really all most modern woodworkers will ever use it for.

Features:

  • Bodies manufactured from stress-relief annealed grey-cast iron
    • The soles are expertly machined to be flat and square to the cheeks
    • Large cheeks reminiscent of classic Bedrock designs
  • Short and stout, 1/8" thick plane iron
    • Made from optimized tool steel, hardened to RC60-62, prolong life and edge retention
    • Short length leaves more clearance for your hands at the tote and more room for frog adjustment.
  • Classic Features Mingled With Novel Design Innovations
    • Frog rests in a fully machined bed and can be adjusted to open or close the mouth without removing the blade, cap iron, or lever cap
    • Easy frog and mouth adjustment - only one screw needs to be turned instead of three
    • Frog slides in a machined channel that prevents twisting upon adjustment
    • Norris-style adjuster follows the same single-screw adjustment theme as the frog with one point of both lateral and depth of adjustment of the plane iron, with little slop and minimal backlash
    • Brass lever cap screw threads through the lever cap to provide pressure at both ends of the blade and cap iron (aka chip breaker) when engaged
    • Hollow portion of the lever cap screw slides over the protruding part of the cap iron screw, keeping all the components centrally aligned over the cup in the Norris adjuster, and capturing the cap iron screw.
    • Lever cap, cap iron, and plane blade function more like a single solid unit, helping to reduce chatter.

 

Kunz Plus Bench Planes

A good bench plane deserves a place in every shop, and you really can't go wrong with The Kunz Plus line. Kunz Plus Bench Planes are manufactured from start to finish in Germany. They are a step beyond Kunz's standard bench planes, showcasing premium materials forged with German precision engineering.

The Kunz Plus line of bench planes.

Kunz Plus Bench Planes are not the same Kunz planes with which you may be familiar. While Kunz is an older German company, they have incorporated innovative improvements to classic hand plane design into these tools. These planes are manufactured from start to finish in Germany and are a step beyond Kunz's standard bench planes, representing premium materials forged with German precision engineering. 

Not Just A Decorative Antique

Even if you are mainly a machine-based woodworker, you ought to have a good quality bench plane in your shop. Your bench plane shouldn't be a decorative paperweight. You need one that is ready to use. Sure, you can restore an old plane. Unfortunately, this requires finding a serviceable plane—an increasingly rare commodity. More importantly, it requires a time investment that likely takes away from your time for woodworking.

The other option is a new plane. A few excellent plane makers are still operating, but they come at a premium price. Buying a lesser-quality new plane usually means you'll spend more time fettling than you would with an old plane and still have a paperweight (you needn't have bothered). Infinity Tools is proud to offer the Kunz Plus #4 Smooth Plane, #5 Jack Plane, and #6 Fore Plane to get you there quicker. These three planes can handle most of the planing tasks of the modern woodworker and represent a premium, high-quality tool at a competitive price.

Using a shooting board and bench plane can really dial in miters.
Using a shooting board and bench plane can really dial in miters.

Refining Your Work

The key word here is "refining." There is no better tool for refining joints than hand planes. No one expects you to mothball your power planer, jointer, or other power tools, but sometimes a hand plane can do things that might prove difficult with a machine. I try to do as much work as possible with hand tools, but that's my preference—I'm certainly not knocking machines. While I work in the woodworking industry, the act itself is still a hobby for me. I don't need the speed of machines to meet deadlines or keep customers happy. Even if I used only machines, I would always return to planes in certain situations.

One place bench planes shine in this respect is sneaking up on and dialing in miters on a shooting board. I can't speak for everyone, but no matter how finely tuned my table or miter saw setup is, I am rarely happy with the results right off the saw. A shooting board is often the way to get that tight-fitting seamless miter, especially in noticeable joints like picture frames. Kunz manufactures its Plus Bench Plane bodies from stress-relief annealed grey-cast iron. The soles are expertly machined to be flat and square to the oversized cheeks. The care taken in casting and machining these plane bodies helps them excel on the shooting board.

Quality components make up this classic plane design.
Quality components make up this classic plane design.

High-Quality Components Mean High-Quality Results

Sometimes you need to very slightly trim an edge, smooth a surface, or tame a spot of wild grain that your power planer wanted to mangle. Any of the aforementioned situations make a hand plane almost indispensable. Achieving the desired result does require a tool that functions well. Kunz Plus Bench Planes' high-quality components and unique design features contribute significantly to their functionality. The short and stout, 1/8" thick plane iron, made from optimized tool steel, hardened to RC60-62, prolong life and edge retention. The short length leaves more clearance for your hands at the tote and more room for frog adjustment. The extra space gives it the feel of a bevel-up plane with the performance and features of bevel-down orientation.

The frog adjustment mimics the Stanley Bedrock design.
The frog adjustment mimics the Stanley Bedrock design.

Novel Design Features

Like the beloved Stanley Bedrock designs, the frog rests in a fully machined bed and can be adjusted to open or close the mouth without removing the blade, cap iron, or lever cap. The Kunz Plus Bench Planes also improve on the Bedrock adjustment mechanism so that only one screw needs to be turned instead of three and slides in a machined channel that prevents the frog from twisting upon adjustment.

The Norris-style adjuster follows the same single-screw adjustment theme as the frog with one point of both lateral and depth of adjustment of the plane iron, with little slop and minimal backlash.

The design of the lever cap is also rather unique. The hollow brass lever cap screw threads through the lever cap to provide pressure at both ends of the blade and cap iron (aka chip breaker) when engaged, and the hollow portion of the lever cap screw slides over the protruding part of the cap iron screw. This arrangement keeps all the components centrally aligned over the cup in the Norris adjuster, capturing the cap iron screw. The result is a lever cap, cap iron, and plane blade that function more like a single solid unit, helping to reduce chatter.

Everyone can appreciate a wispy curl of a shaving!
Everyone can appreciate a wispy curl of a shaving!

Go Forth and Plane

With these intriguing features, you get classic styling and top-quality performance at an affordable price and the plane arsenal to handle any grain the mysterious gods of lumber throw your way. These are perfect for the new hand-tool enthusiast or the committed Luddite cultist guarding their horde of non-electrical tools. Do not be afraid. The only thing that awaits you are thin gossamer shavings.