Hand saw . $31.66

Dovetail saw / fine saw $26.97

Japanese hand plane $55.35

Chisels $39.99


Combo Square $9.98

stropping compound $12.95

Sharpening Sandpaper $8.99

$185.89 total (excluding taxes). And you still have some left over for some coffee -- you're going to need some b/c learning to sharpen blades/chisels and turning/using a japanese plane is fairly uphill battle for a beginner. But this list is unquestionably your best bang for your buck.

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026FBGT6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_40aHybZV557GG

I have one and it's actually pretty nice for the price. The learning curve to make your own is kinda steep, you're better off spending that time practicing sharpening and setting up planes to start.

I mix it up, depending on the type of wood I'm planing. Softwoods.. Japanese planes are the way to go. I own three of them... the amazon smoother (60$ senkichi) and two 42mm block planes, which I also love (they were cheap).

Hardwoods, depends. I use Japanese planes on black walnut and they work fantastic. On super hard or figured woods, I use a mujingfang jack outfitted with a backbevel of 12 degrees (so the total angle/pitch is around 57degrees). Just works better that way. No Standard angle plane, euro or Japanese, can match it.

I recently bought a high angle mujingfang for curly maple, 63 degree pitch. Works like a dream once I set it up and sharpened it and practiced.

You're gonna want a few different sizes and styles, and if you're lacking on milling equipment, I definitely recommend a good jointer plane, LV or LN early on. Save some dough and pull the trigger. You'll be glad you did.

Here is the amazon plane I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026FBGT6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The sole of the dai came ready to go, perfectly tuned. The blade, however, took some work to get fitted right.

Im trying to decide if I should buy a new Japanese wooden style plane from amazon or take my chances with a used stanley plane (either 4 or 5). This would be my first plane (besides a cheapo wood block plane for 9bucks on amazon to mess with). So this plane would be my woodhorse for a bit while I experiment and see if I am interested in woodworking as a hobby.

I would prefer to buy new as I am inexperienced with spotting what can be restored and what can not. Garage sale season is over so my only option left is ebay or maybe craigslist for a old stanley plane. All the advice so far has made a point that new tools are a no-no...but is that for new stanley tools? would a new japanese one around the same price be good instead of risking a used purchase?

Japanese planes I saw on amazon:

Mini Plane (Block?)

Bigger Plane (no4/5?)

I'm assuming the bigger one would be doing the same job as a no4 or no5 stanley (correct me if i am wrong). But my thinking is that since the Japanese planes are a wood block for the body they can afford to put more into the blade giving you a lower price for the same quality of blade.

So with the prologue out of the way...onwards to chapter one!

My question is that I am wondering if it would be better for me to buy a Japanese style plane on amazon rather than risking buying a used stanley from ebay for the same price. With no experience restoring tools I fear I would end up wasting my money on something that is destined for the dust bin. Other alternatives are welcome but no 300 dollar tools... as a novice(wanting to see if woodworking is something they like) spending even 100 dollars on a rusty old tool makes me shiver. So what would be my best options?

I'm also a beginner, but after I got burned on this piece of crap, I bought this Japanese style plane and it's actually functional.
It's not a ton of money and mine only needed about 30 minutes of setup, compared to the hours I put into the shitty Stanely.

That being said, it requires a different technique, and I haven't found as much beginner information for the Japanese style planes as there is for the standard Western sort.