: I'm getting ready to start stripping. It seems like a good plane would be a
: wise investment. Suppose I was going to buy one. What kind would be the
: most useful? If I bought a block plane, would a low angle one be good? I'm
: toying with the idea of doing a rolling bevel instead of bead and cove (or
: maybe a mixture of both.) How about for cheater strips? Fitting strips
: into football area, etc.?

: Thanks in advance!

An inexpensive Stanley block plane should do nicely. The strips are thin and the cedar is soft. That makes for easy planing. The quality of the steel used for the cutting blade, or cutting iron, is important. Stanley's tools -- even their inexpensive ones -- come with a good iron.

True Value hardware offers a Stanley plane for US $12.96 through their website, and probably about the same price at any True Value store. If you buy locally you'll save on shipping. At the top of this webpage is a search field which will help you find your nearest True Value Hardware store.

http://www3.truevalue.com/index.cfm?order_origin=br&action=shoppingproductdetail&intproductid=12110

Bizrate.com will do comparison shopping for items osld on the web. When I wnet to their site and searched for Block plane I got to this page:

http://www.bizrate.com/marketplace/search/noncat_search__cat_id--13100100,keyword--block%20plane,de_id--211.html

If you go down the list you'll see a 7 inch Stanley block plane for US $29.99

There is another item in the list which caught my eye. It is a very pretty brass and rosewood miniature block plane by Robert Larson, for US $23.17

Hope this helps.

PGJ