Rating: 
Summary: An easy read. Technical but not boring
Review: A great reference book!! This book is thoughtfully organized and starts with the history/evolution of the handplane. Each following chapter builds upon the previous one. Illustrations and pictures accompany technical information leaving nothing to the imagination. The book is full of picture examples representing the type of plane being discussed, and it's use.Garrett Hack stears clear of personnal opinions. Although he will let you know which planes he owns/likes. He has a thorough knowlege of his subject, and covers a broad range of topics while keeping the book short in lenght.
Rating:
Summary: An easy read. Technical but not boring
Review: A great reference book!! This book is thoughtfully organized and starts with the history/evolution of the handplane. Each following chapter builds upon the previous one. Illustrations and pictures accompany technical information leaving nothing to the imagination. The book is full of picture examples representing the type of plane being discussed, and it's use. Garrett Hack stears clear of personnal opinions. Although he will let you know which planes he owns/likes. He has a thorough knowlege of his subject, and covers a broad range of topics while keeping the book short in lenght.
Rating:
Summary: This is a stunning example of quality!
Review: As a librarian I see a lot of books on this subject, and lately I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about tuning and using hand planes (an area of woodworking that I have been sorely lax about learning). I am here to say that this book is an absolute treasure trove of information. The coverage of all things relating to hand planes is encyclopedic.
I especially value chapter four 'Tuning a Plane', which is a 25 page long clear and precise explanation of every step one should go through when tuning a plane to work properly. I also benefitted greatly from the explanations for the most common uses of each type and size of plane, and the coverage of what to look for when buying a used plane.
I love the fact that Mr. Hack presents this information on a level that assumes you know nothing, without sounding like he is talking to a five year old. In fact, I think it is because the author is admittedly not a hand tool 'purist' that he is able to convey the important information about hand planes to the power tool junkies among us!
If you are in any way interested in this subject matter, buy this book! I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Make Everything Much Planer
Review: Frankly, handplanes scare me. Not because they are particularly dangerous, but because I never seemed to be able to get them set right. Almost every other tool I've used comes out of the box ready to do something interesting to a piece of wood. Planes, however, would always move three inches and dig in, scarring their way across my project. Needless to say I used a lot of sandpaper in my life.
My moment of truth was the surprise acquisition of a Lie-Nielson bench plane at a very reasonable price (if one can ever call a Lie-Nielson plane's price 'reasonable'). Now it was either use it or build a special shelf on which to rest it forever. I did what I always do when confronted with a challenge - I bought a book on handplanes. And into my live came Garrett Hack's remarkable effort, called, appropriately, 'The Handplane Book.'
One can only describe this volume as massive overkill. By the time I got to the chapter entitled 'How to Plane,' I had received instruction on what a plane is, its history, its mechanics, and how to tune it. And once done with that chapter there was even more information on different kinds of planes - truing, sizing, joinery, surfacing, scrapers, shaping, and so one.
Hack writes well, but planes are a dry subject to anyone but the most dedicated. The book is lavishly illustrated with a remarkable selection of planes, old, new, cheap and very, very dear. You will never, ever have to buy another book one the subject. And that's saying something about any book.
Of course, I ran into the shop, grabbed my new plane, fiddled with it like I knew what I was doing and promptly planed three inches, followed by a cloud of dust. But this time I really looked at the plane and though about what to do. More fiddling and I made it a whole six inches. Even more fiddling and then, Gloria Dei, it suddenly went the whole distance! And then did it again! I feel like I've passed one of those arcane rites of passage.
Rating:
Summary: Handplanes are valuable tools that should get more use.
Review: I have recently purchased a new Lie-Nielson plane that worked great out of the box after a little honing of the blade. It will never replace the now tuned Stanley transitional plane. This book showed me the value of a well-tuned tool, old or new, and deepened my appreciation of hand tools. Having grown weary of noisey power tools, I have shifted my focus towards more traditional hand tools. These tools don't come with manuals, which makes this book all the more valuable to have. After reading of some specialty planes. I know which I should look for while searching flea markets, garage sales, and woodworking catalogs.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful book
Review: The Handplane Book is a beautiful book. It's an excellent introduction to the aesthetic pleasures of handplanes (if you liked Sandor Nagyszanczy's Art of Fine Tools, I expect you will like this book, too). There's more to this book than aesthetics. Garrett Hack provides an excellent introduction to the practical side of handplanes. There are a few areas where other experts disagree with Mr. Hack (e.g., whether one must lap the sole of a plane flat, or whether one should snug up the depth adjustment to "take out the slack"). As another reviewer commented, this makes a great coffe table book--but it also makes an excellent and inspiring workshop book. I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book
Review: The Handplane Book is a beautiful book. It's an excellent introduction to the aesthetic pleasures of handplanes (if you liked Sandor Nagyszanczy's Art of Fine Tools, I expect you will like this book, too). There's more to this book than aesthetics. Garrett Hack provides an excellent introduction to the practical side of handplanes. There are a few areas where other experts disagree with Mr. Hack (e.g., whether one must lap the sole of a plane flat, or whether one should snug up the depth adjustment to "take out the slack"). As another reviewer commented, this makes a great coffe table book--but it also makes an excellent and inspiring workshop book. I recommend it whole-heartedly.
Rating:
Summary: This an excellent book for novice and expert woodworkers.
Review: This book covers all aspects of almost every type of handplane including their tuning, uses, and specialty items. There are many great tips that I have found invaluable. This a book that on first glance I thought would be boring or uninformative, but instead I found it to be very interesting, well written and illustrated, and of high quality.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is filled with encyclopedic information about planes, their history, their use, and their mechanics. Included is information about different kinds of planes that are used for joining, truing, surfacing, shaping, and specialty planes such as those used by violin makers and others, as well as information on how to select, maintain, and tune a plane. I really liked the way the author gives due consideration to wooden planes, information one can use to help make their own. There are wonderful photographs and illustrations used throughout the book that accompany the professionally written text. The author has defintely performed an excellent job compiling and presenting the information. Even as a coffee table book, those who peruse it will find it hard to put down. For the woodworker at any skill level this is a must have for the shop.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have book for therapeutic woodworking
Review: This excellent book can certainly serve as a testament to convert those seekers who are unfulfilled with the gospel of Norm Abraham and his idolatrous worship of power tools. However, the real value of this work lies in enriching the woodworking experience for those of us who transmogrify wood for therapy and not solely to achieve the end result. While I was reasonably skilled with hand planes prior to my purchase of this book, Garret Hack helped me ascend to the next level of woodworking consciousness - the smug recognition that a well-tuned hand plane and some basic skills can accomplish many woodworking tasks with better results in less time than an expensive electric tool. An interesting phenomenon occurs as one converts from screaming three-phase power tools to handsaws, chisels, braces and planes - the woodworking experience changes focus from the project to the process. Your ability to read the wood and select the most appropriate stock increases dramatically. You begin to appreciate the wood and even the tools themselves as much as you do the actual project. I've been collecting every manner of woodworking hand tools for years, thinking that in my retirement I could afford the luxury of conducting all my woodworking in a non-electric shop as penance to St. Roy of Underhill for my avaricious glorification of Nikola Tesla. While I may never do away with my table saw, this book has given me the strength to forsake all of my other power tools and relegate them to occasional use when I'm doing rough work on knotty pagan wood. It's a good book - swear to God.
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