Synopsis: End grain, surface grain, wild grain, wide boards: You can tackle all four of these jobs using one low-angle jack plane, if you follow Chris Becksvoort’s advice and invest in four different blades. Becksvoort uses a Lie-Nielsen 62, with three standard blades sharpened to different angles and one toothed blade for flattening wide boards.

I once was labeled as the belt-sander guy because I used that tool to do a lot, including level the faces of my 15-drawer chest. So it might surprise you that despite this label, I have quite the plane collection. Over the last two decades, I’ve used handplanes more and more. They are quiet, create no dust, use no electricity, and, when used correctly, do as good a job as— or better than—a sander.

I love all my planes, but lately I reach for one in particular most of the time— the versatile…