by 
The Curious Bag
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<h4 class="dechead">On One Hand: Iron Planes are Durable
You can find bench planes made from wood, iron or a combination of the two. The iron plane is much easier to adjust and the blade is easier to sharpen. Your cast iron plane is also much more durable than a wooden one. You can score the bottom of a wooden plane if you hit a piece of metal embedded in the wood you are planing, while the iron plane will perhaps suffer a nick to the blade, but otherwise be fine.
On the Other: Antique Wooden Planes do Beautiful Work
Many woodworkers still love the old wooden planes. Unfortunately the best ones were produced in an age when time was less important than cost. You will find that you will have excellent results if you can find a first-class wooden plane.
Bottom Line
While you can obtain excellent results with both wood and iron planes, the iron variety is much more easily obtained today in 2010. Also you will find that the modern wooden planes are of inferior craftsmanship than those made 100 years ago. If you use your plane daily for rough work, buy an iron plane. You can get a high grade wooden plane to have in reserve for the truly fine work you do.
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