Reddit mentions of Stanley 12-137 No.62 Low Angle Jack Plane

This one fits your budget. It's about $107.00 after the Stanley rebate. Normally I wouldn't recommend it, but at less than half the price of other low angle jack planes, I'd take a chance. Cross cut your stock to rough length first. It makes things easier.

You are going to need sharpening gear too. If money is super tight, grab a 12x12 granite tile from a home center store for a few bucks and some wet/dry sandpaper. 80 grit, 220 grit, 400 grit, 600 grit and 1500 grit will get you razor sharp. It ends up being really expensive in the long run, but good enough until you can get a few waterstones or diamond plates.

I was in the same boat and purchased this:
Stanley 12-137 No.62 Low Angle Jack Plane https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002B56CUY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_dliKzbV82V8RY

Loving it thus far

I just bought this Stanley Sweetheart low angle jack plane. It took an afternoon of tuning, but overall, I am impressed. It was about $100 less than the Lie-Nielsen. What's your opinion of the newer, better Stanleys? I think I read your review of that plane from about 4 years ago, but I think Stanley has been making improvements since then.

What is your budget? I would personally avoid both of those planes that you listed. The only modern day Stanley's that are worth while are the sweetheart versions, specifically the low angle sweetheart. There are a few other budget options if you are looking for cheaper (less than veritas or LN) options including vintage or luban/woodriver. Vintage options would likely mean that you would need to do some minor restoration to get it to prime working condition, but not out of the realm of doable. You could easily get a No. 4 or 5 for around $30-50. Luban/Woodriver may also need some minor adjustments and a sharpening of the iron out of the box. Be sure that you still have plenty of room in your budget for sharpening materials even if that just means sand paper and float glass or marble starting out.

As for the size of your first plane it really just depends on what you will be using it for, but you can't go wrong with either of those sizes. The 9 3/4" is equivalent to a Stanley No 4 and the 14" a No 5. Both are recommended as starter planes. The No 5 would be a little better at getting a truly flat surface, while the No. 4 may be a bit better at getting a smooth surface. I went for the No. 5 first personally. Block plane next, and then a jointer (No 7 or 8) and got a No 4 last.

This is just my experience (~2yrs woodworking) but it might help you. You hear opinions often of people way more advanced and while they can be very accurate, they also are much more sensitive to the finer details that aren't as important right now for us.

I went with the Stanley 4 for my 1st and if I could do it again I would go probably go Stanley Jack instead. They're both super comfortably priced (the jack spiked for the holidays but it'll drop in a week or two, use this to check the price. Those are more than high enough quality for our skills. It's hard to justify the price of a premium plane (LN/V) when starting out.

YES they are nice and incredible quality and will last generations, but it's fun to learn on something you aren't afraid to mess up but that also has some quality to it (yes, it will take some tune up, but it's really fun to learn, scour youtube). I know people will rag on the modern Stanleys, but I absolutely love mine. I'll be going Veritas/LN when the time is right.

Finding an old one to refurbish can be overwhelming especially when starting out. There's a ton all over the place and it's hard to know what to look for and what is the right condition it should be in etc —if anyone wants to chime in here; please do.

That's it from me, good luck!

Low angle jack plane.

Stanley 12-137 No.62 Low Angle Jack Plane

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002B56CUY

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-12-137-No-62-Angle-Plane/dp/B002B56CUY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466791378&sr=8-1&keywords=Low+angle+jack+plane

I know I would love something like this.