After 2 days or approx 15 hours hands on time with the plane, I figure it’s time I wrote my initial reactions. My review is based on how the plane performed when working 3 boards;-

 First board was T&T Scots elm, moderate density and figure for the most part, exceptionally high density and figure over approx 30% of the board.

Second board was another T&T Scots elm, entire board moderately figure and density with a slight tendency towards tear out when worked along the grain.

Third board (for contrast) is quarter sawn Scots oak, moderately figured (slight partridging)

 

As outlined in other posts, I first reached for the 41/2 after 3 other planes had trouble dealing with the highly figured area of the first board. The plane was used in 3 states during the course of working these 3 boards, namely: –

1/  “straight out of the box” condition, unhoned, fitted with the standard 45-degree frog

2/ honed to 30 degrees on an 8000 grit water stone, otherwise as above

3/ fitted with the York pitch frog

 

Prior to using the 41/2, the only plane to make any progress on the highly figured area was my L-N 62, but even it was chattering moderately. Both Stanley #’s 5&7 made no impression on the area; planed well up to it before bouncing, causing a worrying amount of tear out. Both planes are highly tuned, flattened and the blades honed at 30 degrees on the 8000 grit water stone.

 

1/ Straight outa the box

 

I have to admit, reaching for the plane in this condition was an act of desperation, but… with nothing to loose I figured why not…. Couldn’t do any worse than the others…. It took 3 quick flicks at the adjuster nut on the fly to set the blade depth; the first pass in anger over the most abused section of the figured area left me speechless. Smooth, clean, fully side to side shaving across the entire width of the board. Over the next fifteen minutes I gradually removed all sign of the houks and divots that the Stanley’s had left; the chatter marks left by the #62 vanished within 3 passes. I spent the next  hour working on the figured area from all angles and directions; not once did the plane feel like it was struggling.

 

 

2/ Honed to 8000 grit

 

I honed the blade first thing this morning, before returning to the board, gradually flattening the figured area. As before, the plane performed perfectly, the only net difference being a moderate reduction in the effort required. I stopped with the board uniformly flat and out of wind. Short break followed (unpacking some newly arrived toys) before fitting the newly arrived York pitch frog.

 

 

3/ York Pitch Frog

 

After reading all the info and reviews of what this frog is capable of, I figured… if anything that I have was going to give it a work out, this board was it. I re-honed the blade (it didn’t need it but I did it anyway… just to even the playing field). Changing the frog was a straight forward 10 minute job; only part to pay attention to is the alignment of the clevis pins that lock the frog to the sole casting. Tuning the frog needed no more than backing off the adjuster screw a half turn before locking it back down. The blade was reset to take 0.05mm (2 thou for the metrically challenged) shavings before starting full length strokes in an attempt to smooth the board uniformly. Net result; the finish looks like glass on the highly figured area, the grain’s too open on the remainder of the board to make it truly uniform. That said, after working extensively with elm over the last 2 years, this is the best looking board I’ve managed to make.

 

4/  Second board; uniform moderate figuring

 

Initial shaping of the board (loosing the saw marks) was done with the #62 which performed exceptionally. Trying to follow that with the #7 resulted in an alarming amount of tear out (no chatter). I switched back to the 41/2 to joint the board lengthways (check with a straight edge and scrub the high spots). Net result; perfect board.

 

 

5/  Quarter sawn oak

 

After the better part of 2 days working the elm, the oak was a walk in the park by comparison. Flattening the board’s still in progress, but I wanted to see how the York pitch performed as a smoother on a well behaved board. From what I’ve seen so far, this has the potential to be a spectacular piece of delicately figured oak. Figure that I know from experience that would be lost if the board was finished with a sander.

 

Conclusions

 

Overall I’m really impressed with the plane. Granted, it takes a bit of muscle to use, but that said, it’s well worth the effort for the results. The ergonomics are just about perfect; build quality is exceptional for the price. My only regret is that I didn’t buy the plane this time last year.