So, thinking of buying my second plane and wanted some input from those with more experience. My first purchase was a well used and well maintained Stanley Bailey No. 7 Type 11 that I have spent a little time tuning, as well as adding a new Hock iron and cap iron. It works well as intended, and currently my primary use is for staitening and flattening the edges of boards.
My thoughts for a second plane would be either a LV or LN No 7 1/2 BU plane. I like the heft, iron width, and long sole to register and plane a flat surface. From what I understand, a BU plane will also allow planing end grain, and swapping out irons with varying bevel angles will have a similar effect to changing the frog angle on a BD plane. In addition, the adjustable mouth allows VERY fine shavings to be taken, essentially allowing it to be used as a smoother (but with a 22″ sole). I have checked out and toyed with both the Veritas and LN BU jointers. I would love to splurge on a LN, but Veritas makes qualities tools as well. I have read that the Veritas 7 1/2 has the mouth 2″ further back, allowing more of the sole to register before making a cut. On the downside, the sides of the Veritas are not milled flat, restricting its use with a shooting board (although a jointing fence may be purchased from Veritas to help jointing a straight edge). The LN has flat and square sides, allowing it to be used with shooting boards, but it is also $75 more, and I am not sure whether the mouth is in the standard position, or 2″ back, like the Veritas (is this a BU thing or a LV thing?). Is the LN worth the extra $75, or are the advantages of the LV such that they outweigh not being able to shoot edges?
Any and all input would be welcome!
Replies
I am sure the Lee Valley plane is a fine tool but with the exception of the large chisel plane I have never been disapointed with any LN product. The other good aspect of a LN plane is that if you don't like it you can recover most if not all of the cost by selling it on E-bay. I know form follows function but to my eye LN products are prettier and feel good in the hand when you use them as well. I would save up and spend the money on the LN plane. That being said I think you might wait unitl you can go to one of LN's shows and try both the low angle plane and the regular #7. Despite all the talke about the low angle planes I think a regular # 7 will do just about everything you need. You might consider buying a LN #4 with a high angle frog, that plane is the plane that I use the most in my shop.
Great Advise
Checked the LN site and, as luck would have it, their doing a demo in town (Mesa, AZ...a loooooong way from their showroom in Maine) on January 8th. I am already making plans to be there. If anything it will allow me some insight in prioritizing my extensive Wish List of future aquisitions! Lol
Huh
The stupid spam filter strikes again. No links, no ads, no gimmicks, not selling anything, just trying to give you a clear reply. Oh well will try a different tack.
gdblake
Why another 22" long plane
Everything you wrote about bevel up planes is true. Another jointer even if it is a bevel up plane isn't going to do that much for you. Instead I would look at a bevel up Jack. Either LN or LV can be used effectively as a large smoother, as a jack plane, or with a shooting board.
gdblake
Thanks for the reply!
I'd seen your screen name on several good posts, and was hoping you'd chime in. It's funny that you mention the BU Jack Plane, because it was a YouTube review done by Master Luthier Ben Crowe on the LN Low Angle Jack Plane that got me thinking of making a BU bench plane the next addition to my arsenal (in fact it was his YouTube channel and tutorials that spurred my original Bailey #7 purchase and sparked the interest in hand tools). It amazed me how he could take shavings 0.001"-0.002" with it, only seconds out of the box. Combined with what I'd read about BU planes being useful planing end-grain, it seemed like a useful addition.
Now for a question spurred by your answer (lol I will ALWAYS have more questions):
Is the Jack-Rabbet Plane just a larger rabbet plane, or is it a jack plane that can also plane rabbets? Is it fully dual-functioning, or limited in its "jack-plane" ability? Would it be worthwhile to get a LN (or LV) Jack-Rabbet at first, and then upgrade later to dedicated jack and rabbet planes...
P.S. Like the name GDBlake (lol the B in blaytonii stands for Blake)
Depends
Yes, a jack rabbit plane can function as a normal bench plane with one huge exception. You cannot use a rabbit plane on a shooting board (unless you like making shooting boards). I have both the LN low angle block plane and the rabbit block plane. I almost never use the low angle block because I prefer the ergonomics of the rabbit block plane (its width just feels more comforable to me). That said, I also have an older Stanley 10 1/2 rabbit plane that I rarely use any more. I got it years ago when I was making tables and chest lids with bread board ends.
If you do a lot of frame & panel construction a shooting board is super handy. The LV bu jack works well with a shooting board as is. The LN BU jack (which I have) is easier to use on a shooting board if you spring for their "hot dog" handle (which I also have). I would rather have either of these planes than a dedicated shooting board plane which both manufacturers also make.
It comes down to what functions you need most out of plane. Let the work at hand (need) dictate your next plane purchase.
gdblake
Hi,
What planes do you already have? I can't imagine having a 22" jointer as a first plane. I have one, but I rarely use it, as I would need to walk past my Jet jointer and 15" Grizzly planer to get it.
The most useful planes I find in this day and age are block planes (standard first, low angle second-maybe), smoothing planes (normal #4s, standard angle), and jack planes (normal #5, standard angle) and in about that order. After that, maybe a #6 or #7, and a scrub plane, plus some of the oddball ones, rabbet planes (bullnose, #78, side rabbet, skew rabbet block), router plane, maybe a compass plane if you do curves.
If you are good at tuning up old planes and have the time, there is no need to cough up for LN or LV. I certainly couldn't have afforded to. I have 30+ various planes, I can't imagine having bought them from LN and LV, that would have been thousands of dollars.
Actually, I used a #4 smoother at a LN demonstration once, beautiful plane, probably $350 at the time. It was better than my $25 flea market WWII Bailey's, but not 14 times better. In fact though I could feel a little difference between the two in use, they performed about the same. I figure maybe the LN iron would last a little longer, but I could replace the Bailey's blade if I really wanted to. The other thing about inexpensive used planes is that you can get several and keep them at different sets, angles, etc. I have 4 smoothers I pick from depending on what I am doing (fine, rough, beater, backup fine).
That said, some of the oddball planes are cheaper to buy at LN and LV, because collectors bid the price higher than their actual user worth. I am thinking of the small router planes (the 271 equivalent), and some of the side rabbets and skews.
One last thing (this will rile people up:), don't get too caught up in all that low angle, bevel up down left right stuff. Standard angle planes are called standard for a reason. They work for most things most of the time. Not everything is a piece of figured bubinga. There are tradeoffs to higher and lower angles, and not all of them are good. When people actually made their living from using hand planes, all of those weird planes were available. There is a reason they are rare now. Very few people needed them and bought them.
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