Replies

1. 
   derekcohen | Apr 25, 2007 04:48am | #1

   It will come down to the use to which you want to put the plane.

   If Jack is interpreted as "Jack of all Trades", then the LA (bevel up) versions by LV and LN meet the criteria. The advantage of the BU configuration is that you can easily and quickly alter the angle of attack (this is a lot more convenient than using a BD plane with a back bevel to increase cutting angle). The BU planes excell on the shooting board (where a low angle of attack produces the best finish on end grain), and they excell as panel planes in a high angle mode. Overall, their low centre of gravity gives them better "feel" than the BD cousins. Their weaknesses are that the BU blade is MUCH harder to camber and, thus, they are not good at pre-scrub like work. Also, the blades wear more quickly and do not hold an edge quite as long as the equivelent BD. I have the LV LA Jack and think it is the bees knees in its envelope. I also have a Stanley #62 (same size as the LN), which has a wonderful light feel. The LV and LN planesare quite different - the LV is a #5 1/2 size and the LN is a #5 size.

   If you plan to use the Jack to hog wood, then you are better off with a BD, such as the LN #5 1/2. I have a Stanley #5 1/2 and it is used after the scrub or on its own with a cambered blade. In fact I have a second #5 1/2 with a radically cambered blade which is used as a scrub plane (its weight here is terrific on seriously hard woods, ones which laugh at my other scrub planes, even the super LV scrub plane). Some also like the heft of the LN #5 1/2 as a panel plane (often called a "Super Smoother"), and set it up as such. The limitation of the BD plane is the relative narrowness of its attack angles (you cannot set it below 45 degrees, where the BU planes go down to 37 degrees).

   Hope that this helps.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

1. 
   jroberts1 | Apr 25, 2007 10:45pm | #2

   DerekThanks very much. Great information - addressed my questions and many things I had not thought of. Just FYI, I'm going with the "bees knees in it's envelope". Greetings to Perth, and thanks again.John

2. 
   douglas2cats | Apr 26, 2007 01:16am | #3

   Derek

   One comment you made got me curious. Why is it harder to camber the BU blades than the BD?

   Thanks

   Doug (Love my LN LA Jack too!)If you build it he will come.

1. 
   derekcohen | Apr 26, 2007 03:43am | #4

   Hi Doug

   It is not that the blades for a BU planes (with a 12 degree bed) are cambered with greater difficulty  compared to those on BD planes (with a 45 degree bed. It is that you have to do more. The problem lies with the angle at which the blades (and the cambered bevel) lies - it is just geometry that the lower bedded angle "reduces" the effective camber that the wood sees. Therefore, for the same amount of a camber seen by the BD plane, the BU plane must use greater camber. One must just be aware of this.

   Regards from Perth

   Derek

   Edited 4/26/2007 5:32 am ET by derekcohen

1. 
   AdamCherubini | Apr 26, 2007 02:18pm | #5

   There's that and for a given camber- the low angle plane has the beginning of its cut much farther forward than a common pitched plane. I think of it like the difference between a carving gouge with a square end and one with a finger nail shape to it. If you read Leonard Lee's "Sharpening", he discusses the problems with finger nail shaped gouges. Basically, you're better off scoring the sides first, then scooping out the middle, than digging out the middle and later scoring the fibers. I look at low angle plane blades the exact same way. Keep in mind that for a jack plane, I have a good deal of camber- maybe 1/8" or more.I think Derek is spot on in his comments. But I can't join him in seeing the rationality of low angle jack planes. Because of the camber issue, its never going to perform as well as a normal jack plane. Because of its length, its never going to be a good jointer or smoother. I would choose one only if I had to carry my tools on my back perhaps. But for folks who have enough money for woodworking tools and internet access, I think they'd be better off skipping the swiss army plane and getting at least 2, maybe 4* planes for their woodshops.Adam
   The 2 would be a vintage S#5 jack plane and a new LV low angle blockplane.
   The 4 would be a S#5, the LV block, a LN #4 or #3, and a really long plane, either all wooden or a #8