hi,
I’m seriously thinking about ordering the Veritas #4 smoothing plane from LeeValley. Had my mind set on a LN # 4 smoother but from the tool reviews I’ve read so far the LV plane is on par with the LN #4 smoother.
The veritas low angle smoother was also highly rated. Seems that plane can just about do it all. So I’m torn between 3 planes. ( Veritas bevel up smoother (5lbs), Veritas Low angle smooth plane (3 1/2lbs) and the #4 Veritas smooth plane (4lbs 6oz)
I have not made up my mind yet. But since LeeValley has a No shipping special on the go Sept 18th – 21st) I will have to place my order either today or tomorrow. It’s now or never. 🙂
Wanda
Replies
I'd go with the LV BU smoother. I'ved got one and it is a very nice tool, plus you can swap blades with the LV BU jack and jointers. I also have a LN #4, but with a high angle frog and it is one of my favorite smoothers for more difficult grain. I won't mention the other planes I got because I don't want to confuse your decision. The LV would be a great tool to begin with and use the rest of your woodworking days!
Tony Z.
Let me be the first to vote for the Low Angle Smooth Plane (LASP). It's head and shoulders above the others. Here's why:
1. Unlike the Bevel Up Smoother, the LASP has its sides ground 90 degrees to the sole, and so can be used with a shooting board. In my mind the BU Smoother has zero advantage over the LASP. In fact, if I was LV, I'd drop the BU Smoother.
2. The #4 Smooth Plane is nice, very traditional, and all that, BUT unlike the LASP you are stuck with one blade angle. With the LASP, you can buy additional blades quite cheaply and hone them to different bevel angles and get a totally different plane.
My two cents, but a no brainer IMO.
Chris
Unlike the Bevel Up Smoother, the LASP has its sides ground 90 degrees to the sole, and so can be used with a shooting board. In my mind the BU Smoother has zero advantage over the LASP. In fact, if I was LV, I'd drop the BU Smoother.
I completely disagree. If you do not use a shooting board, then the added mass of the BUS is a welcome addition when planing difficult grain. And the interchangeable blades is a big plus. Good thing Lee Valley won't be dropping that BUS anytime soon.
Lee
The BUS is one of the greatest bangs for a buck that is available in dedicated smoothers - its performance is up there with the very best. However the LAS is more versatile.
These issues aside, the LAS is a smaller plane - #4 size - and will suit someone better than the heavier BUS - #4 1/2 size.
I did a comparison of the two when I reviewed the BUS:
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Lee%20Valley%20Bevel%20Up%20Smoother.html
For a review of the LAS, go to:
http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Low%20Angle%20Smoothing%20Plane.html
Regards from Perth
Derek
Edited 9/19/2008 2:38 am ET by derekcohen
I have a LN 4 1/2 amd a LV BUS. Both are very good but the BUS is what I reach for when I really need it smooth. I love the mass, and the alternate blades that LV sells make it easy to switch blades to suit the job. It is a joy to use. It is not the prettiest plane with it's non traditional lines, but I bought it to make shavings, not look at. :)
Bruce
Wanda,
One should never make a decision on which plane to buy based on a special price and no shipping cost, unless you are having it shipped to New Zealand or Australia.
What makes a plane do a good job is the skill of the user. Unless one is very very skilled, the differences between the effect of the two planes on wood will not be noticeable.
Asking "which plane should I buy?" on Knots is an invitation for conflicting and un-understandable feedback. You will get some who like one and some who like the other. Now what do you do? I am fairly sure that both groups are correct. Each likes one of the two, and they think it works better for them. As long as they are happy, all is well.
If I were you, I'd flip a coin. Buy the one you think looks best. It won't matter. Use whatever you get for a few years. Learn to sharpen it well. Use it on different types of wood.
FOCUS ON SKILL! That is where the action is.
Of course, the safest investment in a plane is always the Lie Nielsen. You can always get almost all of your money back by selling it on EBay. Same is not true of Lee Valley planes, unfortunately. That is not "fair". LV makes great tools. They just don't have the cult-like worldwide acceptance that LN has.
Most of all, HAVE FUN. Don't sweat the little things, like the difference between BU and BD smoothers. Those are minor details in real woodworking. Think of the great woodworkers of the 1700s and 1800s. The Goddards, Townsends, etc made masterpieces, and they didn't have access to LN or LV. So go out and make masterpieces. You can do that with old Stanley smoother. Just learn how to fettle it. That is a good learning experience. If it chatters too much for you, get a Hock blade for it. But if you are rich, then get one of each type of planes and check the differences, and then write up the results for the rest of us to learn about on Knots.
Hope I didn't confuse you too much. You got so many simple answers which contradict each other, that I thought you might enjoy some advice from a different point of view -- one which almost no one on Knots will agree with.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Ya goofed up Mel!
Ya shudda invited Wanda over to the "LN jointer plane thread"! She'da found answers to all of life's questions thare includin' planes!
Here's to great weekend!
T.Z.
Wanda - Mel's givien you some good advice. There is no such thing as a "perfect plane" in any class, smoother, jack, fore or jointer.
Moreover, some of the advantages ascribed to bevel-up smoothers are not as clear-cut as some posters would have you believe. In particular, you can indeed get a higher effective cutting angle from a bevel-down smoother, you just have to put a small bevel on the back of the blade. And bevel-up designs typically don't have a lateral adjustment lever. Don't get me wrong, though, I have bevel-up planes, and they're quite nice.
But as Mel said, as long as you have a plane with a reasonably flat sole, a decently comfortable tote, and a sharp and correctly cambered blade (to avoid digging in the corners), it doesn't matter all that much what the design or brand is. Most of the performance aspects will come from your skill as a user.
But as Mel said, as long as you have a plane with a reasonably flat sole, a decently comfortable tote, and a sharp and correctly cambered blade (to avoid digging in the corners), it doesn't matter all that much what the design or brand is. Most of the performance aspects will come from your skill as a user.
While I would like to support this statement, it is not quite true as it stands. What needs to be added is ".. if wood type is held constant". As soon as one moves to higher degrees of interlinked grain, then higher cutting angles are preferred. This is where the BU planes win over BD planes. Angle-for-angle, however, one good plane is theoretically the equal of the other.
One can start complicating the picture with issues pertaining to sharpening. Let's not go there in this thread.
Bottom line is that I believe Wanda (who I have spoken with off line) is after a #4-sized smoother. In this size, the #4 from LN and the LAS from LV are the one's I would consider from the two configurations. The frog choice for the bevel down LN would depend on the wood type likely to be used (although a 50 degree frog is a good all-rounder).
As always, it pays to test drive everything first.
Regards from Perth
Derek
"While I would like to support this statement, it is not quite true as it stands. What needs to be added is ".. if wood type is held constant". As soon as one moves to higher degrees of interlinked grain, then higher cutting angles are preferred. This is where the BU planes win over BD planes. Angle-for-angle, however, one good plane is theoretically the equal of the other."
True enough (the wood type held constant comment and the higher attack angle), but it's quite possible to get a 60 degree angle of attack with a standard 45 degree bailey-type plane, you just have to put a back-bevel on the blade. In my experience (limited mostly to highly figured domestic and South American species - I understand Australian species are far more difficult to work), 60 degrees pretty much eliminates tear-out, even on burls and birds-eye maple. The only exception I've found to this was Honduran rosewood - no plane, including the bevel-up smoothers I had, would tame this stuff. I resorted to a scraper plane with about an 80 degree attack angle.
Of course, we're talking basic performance here. I much prefer Norris and other infills for several reasons, one of which is the weight, but they're a lot pricier than a basic LV or LN plane.
Derek,I don't have experience with the BU planes. I do with the BDs. I would suggest the LN 4 1/2, 5 1/2 and 7 as a nice set, whose irons are interchangeable. Get one with the York pitch frog, and switch it around as needed. Can't afford them all at once, then just get the 5 1/2. It makes a great smoother, can function as a jointer, can be used at the shooting board. It's the one plane to have when you are only having one. The extra heft of the 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 come in handy. Once you get them moving, they are harder to stop. What is that physics term, Momemtunm? I held, but was not able to use the LV BU smoother. Very nice, good looking, simple mechanism, and light. I prefer more mass. Besides, the Lie Nielsen planes are FREE. You buy em, use em, and sell em on EBAY for about what you paid for them. Try that with a LV or anything else.I don't know Wanda but have seen her posts for a long time, and have answered a few. I am not sure how much gnarly Australian wood she is going to be fashioning into furniture. Folks I know say the LN planes that I mentioned with the two frogs handle most of what they come across. The wildest thing I come across is birds eye maple. I lead a sheltered life. In five years, lets write to Wanda and see how many pieces of gnarly grain she tried to use.Why hasn't anyone referred Wanda to Holtey. He makes a really nice smoother . I believe it will put the LV BU to shame. I don't know if Karl will give her free shipping. If Karl is too rich for her blood, there is always Philip. If Philip is too rich for her blood, then to me, the only way to go is with high quality planes that can be sold for as much as you bought them for, after using them for years. But my advice to everyone on planes and sharpening is: if Derek disagrees with me, then go with Derek's advice. Actually I never disagree with you about the facts. We do tend to look at different parameters of the issue. To me, LV wins almost all of the time, because of the ease of getting your money back. I haven't dealt with LN service, but as you know, Lie Nielsen service is LEGENDARY. If a person has the money, and really wants to work with gnarly grain, and are in woodworking for the money, (three big ifs), I believe going with Holtey or Marcou is the only sane thing to do. Just write off the investment. The time and energy you save from using a REALLY GOOD PLANE will be worth it in the balance sheet. Never having used a Holtey or a Marcou, I am believing what I have read by other folks that I tend to believe.So why have I written this? Well earlier today, Ray Pine said it is getting too tame around Knots these days. We need to pick it up a notch. So I got daring. Never have recommended a Holtey before. It feels good. I may start pulling for Festool too :-)Have fun.
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel:
I suggest you get your hands on a bevel up smoother and use it awhile before steering people away from them. I learned on and used only bevel down planes for 35 years before trying a LN BU smoother. I own lots of planes and have had the opportunity to try out way more than I own. In my own experience, regardless of the wood being planed and the skill of the user, bevel up planes make better smoothers than bevel down planes. For jointing and flattening, and generally dimensioning a board, I still prefer and use LN and Stanley bevel down bench planes. But for smoothing, even a total novice can get good results with a LN or LV bevel up plane.
Hi,
I finally glued up my 3" pieces of pine for my 12" panel today using my new Bessey clamps. Those clamps are amazing! So easy to use compared to my other Quick Grip clamps. The ideal clamps for glueing up panels.
I ran into a bit of a problem. Because I started out with "thin" lumber (3/4" thick) I had to remove more wood on 2 boards than I would have liked. Only way to remove the cup. They are now just a tad thinner than the other 2 boards. So the surface of my glued up panel isn't quite level/smooth. :(
I learned a valuable lesson today... Best to Start with 5/4 quarter lumber if you want your finished boards to end up 3/4" thick. I would have had all my boards planed to the same thickness had I started with thicker boards. Wont make that mistake again!
No point in running the panel through the planer since the underside of the panel isn't exactly level either.
Now what would be the best tool to deal with this minor problem? orbital sander? card scraper? Low angle smoother/ jack plane?
Wanda
"Now what would be the best tool to deal with this minor problem? orbital sander? card scraper? Low angle smoother/ jack plane?"
Wanda - Looks like you didn't get your question answered in all the discussion over bevel-up vs. bevel down planes.
In my shop, I'd do this with a fore plane followed by a jointer plane. However, if you're new to planing, I don't suggest this. It takes a fair amount of practice to be able to get a good, flat panel with a hand plane.
What I'd suggest is running it through a drum sander if you've a friend with one or a cooperative person at a Woodworking store with a "demonstrator". The drum or wide belt sander will work to get you a flat panel without tear out no matter how you oriented the grain of the boards when you glued them up.
Next preferable on the list would be a wide planer. If the boards in the panel are all oriented so that the grain runs to the top of the boards in one direction, the planer will surface it well without tearing it out. Failing that (random orientation of the boards), wetting the surface with a little denatured alcohol and taking light passes will probably give you an acceptable result.
Finally, if you've no access to either of the above power tools, I'd use a belt sander with a sanding frame. It does take some skill to do this, but there are some articles and videos on this site (and all over the net) that will show you what to watch for so you don't mess it up.
Just joining in late with another BU recomendation. I have the 62 from LN and get better results smoothing with it than the BD planes. I have an ECE and a Bailey and have tried the LN 4 1/2. They work well but the BU works better for me. I'm sure others will disagree ( and my skills are not perfect!) but I can always get whisper thin shavings with my 62. I've been using a 35 degree bevel for a 47 degree angle. I'm sure the LV are also excellent although I haven't used them. I also think the jack size is more useful.
Wanda,There's no need to buy 5/4 for this unless you don't have access to rough sawn lumber. What you've run into is exactly the reason we never purchased S2S or S4S stock. When it's factory surfaced you don't have enough room to work with it and get it straight and true. Buying 5/4 just means you'll be purchasing 20% more wood to do the same job and probably paying a premium price per board foot for the thicker stock.You don't seem to be getting a lot of help here, I think the majority of people around here don't really use their planes except for what Mike Winzloff once called the "modern man paradigm" where every plane is a smooth plane and planes are only used to replace finish sanding. You need a tractor to plow the field and all you've been offered are sports cars.There are planes that do this kind of work and make it easy but trying to get by with only one plane is going to create some significant barriers. You really need to approach this as basic stock preparation which really requires three planes. Forget the low angle/bevel up planes, their supposed versatility doesn't really cover more than finish planing and they're difficult (being generous here) to actually set up and use for actual stock preparation.You need a jack plane or fore plane (numbers 5, 5 1/2 or 6) depending on the size of stock you normally work. From your description, I'd say a #5 would be fine. Then you need a try plane, probably a #7 and a smooth plane. The lengths of these planes are important and actually work with you to get the job done. These need to be set up for stock preparation. I'd suggest a 12" radius camber on the iron of the #5 and quite a bit less on the #7. The iron of the smooth plane can be ever so slightly cambered or straight with the corners honed off. A straight edge and some winding sticks will help.I don't know how much to describe, because I assume you have some basic machine stock preparation knowledge and it's really the same process. If you're going to be doing this kind of work, these planes are pretty important and work as a system to get you where you need to be. If you need more information, just say so.
Hi guys,
I ordered up my #4 smoothing plane this afternoon. Should be here in about 2 weeks. Can't wait to tune it up and try it out.
Wanda
Hi Wanda,
I've almost been smart enough to stay out of this thread ;-)
Actually, this is the first time I popped into it. You've made a choice which is far better than the ol' paralysis from analysis--and on an internet forum, it is almost a given.
Once you receive your plane, though it needs a final honing to be as sharp as it can be, do try using it. Take some scrap and get use to adjusting the thing. If you don't have any old candles or caning parrafin, buy a package from the grocery store to scribble across the sole in use. It will make a great difference on the effort required to push the plane.
Then pop out the iron, hone it up, reinstall it and try some more scrap. Get use to feeling what the woods you are using feel like with moderate and fine cuts. Remember, wax is your friend.
Take care, Mike
Wanda - A comment to get you up and running quickly. You don't say whether you got a L-N or a L-V, but either will arrive with a nice, flat sole, a reasonably flat back to the blade, and it'll be somewhat sharp.
There's lots and lots and lots of advice on this and other forums about blade sharpening/honing, so you've all the resources you need to either become an expert quickly or devolve into a hopeless morass of confusion over sharpening stones/sandpaper/jigs/techniques - depending on how much you read (less is probably more in this case).
But when you get your plane, here are a couple of things you can do that will get the iron really sharp and relieve the corners that will get the plane to do what you want it to in short order, and costs very little.
First - relieving the corners. All plane irons from L-V or L-N come ground and honed straight across. You'll notice if you put the plane to wood that even with a very light shaving, you'll have "tracks" across the board from the corners of the blade. One very quick and easy way to solve this is to get a smooth cut file and very lightly round over the very corners of the blade, with the file held perpendicular to the surface of the blade, and starting with the length of the file parallel to the side of the blade, and ending up almost parallel with the end of the blade - it's a smooth, half circular motion. Two strokes will be more than enough - you should just barely be able to see the very corners rounded over.
The second step is to lightly hone a small area at the sharp area of the blade. You can do this economically with a piece of leather with a bit of carver's honing compound on it (just about every Woodcraft sells sticks of honing compound for about $8, and an a piece of leather is easy to come by at any Tandy store, and some fabric stores). An alternative is a piece of 2000 grit wet-dry sandpaper stuck down to a scrap of MDF. No need for a jig, just set the bevel down on the honing surface, feel for the flat, raise it up just slightly from there, and put two to three light strokes on the blade. If you've found the very edge, just these two or three light strokes will give you a very noticeable increase in sharpness.
Both of these things will give you a plane that will produce shavings in the 2-5 thousandths of an inch range, and if the board is planed in the correct direction, the surface left behind will be as smooth as a piece of polished stone. Happy Planing!
HI guys,
Thank you for the tips on tuning. Pretty sure I have a can of Johnson's Furniture paste hiding out in the tool room. Might even have a block of parafin wax hiding out in the baking cupboard.
Now all I need is a 4000 grit norton stone. I have a 100 and 8000 but I can't exactly go from a 1000 grit - 8000.
My plane should arrive in approx. 2 weeks so I have until then to read up on how to sharpen a plane iron. :)
Wanda
You can go from 1000 to 8000 if you use a microbevel - I do it all the time. If you plan on using a sharpening guide I would spring for the newer LV model -- you can dial a 2 degree microbevel which is all you sharpen with the 8000 -- a strip of metal 1/16 to 1/8 wide. If you want you can make a jig yourself -- www3.telus.net/BrentBeach/Sharpen/station.html is one that looks possible -- I haven't used it. Look at Derek Cohen's "inthewoodshop" web page for more sharpening tips. I think he also has a homebrew jig. For freehanding having a grinder (to get a hollow grind) really helps and then you are also only going for a narrow strip at 8000. For flattening the back an intermediate stone may help but you could also get some appropriate paper to use on glass for that one time job. Also some of the new irons are pretty flat so I would check before I went to coarse grits. You'll need the sandpaper and glass anyway to flatten the waterstones unless you get a diamond stone for that job. And note -- a new waterstone may not be flat. If it is, after a little use it will not be, so make flattening the stones part of your routine. You will not get a gopd edge with a dished stone. I know many consider the sharpening guides to be "training wheels" but getting a really good edge is essential to getting any plane to sing and then at least you know what it's supposed to do,
Hi Joel,
Before I purchased my waterstones I used the "Scary Sharp" (sandpaper) method of sharpening my chisels. Would be great to own one of those MK11 veritas jigs. I'll have to save up for that.
I use 320 Grit sandpaper to sharpen my waterstones. I just squiggle a pencil line the full length of the stone and then rub it back and forth on the sandpaper till the line disappears. Then I know it's flat.
What would happen if you didn't put a 2 degree or 5 degree microbevel on the plane iron/chisel? What is the advantage of honing a micro bevel? I've never put one on any of my chisels.
I assume the iron that comes with this new plane I just ordered will only needs to be honed. I won't need to grind it will I?
Wanda
No you will not need to grind it. If you want to go from 1000 to 8000 in one step it's faster to use a microbevel as then you are just working a narrow band instead of the whole bevel. But either way will work.
Wanda - the advantage to putting a microbevel on a chisel is speed of honing (only the intersection of the two surfaces, the bevel and the back, determines sharpness, not the whole bevel or back), but also toughness of the edge. A smaller bevel angle means a greater apparent sharpness, but also is a more fragile edge.
By keeping a relatively small overall bevel angle (say, 25 degrees), less force is needed to drive the chisel through a given cross section of wood, as the wood doesn't have to be crushed/split and moved as far to let the chisel through. However, the very edge that's ground and honed to 25 degrees will be somewhat fragile, and may chip or roll over under mallet blows.
By honing a 35 degree microbevel on the front of a 25 degree overall bevel, the very tip of the honed edge is considerably sturdier, but the overall force required to move a big chunk of wood under mallet blows is almost the same as without the microbevel.
Hi,
Wow! Thanks for that thorough explanation. So now I know the importance of a microbevel on plane irons and chisels. :)
Wanda
g,
you are almost certainly right in your belief that the BU LV plane works very well. Certainly I will use one of these beautiful planes the first time I get a chance to. As I said to Derek, I agree with all of his facts, but we differ on things that we think are important. When we give advice here on Knots, we often don't think to give the background of our beliefs and values. Obviously, you are a collector as well as user of planes. I don't think that the OP of this thread is a plane collecter. This might be her first, and it may be her last. If she buys a LN, she'll be able to sell it quickly on EBAY and for about what she paid for it. THis does not make it a better plane than the LV, but it makes it, IMHO, a better decisione. It is a reversible decision. It is a bit more difficult to sell the LV BU if you decide you don't want it any more. I work part time at Woodcraft. I believe that there are a large number of woodworkers who decide they "need" a plane, after not having used one for a long while. Once they get the plane, they find that it doesn't fit their style. In other words, they get upset at the time and trouble it takes to flatten the bottom, to flatten the back of the blade, to sharpen the blade, to learn how to set the blade for different reasons, to handle gnarly grain, to .......... and on and on and on. I recommend that such woodworkers NOT buy a plane, until they visit the shop of a friend and get a hands-on lesson. One might find very quickly that they really don't want to go through the learning process. Really good planes are useless wastes of money, unless they are used. The best way to learn about planes, IMHO, is to buy a cheap old Stanley block plane, and learn to fettle it, and to use it. Then get an old Stanley smoother or Jack plane, and learn to fettle it, and use it. If you get over those humps, you are ready to make the jump to a LV or a LN, or maybe a Marcou or a Holtey. Another of my "values" is to buy only the tools that I will use a lot. I know too many woodworkers who give in to the impulse to buy tools that are on sale. Remember that the OP was thinking of the LV because she could get "free shipping." WRONG APPROACH TO BUYING A PLANE!!!!If Wanda wants to learn about hand planes and doesn't live near any other woodworkers, I would suggest some DVDs by Rob Cosman or by Charlsworth, or by, ......... These aren't as good as a real hands-on lesson, but they are better than nothing.Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Mel,
As regards your proposition of buying a LN plane then selling it later: I have heard of woodworkers selling tools. But I believe that is like Wallace Nutting's quote of the preacher saying at the funeral of an old maid, about her children, "If such there be, I have not seen them!"
Cheers,
Ray
Hi Mel
Since you are looking for a discussion ... well, BU verses BD is as provocative as sharpening!!! :) heh .. heh ..
I don't have experience with the BU planes.
So ... you work in a woodstore! How can you let the opportunity pass? How do you manage to sleep at night?
I would suggest the LN 4 1/2, 5 1/2 and 7 as a nice set, whose irons are interchangeable. Get one with the York pitch frog, and switch it around as needed.
These are, in my opinion, indeed a fine selection. However .. to suggest that one swaps a frog around ..! Gad, I don't even like to change a blade or a setting on planes, and tend to reserve a plane for a specific purpose. Of course, you have to have more than one plane to be in a position to select ... but, Oh I do see where you are coming from ..!!!! You are hoping that Wanda will gets so pissed off swapping frogs that she will toddle off to Woodcraft and buy more planes from you! Clever!
I prefer more mass.
So do I. However I am not sure that Wanda is built like Rambo (I must admit to having caught sneek peeks of you in the showers .. your biceps are amazing!). Otherwise I would refer her professionally to Philip - perhaps she could claim a Marcou on Medicare?
Seriously, this is the reason why I think that Wanda has been asking for a #4 and not a #4 1/2.
Besides, the Lie Nielsen planes are FREE. You buy em, use em, and sell em on EBAY for about what you paid for them. Try that with a LV or anything else.
That may be try in theory ... but I do not want to test it out in practice. I'm not sure, but doubt, that anyone else really wants to buy a plane (tool, whatever) with the thought, "if I don't like it, I will sell it on eBay", or "in 20 years I will get my money back". People want to use something now, and keep on using it. Hell, I dont even like stopping to sharpen a blade!
I emphasise that one must look carefully at the wood one tends to use and factor this into the selection criteria when shopping for a plane. Whether BU or BD, I think that two factors dominate: (1) the individual preference for one style of plane over the other (i.e. both types will have their supporters, and personal preference is not an arguable point), and (2) the performance factor (i.e. whether the total plane setup is suitable for the task). The latter factor includes the skill of the woodworker and that this person can use the plane optimally. But how do you factor that into the equation when the potential purchaser is a novice to handplanes?
Regards from Perth
Derek
Derek,
I hope that Wanda is still using her plane in a few years.You asked about using a BU plane at Woodcraft.
NO SUCH THING. The only planes they have are a few Stanleys, a few Groz, and about ten Lie Nielsens. There is not much that comes in the store that I don't try. Do you think I work there for the $8/hour? If they get a BU smoother, I will be the first to try it. I like the whole Lee Valley setup. They have a great set of tools, and they continue to stay creative. Good attitude. MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
Hi Mel
You asked about using a BU plane at Woodcraft .... I like the whole Lee Valley setup.
No LN #62 or #164? Geez, you are deprived - I'd asked for a raise under these circumstances. :)
Incidentally, your post makes it sound like I am recommending LV planes. I am not recommending any particular brand, and not even BU planes. I am simply stating the choices, and why.
Anyway, I have a solution. I am hosting a BBQ for the local Perth woodies at home on October 4th. I would be most happy for both you and Wanda to join us. Not only can I let you try out BU and BD planes alongside one another, but I will treat you to some great Aussie beer and snags. Now that would be fun! :)
Regards from Perth
Derek
Edited 9/20/2008 12:35 am ET by derekcohen
Derek,
Best of luck to Wanda.
I hope that in a year, she is still using whatever plane she buys. Sure wish I could come to your BBQ, and meet the woodworkers who deal with the world's gnarliest grain. Regards from Burke,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
I am not sure that Wanda is built like Rambo (I must admit to having caught sneek peeks of you in the showers .. your biceps are amazing!).
That's why I never took showers in the gym after P.E.
You "guys" make me nervous....
Hi Wanda I have the LN #4 with both the standard frog and the 50 degree angle frog. This plane is one of my favorite tools I would not hesitate to buy one. If you do go the LN route order it with the 50 degree frog once I installed that frog I have never changed the frog back. Anyway the plane is a joy to use and I am sure you will be very happy with it.
Troy
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