First LN purchase

[ajbell]

All

I am going to the states next week and would like to
buy my first LN plane(s) while I am there.

I hope in the future to buy a planer and a thicknesser but am
not sure which LN planes to purchase (I can't afford many!)

I was thinking of a #5 or maybe 5 and 1/2 for finishing after machining and for use on a shooting board and also a block plane.

Does this sound like a good idea?

I currently have a stanley #4 and 4 and 1/2 which I have spent many hours sole flattening etc. but I want to see how good a plane really can be.

Andy Bell

 

[Paul Chapman]

My favourite plane for use on the shooting board is a #6 (Clifton not LN). I think you would find the extra weight useful when planing end grain, particularly when using very hard woods. The extra length would also be useful for cleaning up longer pieces of wood.

I think it's always best to try before you buy, if that's possible, to see which you prefer. Choice of planes tends to be a very personal thing and what suits one person doesn't always suit another.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

All

I am going to the states next week and would like to
buy my first LN plane(s) while I am there.

I hope in the future to buy a planer and a thicknesser but am
not sure which LN planes to purchase (I can't afford many!)

I was thinking of a #5 or maybe 5 and 1/2 for finishing after machining and for use on a shooting board and also a block plane.

Does this sound like a good idea?

I currently have a stanley #4 and 4 and 1/2 which I have spent many hours sole flattening etc. but I want to see how good a plane really can be.

Andy Bell

I have a quite a few LNs, including the 5.5 and you'll love it.

The 5.5 work great on the shooting board becasue of its extra mass over the 5. I would choose the 5.5 over the 5 every time.

 

[Imperial]

Where in the states are you going? I have purchased several items from

http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/l ... oducts.htm

He will post to your hotel and prices are the best, my 1st plane was the LN low angle jack, a decision I have not regretted, works well for most tasks, but sold the Large Shoulder Plane and bought a Veritas medium. I've found that the Veritas planes take less fettling, LN plane and chisel blades are never flat in my experience, and work as well as the LN's if not better in some cases. The prices are better and I now have a mixture of both brands. The Veritas low angle block is fantastic and I'd recommend it above the LN. Buy as much as you can afford as if you don’t like or don't use, you can sell for UK prices on the bay and help pay for what you've bought.

 

[paulm]

Interesting, by contrast I have found my LN chisels and plane blades as near perfect as makes no difference, and had no hesitation in purchasing the LN low angle block after handling that and the LV version at a show, no contest on that particular bit of kit although I know some prefer the LV adjuster.

The LV shoulder planes though in particular have some unique and excellent design features.

As others have said, it's very personal at the end of the day and you won't be dissapointed whatever of those makes you go for.

Personally I would go for a low angle jack from LN or from LV both very good indeed and very versatile.

Cheers, Paul

 

[bugbear]

I have a quite a few LNs, including the 5.5 and you'll love it.

The 5.5 work great on the shooting board becasue of its extra mass over the 5. I would choose the 5.5 over the 5 every time.

Would you recommend the OP go for normal or HA frog?

If the OP has a "normal" #5, I'd have thought giving the LN a HA frog would make it more functionally distinct (hence less redundant) w.r.t his existing planes.

BugBear

 

[dunbarhamlin]

If the OP has a "normal" #5, I'd have thought giving the LN a HA frog would make it more functionally distinct (hence less redundant) w.r.t his existing planes.

Would you recommend a high angle frog in preference to a back bevel? (Suppose this is the same argument as for LA/Std block planes)

Other alternative would be to use different blade profiles in each - my #5 is heavily cambered as a short fore / archetypal jack plane, while my #5 1/2 is straight bladed as a super smoother / short jointer (not try plane).

Steve

 

[bugbear]

Would you recommend a high angle frog in preference to a back bevel?

*IF* the plane is part of a "set", and does not need to be "versatile", yes.

Back bevels are a little harder to create, control and maintain than a simple flat back.

The HA frog allow high EP with a simple flat back on the blade.

BugBear

 

[dunbarhamlin]

Makes sense, just as I have dedicated try and jointer planes.

Mr Hudson? How about a set of middle or half pitch frogs after the block plane?

 

[kenneth cooke]

I have a Stanley 604 Bedrock fitted with a Ray Isles iron a LN 4.1/2" with a high angle frog- superb- end grain wild grain hardwoods and a LN 5.1/2" every other finishing task Record No7 Jointer Plane with a Karl Holtey iron. I also have e 60's Stanley No 4 for suspect hardwoods that I do not want to risk my other bench planes with

 

[Jeff Gorman]

> I am going to the states next week and would like to
buy my first LN plane(s) while I am there.

I currently have a stanley #4 and 4 and 1/2 which I have spent many hours sole flattening etc. but I want to see how good a plane really can be. <

If you have a flat sole, a very fine shaving aperture and a sharp blade, then you have all you really need.

Maybe an expensive beautifully made plane with possibly a more durable iron will be a greater pleasure to use.

But I wonder whether with expensive acquisitions there can be a placebo effect when evaluating the product?

>>Placebo; I shall be pleasing, acceptable<<

 

[ajbell]

All

Thanks for all the replies - but it seems that you
have given me more to consider i.e. "normal" or HA frog
and I guess low angle too?

I think I will try to get my hands on a #6 and a #5 to try before
I buy.

I am going to Chicago - does anyone know any good woordworking
stores there?

Andy

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Have you considered the LN LA Jack (#164) plus an extra blade+

Keep a low angle (25 degree) blade for the shooting plane, and a higher angle (45-50 degrees) for smoothing.

Best of both works. Better performance than a #5 or #5 1/2.

Incidentally, I have just spent the past two days (weekend) demonstrating all LN planes for LN at the Perth Wood Show, so the differences are pretty clear in my mind.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Karl]

Have you considered the LN LA Jack (#164) plus an extra blade+

Derek - do you mean the Jack (#62) or the Smoother (#164)? I suspect the Jack.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Ooops Karl, I meant the Jack (#62)

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[ajbell]

Hi Derek

I have had a look at the LN website and it says that there is
"little lateral adjustment" on the #62 and that the blade
"must be sharpened square"

Does this mean that I cannot have a cambered blade
and will this have implications (when not on a shooting board) when preparing faces/edges as I am trying to follow DC's methods which rely on a cambered blade.

Thanks - I am fairly new!!

Andy

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Hi Andy

You can still adjust the LN - a tad - with fingers.

There is no problem in adding a cambered blade.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[bugbear]

Hi Derek

I have had a look at the LN website and it says that there is
"little lateral adjustment" on the #62 and that the blade
"must be sharpened square"

By square they mean perpendicular to the side-edges of the blade; this doesn't preclude cambering.

Just to add confusion, the similar LV tool does have lateral adjust.

BugBear