Lie Nielsen No 6

[Karl]

Anybody got any experience/own one of the above? I am thinking of investing in one, but would welcome any observations.

Cheers

Karl

 

[NKE]

Hi Karl, I have and use regularly Lie Nielsen number 6, it’s a great plane.
neil

 

[Karl]

Hi Neil

Do you edge joint? What length will it do, before you decide to switch to a jointer - assuming you have one :lol:

I am looking for a plane that can do-it-all ! Shooting board, surfacing, and edge jointing up to say 4 feet. I have an old Stanley No 6 and like the weight/feel of the plane, which got me thinking of a LN No 6.

Cheers

Karl

 

[tnimble]

Hi Neil

Do you edge joint? What length will it do, before you decide to switch to a jointer - assuming you have one :lol:

I always used a jointer for that, but at home (i'm now only a hobist) I used to use a no 4 for that but soon realised the bigger the better.

I am looking for a plane that can do-it-all ! Shooting board, surfacing, and edge jointing up to say 4 feet.

Keep looking you will find none that will do every job at the optimum.

I have an old Stanley No 6 and like the weight/feel of the plane, which got me thinking of a LN No 6.

I also have a stanley no 6 i love very much. When you like the Stanley you'll love the LN or veritas fore plane.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I am looking for a plane that can do-it-all !

If I could have only one plane it would be a #7 - you really can do most things with it. But I have a #6 as well (Clifton, not Lie Nielsen, but very similar) and love them both. They are both great for jointing and for use on a shooting board. But if you envisage jointing boards up to 4ft long, I would say go for the #7.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[NKE]

Hi Karl, I use it for making the centre joints on the violins, violas and cellos I build.
The centre joints are the join in the centre of the back and front of the instrument and have to be perfect.
The number six is the longest plane I have, it is noticeably heavier then the number six rapier I used before I bought the lie Nielsen, but I like that extra weight.
A cello back at the stage I do the joint is about a meter long, I don’t do the joint on a shouting board as I find it easier to control the plane doing it clamped in the bench vise.
I have tried colleague’s number sevens and personally find the number six far better for jointing…I know conventional wisdom suggests the longer the plane the better, but I find anything larger then a number six is very hard to persuade to do anything other then go straight, and in certain situations (in my experience) the ability to put a slight twist or dip in the shaving is very useful for getting the perfect joint…so yes the number six is a great all rounder and anything longer would not be very practical for the sort of work I do.
neil

 

[Karl]

Thanks for your replies.

Paul - I was thinking No 6 'cos the No 7 seems just a little too big to be comfortable for smoothing/shooting. You will remember the problems I had with my LV BU Jointer - which has now been sold. Just couldn't get along with it, and have decided on a more "conventional" plane.

The question of length of joint which can be edged with an 18 inch plane is interesting. I was perusing Terry Gordon's website and came across this http://www.hntgordon.com.au/jointinglongboards.htm

You will see that he uses his trying plane (18 inches) for jointing boards upto 6 feet. None of my work would be bigger than this (if it is, i'll buy a No 8 as well!!!!), which was part of the reasoning behind a No 6.

Any comments????

Cheers

Karl

 

[Anonymous]

Karl

until I got the LN #9, I used a #6 on the shooting board all the time and it was great (not a patch on the 9 though).

In your position, I would go for the #7 - my dad was a cabinet maker all his life and he used the #7 on the shooting board form his apprenticeship onwards. #7 makes a better jointer.

According to Chris Schwarz's (plane expert and editor of Popular Woodworking) DVD on plane use, the #6 is really for 'hogging' off wood in the same manner as a jack - hence it is called a 'Fore Plane' - used before the jointer or smoother.

I now use my #6 for this purpose and it works very well in this role

If you're interested, Chris's view is 'course, medium, fine' - i.e. take thick shavings off with the Fore or Jack plane with a highly curved blade, a bit like a large scrub (6-8 thou shavings), then use the jointer (7 or 8 ) to do final dimensioning and take it close to the finished size (3-4 thou shavings), finally, use the smoother to take get the final finish with 1-2 thou shavings and tight mouth. The smoother (4.5 for large work, 3 or 4 for smaller work) should only be used for a few passes as most work is done with the other two.

Since seeing the DVD and adopting this approach, my work has speeded up and my enjoyment increased loads.

 

[Alf]

Karl,

Forgive me (well you might well not, but try to) but I think you're in danger of making the classic mistake of looking for a new tools as a substitute for practice and skill. I'm sure we've all done it at some time or other (guilty!) and naturally you're free to do it too 'cos it's probably rather like having to get that set number of terrible dovetail joints out of your system, you just have to tread the path. But just, well, just don't be disappointed if throwing money at the problem doesn't provide the answer you thought it would.

After which impertinent homily, one thing that struck me is you like the weight and feel of the Stanley #6. I'm not familiar with the LN #6 but I very much doubt it feels quite the same (perhaps an owner of both can confirm or deny?) Don't suppose there's any member in your neck of the woods in a position to let you have a feel of various planes - that'd be worth all the advice you can get in black and white on here.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Karl]

Tony & Alf

Thanks for the replies.

Alf you are right - the Stanley NO 6 feels well balanced and I (perhaps naively) assumed that a LN No 6 would feel just as good, but give the extra quality I am looking for. When using my old LV BU Jointer for surfacing it just felt too big - it also couldn't be used for shooting and I couldn't get along with the fence attachment for edge jointing.

I know what you are saying about throwing cash away - not something I am looking to do. But having tried the bevel up type planes (extensively - what was a large pile of oak stock has been reduced to several bin bags full of shavings) I decided it wasn't for me. Fortunately, I didn't lose too much cash on the re-sale, so I am almost back at square one. I think this is one of the big problems of not being able to try before you buy. Living in Cheshire, I am not aware of any local retailer of quality hand tools. You are therefore very much having to buy on reputation and others say so.

Tony - I note what you say about the No 6 & No 7. But are they not both of the same quality? CS's comments are interesting - but why would you spend £260 on a plane to do rough hogging? Surely the No 6 is capable of better work than that? NKE's comments seem to say so.

I know my choice is between No 6 & No 7 - and I had a feeling before starting this thread that people would err towards a No 7. Maybe i'll have to think it through a bit more......

Cheers

Karl

 

[Colin C]

Hi Karl

I have been a cabinet maker and restorer for almost 24 years and up untill last year use a Stanley #6 for all of my edge jointing, I was very happy with it and still have it ( I have a #7 now and was lucky to get it for £45 with p+p on Ebay).

I would say if you are happy with your #6, then stick at it and you will be able to do all you need with it.

I hope this helps
Regards Colin

 

[Paul Chapman]

Karl,

I would strongly echo what Alf has said about trying out various planes to see what YOU feel comfortable with. I have both Record and Clifton planes and they feel very different. I suspect you will find that your Stanley and proposed Lie Nielsen will feel equally different. It is actually very difficult to advise other people what to buy and there's no substitute for trying them out for yourself.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Tony - I note what you say about the No 6 & No 7. But are they not both of the same quality?

I did not comment on the planes' quality, just it's design and use. All LNs are superbly engineered.

but why would you spend £260 on a plane to do rough hogging? Surely the No 6 is capable of better work than that?

This is really an irrelevant point as the #6 did not always cost £260. Why buy a LN or LV Scrub plane? The thing is that the Fore was originally designed to hog wood off.

I take the view that £260 is too much for such a plane and so use an old Record.

However, the more precise #7 is a Clifton (heavier than a LN which is something I like), and the smoothers (#3, #4.5) and my Jack are all LNs


In my opinion, any LN will please give years of great service that far exceeds the 'old planes' that everyone bangs on about. I have loads of 'old planes' and a lot of LV/LNs, and there really is no conparison at all.

 

[DomValente]

Alf wrote:

I think you're in danger of making the classic mistake of looking for a new tools as a substitute for practice and skill. I'm sure we've all done it at some time or other

Nooooo, not me never not.

Dom

 

[engineer one]

there speaks a man who has bought a domino :lol: :twisted:

personally i have found the LV no 6 normal plane really decent, but then i also have an LN 9 for shooting, and having sorted out my technique on the shooting board find it the dogs dodads.

however having a couple of BU's i am confused as to what caused you not to like them, mind you mine are LN's :roll:

i do however find that the more i practice, the better i get, and the better i get, the more i practice :lol:

my only comment is that it is better to buy one of these or a clifton, and then practice rather than fettle an older piece of kit.

paul :wink:

 

[Alf]

however having a couple of BU's i am confused as to what caused you not to like them, mind you mine are LN's :roll:

Steady, boy, them's could be fighting words... [-X ] :lol:

my only comment is that it is better to buy one of these or a clifton, and then practice rather than fettle an older piece of kit.

There you go again! :roll: While an "outta the box" usuable plane ("outta the box" does not mean "don't bother sharpening it") is a Good Thing, taking apart and tuning up an old one teaches you an awful lot about planes and how they work. Probably advantageous to have experience of both.

Oh, and I'm not arguing with Domino Dom - he knows where I live... 8-[

Cheers, Alf

 

[engineer one]

forgive me oh goddess for causing the buying versus fettling topic to raise its head again.
however what you said in part i thought was that practice at planing was as important as anything else.

so my feeling is still the same, better to have at least one of the better modern pieces of kit so that you know the standard at which to aim.

then if you have more experience, and want to learn more, then if you have the time and inclination, fettling an older one can be undertaken.

however i have found now i prefer to fettle wooden planes than metal ones :twisted: so maybe i should try to find the way to buy a philly 8)

worryingly at this time i seem to be using almost all of my metal planes,
that are lv/ln some of the time for different things which is i guess why there are so many varieties :?

for instance i have a luvverly clifton 420 very sharp, but the mouth is so close it is almost impossible to use except for a final clean up, whilst my LV large shoulder plane, being adjustable and sharp, is really neat :?

anyway back below the parapet before domino comes for me :lol:

nice to see you back alf 8)

paul :wink:

 

[engineer one]

a point about the two different bu makes, LN or LV.

i confess that i understood that there are subtle differences in the shapes of the handles/totes on the two manufacturers planes.

for whatever reason i have ended up with conventional LV and bu LN, so it is a little strange. :?

as an aside, the local asda has installed those self service tills, and i find that the bin for picking up my change is almost impossible for me to use since my crock little finger gets mashed against the top supposedly they were designed :twisted:

having finally gotten the shooting plan sorted, i must say the LN 9 is really comfortable for me in the position where i use the side handle 8)

so i wonder whether part of it is the handle shape and position.

paul :wink:

 

[Karl]

Just thought i'd provide you all with an update (if you're interested).

Ordered my new plane - Clifton No 7.

I haven't been able to see one in the flesh, and have had to (once again) base my purchase on recommendation and others ravings. As I said previously, I don't have a tool supplier anywhere local, and although I have had a very kind offer from a member to go and try out their planes, I figured that I would lose a day's earnings (I am self employed so don't have holidays etc) - say £150 - by going to check out the planes in the flesh. If worst comes to the worst and I decide I am not happy with the plane, I can sell on, hopefully at a loss of no more than £50, and somebody else benefits from my misfortune.

Went for the Clifton because:

1) I know that I don't get on with/like the BU type planes.
2) It seems to be constantly raved about on this site - along with others from LN/LV.
3) I prefer the more traditional style of plane.
4) Made in the UK - not a major factor, but a consideration nonetheless.

I am awaiting the Clifton's arrival with baited breath....

Cheers

Karl

 

[Anonymous]

Ordered my new plane - Clifton No 7.

Karl

I ama great fan of LNs but I decieded to buy the Clifton #7 rather than the LN simply because it is heavier. I love it !!

You won't be disapointed, enjoy :wink: