Same old, Same old Lie-Nielsen or Clifton?

[bramers]

hello,

what to buy????

have been rakeing throught google for reviews wheather to buy a clifton or a lie-nielsen. some say get clifton beacuse they are british but that is no anser.

Lie-nielsen are a tad more accurate 0.2 mm and are dead on square (base, sides) but is it enought to worry about.

am looking at a 5 1/2, have played on cliftons but no idea about ln anyone got one?

cheers guys

 

[Shadowfax]

Bramers
The LN 5 1/2 is an awesome tool. Probably one of the best planes I own. So versatile too. I'm not saying you can use it for everything but I seem to reach for it all the time.
Lovely.

SF

 

[Colin C]

HI Bramers

Paul Chapman has Clifton planes and can tell you himself what he thinks or pm him

 

[Paul Chapman]

Paul Chapman has Clifton planes and can tell you himself what he thinks or pm him

John Bullar did a very fair review of the #5.5 Clifton and #5.5 Lie Nielsen and the (slightly narrower) Veritas here http://www.individualfurniture.com/maker/Planes.htm

I really like my Cliftons and have no regrets at buying them. I have the #7, #6, #4.5 & #3. I can't compare them with Lie Nielsen because I haven't any Lie Nielsens - and couldn't afford LNs anyway.

All of mine are very well made and perform really well. What I like about them in particular is the weight (they are a fair bit heavier than my Records); the Bedrock frogs which are really precision-made and result in a very accurate blade seating which eliminates chatter; the ease with which the mouth can be adjusted without dismantling the plane; and the thick blades and cap irons are superb.

In performance terms they are significantly better than my Records. This is most noticeable on difficult and very hard woods and the #6 and #7 work a real dream on the shooting board.

I always think it's very difficult to advise someone else what to buy and what I would suggest is that you find somewhere like a woodworking show where you can try them out. I know what I like but that might be different from what you like.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[dchenard]

I don't know how prices work out in the UK, but you owe it to yourself to at least try the Veritas Low Angle Jack, a wonderful plane, IMHO the best one Veritas makes. Yeah, it's a trifle narrower than a 5 1/2, but this plane makes me feel good every time I use it...

Did I say I that love that plane?

DC

 

[David C]

There are very significant differences between these three planes.

Flatness is difficult the check without a precision straightedge, though my edge planing experiment in book three is very revealing if you wish to do precision work, (not all do with a jack plane!)

This question comes up regularly and the only meaningful way to make a decision is to try all three, which is easier said than done.

David Charlesworth

 

[Alf]

Cliffies are "grey" iron rather than ductile - how likely are you to want to bounce your plane on the ground? :-s :wink:

Veritas Low Angle Jack, a wonderful plane, IMHO the best one Veritas makes. Yeah, it's a trifle narrower than a 5 1/2, but this plane makes me feel good every time I use it...

Depends on the age of the #5 1/2 - older ones have 2 1/4" irons too and personally I think it makes for marginally better proportions. I do wish TLN had gone with the original #5 1/2 size, but heigh ho.

Cheers, Alf

 

[bramers]

thanks guys, trying to decide between a Clifton and Lie-nielsen is spliting hairs, the clifton is a tad heavier but it has the removable peice witch is no good for the great veritas mk2 beacuse it has to be striped down like anyother plane.

the clifton is perfect but is a fraction more (£). i supose it is a life long investment so i might as well go all the way, its only a one of investment. (he says, untill i look on Lie-nielsens website)

i would love to have a play with one (LN), does anybody know if you can play at aptc (kent)?

thank you

 

[sparky]

please understand that i don't own either...but i think alf is on to something. it really suprised me the first time i dropped my plane by accident (on concrete no less #-o ) and i think the smart money is on ductile iron for this reason...also there is absolutely no way that the LN will disappoint (so i hear )
i personally love my veritas LA Jack \/

sparky

 

[bugbear]

hello,

what to buy????

have been rakeing throught google for reviews wheather to buy a clifton or a lie-nielsen. some say get clifton beacuse they are british but that is no anser.

Lie-nielsen are a tad more accurate 0.2 mm and are dead on square (base, sides) but is it enought to worry about.

am looking at a 5 1/2, have played on cliftons but no idea about ln anyone got one?

cheers guys

I think the flatness specs are the same - one's quoted as overall error (i.e. total range) and the other is quoted as a plus-or-minus error, thus the numbers are different, but the accuracy is the same.

This also comes up when comparing LN against LV.

BugBear (who knows how to flatten out of flat planes anyway)