Alf
Established Member
Hot on the heels of part four, it's part five! :shock: Never thought I’d get this far. Still with me? Right, off we go:
The Veritas Low Angle Smoother is Lee Valley’s contribution to the current fashion for low angle bench planes, just recently joined by its bigger brother the Low Angle Jack. At 10 ½” long, its ductile iron body is a tad bigger than the competition (c’mon, you know who I mean…) and has an adjustable mouth. A2, 1/8”thick steel blade, hardwood handles (bubinga again? If so, with the current trend for it amongst toolmakers, we must all be scaring an awful lot of bubinga trees…), grub screws and a “Norris” style adjuster complete the now familiar picture. The packaging was once again all over the place thanks to the previous reviewer (s‘cuse me while I get the out the waxen effigy and pins), but a sturdy cardboard box, packing paper to take up the gaps and rust inhibitor paper round the plane seem to be the order of the day. The instructions had also gone AWOL, but I was able to download them from the relevant page, and you can look at them too. Yet again they’re very comprehensive, and a model of how instructions with tools should be. My own low angle smoother from Maine is one of my most used planes, so I was eager to see how the L-V would fare against my already entrenched partiality. :wink:
Head to head
The overall look fits in very well between the block and bench planes, which is pretty much where it is in plane type. It’s not actually too hideous to behold, by and large. But perhaps I’m merely becoming immune…? The milling, machining, grinding and general finish is as good as I‘ve come to expect. The blade bedding area seems to have had particular care taken over it, I thought.
Left: Lie Nielsen. Right: Lee Valley Veritas
The lever cap is a little different, being more of a T-shape. It looks a little odd after all those East German swimmers on the bench planes, but the shape has more to do with ergonomics than looks - more of which later. Like the blocks, a circular depression has been machined on each side to assist grip; while shooting in this case. The handles are very similar to the bench planes; a lacquered finish, quite an upright, blocky rear handle, but a slightly lower front knob (still taller than the competition).
I wasn’t totally enamoured of the brass ferrule-cum-washer at the base of the front knob; I realise it’s there to protect the base as you loosen and tighten the knob while adjusting the mouth, but it’s rather sloppy and just looks a bit untidy. Perhaps the base diameter of the front knob was a bit shy of the originally designed dimensions?
The dreaded straight edge and square were run over the sole and sides, and as before it was a case of squinting while holding the plane up to the light to see any gaps. Unusually the sole had a bit of a wave effect, rather than straightforward concave or convex, but as it was so infinitesimal anyway, what the heck. It would be nice to have had the dead-on accuracy of the sides to the sole that the shoulder plane exhibits, bearing in mind this plane is so obviously set up for shooting, but it’ll do.
One of the oft-heard complaints about that other plane is the fuss and fiddle involved in removing and replacing the blade. Principally getting the yoke plate the right distance from the edge every time you sharpen it. With an A2 iron it’s not something that’s done as much as it might be with a less long-lasting edge, but it is a poor feature. The Veritas is so easy as to be laughable. Loosen and remove the lever cap, lift the blade up from the adjuster pin and Bob’s your uncle. A plain, ordinary iron, yoke plate free. Giggling insanely at the ease of it, I took the blade to the stone. This is the first blade I’ve had from Veritas that had the potential to be a long-term sharpening job. The hollow in the back went all the way to the edge, rather than in a Japanese style. Rats. So I used the ruler trick and it took no time at all. David Charlesworth should get a knighthood or something for that alone.
Replacing the blade was child’s play, causing a fresh outbreak of hysterical laughter. I had my usual fiddle with the grub screws either side of the mouth, replaced the lever cap and set about getting it to take a thin shaving. As per the instructions, I opened the mouth up fully and then used the excellent adjuster to set the depth of cut and lateral adjustment. It’s a little tricky to do the former without upsetting the latter, ‘cos there isn’t much room between the end of the adjuster and the rear tote.
Not much wiggle room in there to get at the adjuster. More on the ergonomics below
Having lateral adjustment at all is a bit of a luxury really, and a real boon if you have trouble sharpening your irons square. I then adjusted the mouth down to not much. Just as on the two larger block planes the mouth is simply adjusted by loosening the front knob, manually moving the mouth to where you want it and then tightening it all up again. Not sophisticated, but simple and surprisingly precise.
The toe disassembled, seen from below
Then it came down to how it felt in the hand. As with the bench planes I found the rear handle particularly problematic, mainly due to the angle.
Top: Veritas grip. Below: L-N grip. I'm not sure how helpful these are to see the difference, but for what it's worth. The L-V grip is also a little lower than the L-N.
I was also a little conscious of how close my fingers were to the end of the adjuster (see earlier picture); it felt a little cramped in there and there’s nowhere to put your forefinger to create a three finger grip which might have helped. My second opinion, having larger hands, found it much worse. His third finger rubbed against it, and after just a few minutes of use he had quite a sore area of skin. Of course after enough grindings of the iron the problem would go away, but we concluded the iron could probably lose a little off the top, and the adjuster rod be trimmed down ¼” or so, and the problem would never exist to start with. Shooting was much better. The sides do seem to be a little bigger in comparison than the other low angle smoother, and the depression for the thumb milled in the sides really works. The especially clever bit is the lever cap. It’s shape means you can curl your fingers round it and it’s really very comfortable. 10/10 for comfort while shooting at any rate.
I gave this one a go planing end grain, long grain and the face of a board in beech, ash, oak, cherry, etc etc, and excellent results were obtained.
I did a direct plane-off comparison with the L-N and there was no difference between them at all. I was very impressed.
Endgrain shaving
I then tried the shooting board, and was impressed all over again. The L-V is much easier to hold, and that makes for better control on the shooting board. It was a real pleasure to use on its side. What’s this? All my partiality for my own plane being blown away? Gulp.
So what’s the verdict? You’re all agog to know, I can tell. I really, really, really like this plane. I didn’t expect to especially, but the blade’s sooooooooo easy to replace compared to the L-N, and the results are just as good, I can’t help myself. If only, oh if only, it had totes as comfortable as the L-N.
Once again, trying before you buy is essential I think. If you can live with the handle, or you’ll only ever use it for shooting, you’re laughing.
Low Angle Smoother £128.00
<Edit> As of 1st October there's been a review of prices, viz:
Low Angle Smoother £123.38
The Veritas Low Angle Smoother is Lee Valley’s contribution to the current fashion for low angle bench planes, just recently joined by its bigger brother the Low Angle Jack. At 10 ½” long, its ductile iron body is a tad bigger than the competition (c’mon, you know who I mean…) and has an adjustable mouth. A2, 1/8”thick steel blade, hardwood handles (bubinga again? If so, with the current trend for it amongst toolmakers, we must all be scaring an awful lot of bubinga trees…), grub screws and a “Norris” style adjuster complete the now familiar picture. The packaging was once again all over the place thanks to the previous reviewer (s‘cuse me while I get the out the waxen effigy and pins), but a sturdy cardboard box, packing paper to take up the gaps and rust inhibitor paper round the plane seem to be the order of the day. The instructions had also gone AWOL, but I was able to download them from the relevant page, and you can look at them too. Yet again they’re very comprehensive, and a model of how instructions with tools should be. My own low angle smoother from Maine is one of my most used planes, so I was eager to see how the L-V would fare against my already entrenched partiality. :wink:
Head to head
The overall look fits in very well between the block and bench planes, which is pretty much where it is in plane type. It’s not actually too hideous to behold, by and large. But perhaps I’m merely becoming immune…? The milling, machining, grinding and general finish is as good as I‘ve come to expect. The blade bedding area seems to have had particular care taken over it, I thought.
Left: Lie Nielsen. Right: Lee Valley Veritas
The lever cap is a little different, being more of a T-shape. It looks a little odd after all those East German swimmers on the bench planes, but the shape has more to do with ergonomics than looks - more of which later. Like the blocks, a circular depression has been machined on each side to assist grip; while shooting in this case. The handles are very similar to the bench planes; a lacquered finish, quite an upright, blocky rear handle, but a slightly lower front knob (still taller than the competition).
I wasn’t totally enamoured of the brass ferrule-cum-washer at the base of the front knob; I realise it’s there to protect the base as you loosen and tighten the knob while adjusting the mouth, but it’s rather sloppy and just looks a bit untidy. Perhaps the base diameter of the front knob was a bit shy of the originally designed dimensions?
The dreaded straight edge and square were run over the sole and sides, and as before it was a case of squinting while holding the plane up to the light to see any gaps. Unusually the sole had a bit of a wave effect, rather than straightforward concave or convex, but as it was so infinitesimal anyway, what the heck. It would be nice to have had the dead-on accuracy of the sides to the sole that the shoulder plane exhibits, bearing in mind this plane is so obviously set up for shooting, but it’ll do.
One of the oft-heard complaints about that other plane is the fuss and fiddle involved in removing and replacing the blade. Principally getting the yoke plate the right distance from the edge every time you sharpen it. With an A2 iron it’s not something that’s done as much as it might be with a less long-lasting edge, but it is a poor feature. The Veritas is so easy as to be laughable. Loosen and remove the lever cap, lift the blade up from the adjuster pin and Bob’s your uncle. A plain, ordinary iron, yoke plate free. Giggling insanely at the ease of it, I took the blade to the stone. This is the first blade I’ve had from Veritas that had the potential to be a long-term sharpening job. The hollow in the back went all the way to the edge, rather than in a Japanese style. Rats. So I used the ruler trick and it took no time at all. David Charlesworth should get a knighthood or something for that alone.
Replacing the blade was child’s play, causing a fresh outbreak of hysterical laughter. I had my usual fiddle with the grub screws either side of the mouth, replaced the lever cap and set about getting it to take a thin shaving. As per the instructions, I opened the mouth up fully and then used the excellent adjuster to set the depth of cut and lateral adjustment. It’s a little tricky to do the former without upsetting the latter, ‘cos there isn’t much room between the end of the adjuster and the rear tote.
Not much wiggle room in there to get at the adjuster. More on the ergonomics below
Having lateral adjustment at all is a bit of a luxury really, and a real boon if you have trouble sharpening your irons square. I then adjusted the mouth down to not much. Just as on the two larger block planes the mouth is simply adjusted by loosening the front knob, manually moving the mouth to where you want it and then tightening it all up again. Not sophisticated, but simple and surprisingly precise.
The toe disassembled, seen from below
Then it came down to how it felt in the hand. As with the bench planes I found the rear handle particularly problematic, mainly due to the angle.
Top: Veritas grip. Below: L-N grip. I'm not sure how helpful these are to see the difference, but for what it's worth. The L-V grip is also a little lower than the L-N.
I was also a little conscious of how close my fingers were to the end of the adjuster (see earlier picture); it felt a little cramped in there and there’s nowhere to put your forefinger to create a three finger grip which might have helped. My second opinion, having larger hands, found it much worse. His third finger rubbed against it, and after just a few minutes of use he had quite a sore area of skin. Of course after enough grindings of the iron the problem would go away, but we concluded the iron could probably lose a little off the top, and the adjuster rod be trimmed down ¼” or so, and the problem would never exist to start with. Shooting was much better. The sides do seem to be a little bigger in comparison than the other low angle smoother, and the depression for the thumb milled in the sides really works. The especially clever bit is the lever cap. It’s shape means you can curl your fingers round it and it’s really very comfortable. 10/10 for comfort while shooting at any rate.
I gave this one a go planing end grain, long grain and the face of a board in beech, ash, oak, cherry, etc etc, and excellent results were obtained.
I did a direct plane-off comparison with the L-N and there was no difference between them at all. I was very impressed.
Endgrain shaving
I then tried the shooting board, and was impressed all over again. The L-V is much easier to hold, and that makes for better control on the shooting board. It was a real pleasure to use on its side. What’s this? All my partiality for my own plane being blown away? Gulp.
So what’s the verdict? You’re all agog to know, I can tell. I really, really, really like this plane. I didn’t expect to especially, but the blade’s sooooooooo easy to replace compared to the L-N, and the results are just as good, I can’t help myself. If only, oh if only, it had totes as comfortable as the L-N.
Once again, trying before you buy is essential I think. If you can live with the handle, or you’ll only ever use it for shooting, you’re laughing.Low Angle Smoother £128.00
<Edit> As of 1st October there's been a review of prices, viz:
Low Angle Smoother £123.38
