Which Bench Plane?

[Calpol]

Hello all, newbie to this forum as I never knew it existed! Anyway I've got a question that's probably been answered at least 25 times in the 101 pages worth of hand tool topics, so I apologise for that!

I'm after a good bench plane, not so much on the brand as I'm kind of set on Veritas and it's just within (actually out) my budget, but I'm weak! I have the low angle block they make and I'm very very happy with it.

Don't know whether to get the #4, #4 1/2 or #5 1/4...Just for the usual cabinet makery, smoothing plane marks and the likes...

Any help thanks folks

Also is the Veritas bullnose number any good?

 

[mr]

The obvious answer, without knowing what other planes you might have or what you want to do with them, is the low angle jack.

Cheers Mike

 

[Philly]

Welcome to the forum, Calpol!

As Mike said, the LA Jack is a great lane for the money -will handle smoothing duties for you, too!
As for the Bull nose, you're probably better off going for a shoulder plane - never found the bullnose to be too useful.
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[dchenard]

LA Jack wholeheartedly! Wonderful plane =D>

DC

 

[woodbloke]

Another vote for the LN Jack...fabulous plane, will do almost everything including use on a shooting board - Rob

 

[newt]

Rob, did you mean LA or LN jack.

 

[woodbloke]

Pete - thanks for that...LV low angle jack - Rob

 

[bobscarle]

Just bought the LN low angle jack (probably very similar to the Veritas). Lovely plane does everything.

Bob

 

[sparky]

LV Low angle jack.

You can't go wrong. It is great for rough work, shooting board, smoother, and even a bit of jointing on shorter stuff.

I got one and because I only tend to do smaller stuff I find that I really don't need any other planes (I also have the LA block). :shock:
Of course, I still want and will get others

sparky

 

[mr]

The Lie Nielsen low angle jack looks to be a very similar thing and might be worth considering. Though no doubt it's a shade more expensive I think the difference between the two (LN & LV) is quite often subjective. Which handle you prefer etc.

Cheers Mike

 

[woodbloke]

Mike - you're right I think. Chisel has the LN jack (with the adjustable mouth) and I've got the LV and in my view there's very little to choose between them, even in price iIrc - Rob

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

The Lie Nielsen low angle jack looks to be a very similar thing and might be worth considering. Though no doubt it's a shade more expensive I think the difference between the two (LN & LV) is quite often subjective. Which handle you prefer etc.

I think that the differences are quite big.

Comparing the LV and LN LA Jacks:

The LV is larger and weightier than the LN. The LV is like a #5 1/2 (it is denoted the "#62.5"), while the LN is like a #5 (it is denoted the "#62").

The LV's blade is 2 1/4" wide and the LN is 2" wide. Both are 3/16" thick and A2.

The LV has fingergrips on the sides for holding when shooting. The LN has no extra grip.

The LV has side set screws for extra stability, a depth stop for the mouth, improved mouth adjustment, and a Norris-type blade adjustment system. In all these areas it improves on the LN.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Calpol]

Wow, was expecting about 2 replies there! Thanks for that though chaps and/or chapettes. So the majority reckon low angle jack then... Why low angle though? Not arguing or anything, but I was told to get a LA block plane as well and never thought much of it, just listened to the gadgy on the blower! We don't get taught much about this kind of thing, else I probably wouldn't have to ask! :lol:

As for the Bull nose, you're probably better off going for a shoulder plane - never found the bullnose to be too useful.
Hope this helps
Philly

Yeah, that was me being thick, meant the shoulder plane. Doubles as a bullnose as well though which is probably handy

 

[Philly]

Calpol
The big advantage of the Low angle planes is you can have a second iron ground at a higher angle - this gives you a lot of versatility. You can have a blade which will allow you to plane pretty much any timber without tearout - an impressive feat when you consider the price. And then swap back to the regular iron for end grain work or for less taxing timbers.
Hope this makes sense,
Philly

 

[Calpol]

That makes perfect sense Philly. Figured having two different irons was the main thing, I ground my block to 38 degrees when I got it as well...

Cheers

Calpol

 

[Anonymous]

I have an LA Jack and a LA smoother, and to be honest, I would rather have the #5.5 or #4.5 every time. There is nothing wrong with the LA planes, just that I find them too light and skittish when compared to the others. In fact my best smoother, is the bronze #4.5 which is half as heavy again as my iron 4.5 (I think a couple of other members mentioned this too in the past)

Would echo Philly's comments on the Bullnose - a shoulder plane is much more useful and my LV bullnose hardly gets used

 

[seanybaby]

Calpol
The big advantage of the Low angle planes is you can have a second iron ground at a higher angle - this gives you a lot of versatility. You can have a blade which will allow you to plane pretty much any timber without tearout - an impressive feat when you consider the price. And then swap back to the regular iron for end grain work or for less taxing timbers.
Hope this makes sense,
Philly

Hi Philly, i really don't get it :? What's the point in having two blades? You got a low angle for tough interlocked timbers. Why not just use that same blade for 'less taxing timbers'?

Cheers
Sean

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

In fact my best smoother, is the bronze #4.5 which is half as heavy again as my iron 4.5

Tony

Interesting.

I, too, have the bronze LN #4 1/2. I have also had the loan of an iron LN #4 1/2 for the past year. Using them side-by-side I find that I prefer the iron plane to the bronze plane. It is a matter of balance. It is not that I prefer lighter planes. I have heavier smoothers than the bronze, such as the Marcou S15, but this is a low centre-of-gravity plane and its heft is balanced. On the bronze #4 1/2, which is a high centre-of-gravity plane, I find the extra weight unbalances the plane. It remains, nevertheless, an excellent performer. I am not criticising the plane, per se. The differences between the two #4 1/2s simply emphasises for me that "feel" is a personal matter.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Philly]

Hi Philly, i really don't get it :? What's the point in having two blades? You got a low angle for tough interlocked timbers. Why not just use that same blade for 'less taxing timbers'?

Cheers
Sean

A low angle blade isn't good for interlocked grain - you'll often get shocking tear-out! The higher the angle the better it will cope with difficult timbers. The down side is it makes the plane a little harder to push, and also it isn't so good with softwoods. So having both makes for a happy woody :wink:
I also have the Bevel Up Smoother - this used the same size iron as the Jack. So one iron is ground to give a 50 degree pitch, the other to give 62 1/2 degrees. I mainly work in exotic hardwood so don't use lower effective pitches much. I also have the L-N LA Jack which is left at the low angle. :roll:
Hope this helps
Philly

 

[seanybaby]

So as i understand it, the higher the blade angle the better for tough timbers. York pitch, scrapers etc. I got that bit i think.

I have been planing some iroko and have used a Stanley No.4 with standard 25 angle but with a back bevel, as i have seen David Charlesworth advocate 'the ruler trick'. That worked great.

SO.... If you have a bevel up plane or standard bevel down. It all depends on the angle on the blade? Which can still be used to plane those exotic interlocked timbers?

HOWEVER, if the angle is higher on standard or bevel up planes it is still harder to push? Which is the downside?

:? Sean's in a muddle, sorry for hijacking the thread.