Rob Lee, scraper plane is awesome but
Jim Cosgrove
>the wood, on mine anyway, is a bit disappointing.
I have, and regularly use, a Stanley 112, a Stanley 80, and card scrapers. LV�s new scraper plane looked interesting, so I ordered one to try it for myself. A few days later a box arrived on my doorstep and I ripped it open like a kid at Christmas. I pulled the plane from its packaging and set it on a piece of temperamental mahogany. I loosened the blade, let it drop on the wood, tilted the blade slightly forward, used the bottom screw to put a slight bow in the blade, and took a swipe at the wood. The result? Beautiful, full width, thin wispy shavings! Exceptional performance�and I had done nothing to the blade! That�s right, I had not honed or put a burr on it. The extra width of the plane, compared to the Stanley 112, is a plus for me. Also, I found the LV scraper plane to be better balanced. Sorry Stanley, you�ve been replaced by the LV!
My only complaint (and I realize this is minor) is one of aesthetics. The front knob and tote are SO different in color and figure that they appear to be made out of two different woods. The front knob is very dark and its finish contains some blemishes. The tote is very light�sort of reddish with some figure. I realize that I could make my own replacements and that the mismatched wood in no way compromises the utility of the plane. But I wondered if LV would consider upgrading the wood it uses? After all, the plane is so reasonably priced now that it would still be competitively priced if a bit more was spent on better wood. Or, as an option, a wood upgrade could be made available at a small cost. Any possibility of this happening?