Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nicker

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

Jack from Maine

>The advantage of a skew plane is in planing crossgrain as in a tenon cheek or raised panel.---Jack

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>When I was trying to make a decision on which block plane to buy, I came to the conclusion that there wasn't much the LN 140 (the 140N wasn't available at the time) couldn't do, including but not limited to: tenons, shoulders, rebates, and end grain. After getting it, I found I wanted a left handed LN on occasion, not often, nothing that couldn't be handled with a chisel or by pulling the 140 or by walking around the piece and pushing from the other direction, but still. So, the perfect block plane IMLTHO is a left and right handed LN 140N. :)

Also in retrospect, it appears the 60-1/2R (can't check the LN site right now, but I'm talking about the low angle block that looks a lot like the 10-1/2 carriage rebate) would also be an excellent plane.

So, the primary differences are the skew, fence, and single sided rebate capability. Each person has to decide how important these things are for his/her work. I'd love to have both 140N's as well as a 60-1/2R, but can make do very handily with a single 140.

Pam

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Yuu asked. "Is the rabbit block an acceptable substitute for a regular block plane?"

No, because the blade is as wide as the plane it's self it will just want to plow a groove. unlike a regular block plane that's blade is trapped so to speak.

If I had to choose one I'd go for the 140. IMHO it does everything the 601/2r does and more.

I agree with Pam, a left handed version of the 140 would be a great addition.

The short answer and the long answer

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>The short answer is that the left hand version of the L-N #140N is the near ultimate plane for sizing tenon cheeks and works very well for almost all cross gain work. I have long had the right hand version and have almost as long advocated for a left hand version. In point of fact, the left hand version is more appropriate for the way that most right handers hold and approach their work, and vice versa for left handers.

The Skewed blade is superior for cross grain work, as it is less apt to lift the fibers rather than cutting them (think of a bundle of straws with the plane blade cutting each straw with only a bit of the blade at any given point, rather than the full width of the blade entering (or at least attempting to enter) a given "straw" at the same time. The Skewed blade also helps to draw the plane against the registration surface of the shoulder, which ensures a better defined cut as the shoulder/cheek interface.

The long version is coming in the form of a formal review of the L-N #140 in both its handed versions, just as soon as I get the Smoothing plane investigation finally written up.

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>A very small point: I think if you had both #140Ns, you wouldn't need the #60¹/₂R, especially since the latter does not have an adjustable mouth either. Also, the #60¹/₂R doesn't have a fence, which as you point out is a serious disadvantage. However, Since the #140 doesn't have an adjustable mouth, there are times when having a (non-rabbet) #60¹/₂ in addition would be an advantage, for either very rank cuts or more important for very thin cuts for surfacing functions. Like Pam, I wouldn't turn down a #60¹/₂R if one were offered to me.

So far, the only person I've seen report on having both handed #140s is Lyn, but it was far from an in-depth review.

I wonder if you could lock a pair of them together using the plate connectors, and use them for cutting tongues? This is idle speculation -- probably the resulting tongue, at a little less than ¹/₄", would be too shallow to be useful for much.

Lyn...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>You have a left handed one? (insert a big "you suck" here;).

How about some more details please. I have heard nothing from LN about this. Scott, drooling at the sound of this...

Re: The short answer and the long answer

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>Of course, since I'm left handed, the original #140 never seemed clumsy to me for trimming tenon cheeks. Maybe that's why I didn't have to run right out and get the mirror image version when you reported that you had finally gotten yours.

What you do is...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>make angled plates, that way you could have a really expensive chamfer plane.

Re: What you do is...

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>A Stanley #72¹/₂ isn't "really expensive" enough for you? :^)

Note also that you can get a replacement for the LV LA Block plane mouth plate that turns it into a chamfer plane, for about $16.50 (USD).

Re: Lyn...

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>I've been conducting a low level campaign for several years to see a left hand version produced. Jennifer at L-N half jokingly would always show a Left Hande 140 (and a "Hot Dog" for the #9) as "backordered" on any invoice I got, always accompanined by a smily face.

Tom let me know when a very limited special run of German Silver left handers were made for the Fine Tool Journal, giving me the choice of obtaining one then, or waiting until the bronze version would appear (what turned out to be many months later). I chose to wait, wanting it to visually be consistent with my other L-N planes (now I kind of wished I had got the German Silver one, as it would have been a neat way to distinguish the given hands--something I think they might want to consider with all their "handed" planes including the 98/99).

Anyway, Jennifer notified me just before Chrismas that they were shipping out that day. I don't know how big a run they made, but I rather imagine they are still available. I absolutely adore mine and it is actually rather amusing when putting it beside my right hand version to see how my old one looks very much like the well used plane it has been, compared to the shiny new one.

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Yeah, I was thinking just that after I wrote the previous message, that I'd mistakenly specified the 60-1/2R, that the 60-1/2 would be a much better complement to the 140's.

Pam

Connecting L+R LN140s

Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL

>You are a mechanical madman! How about connecting them with the fence rods?

:-)

Re: Connecting L+R LN140s

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>Nope, The diameter of the fence rods are too big, and the rods are too long. The serious tool fanatic will want to make matched pairs of the conectors, specific to each width of the tongues he wants to cut. The next level of fanaticism will require a rant regarding Lie-Nielsen's quality control, or perhaps lack of it, regarding the depth of the fence pin mounting holes. Cutting a flat in the center of each pair of rods will allow a minimal additional depth of cut, maybe 3/32" without seriously sacrificing strength.

If anybody reading this discussion thinks we might actually be serious about it, stay tuned for tomorrow's discussion of knapping techniques for making your own flint chisel blades, and making and attaching handles to them using properly selected bone and sinew.

Here is a start;-) *LINK*

Dan Donaldson

>Here is a start for the discussion;-)


Flintknapping tutorial

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

JIm

>It sounds like the the 140N is the way to go. Since our local Woodcraft has 10% off Lie-Nielsen products on Thursday, it looks like I'll have a 140N by the weekend. Thanks for your input!

Jim

Re: Lie-Nielsen No. 140N Skew Block Plane with Nic

Russell Seaton

>Maybe not. I looked in the Woodcraft catalog, and they carry the old, standard right hand/side Lie-Nielsen 140 with and without nicker. I think you will have to have Woodcraft special order the new left hand/side version of the 140. This is what I am probably going to do.