Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
LN v's LV low angle block plane
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>Hi all,
Figured my woodworking has improved enough to graduate from my trusty Stanley low angle block and am considering either the LV or LN. Cost aside, I would appreciate any pros/cons from users who have used either or both. One review in OZ put the LV ahead in functionality but the LN ahead on good looks as well.
Any opinions very welcome.
Andrew
Re: LN v's LV low angle block plane
Ernie Miller Topeka
>Not having either I would suggest the LN 60 1/2R that way you will be able to do more with it. If you are going to upgrade you might as well get the bells and whistles also.
Can't close the mouth
Dan Clermont in Burnaby
>The LN 60 1/2R is an excellent little plane but the mouth cannot be closed unlike the LN 60 1/2. Both planes are excellent quallity and it really depends on how well they fit in your hands. The Veritas is wider then the LN.
Dan Clermont in Burnaby
Re: LN v's LV low angle block plane
GolfSteve in Calgary
>The LV has a lateral adjuster. The LN doesn't.
The LV has an A2 steel blade. The LN has cryo-A2 steel (probably a slightly better blade based on my experience with the LV low angle block and the LN 60-1/2R, but this is a bit subjective).
The LV is black painted steel & brass. The LN is steel & brass.
The LV has an adjustable mouth. The LN has a cam operated adjustable mouth.
The LV has tight manufacturing tolerances. The LN has tighter manufacturing tolerances (compare the fit of the adjustable mouth on the two planes to see the difference).
The LN is nicer to hold (my subjective opinion).
Anyway, I bought the LV because I like having the lateral adjuster and am happy with it. If I bought the LN I would also be happy with it.
This might sound crazy, but...
Eric from Little Rhody
>..I had a revelation last night, regarding block planes. FWIW, I'm only an occasional hand tool user.
I've been using an LN 60 1/2 for a few years, and it's a great plane, no doubt about it. However, here's another possibility for you to consider: how about a Stanley 65 with an aftermarket blade?
I have a little collection of block planes I've somehow acquired over the last couple of years, and last night, I decided to clean up a couple of them. I started with a 65, the kind with the knuckle-joint cap. It was in pretty nice shape to begin with, so cleaning and tuneup was minimal. I dug around in my spare parts area, and lo and behold, I found a Hock blade from a failed homemade chisel plane experiment that fit the 65. Gave it a quick honing, stuck it in the plane, and started working some wood.
That's when the revelation hit me, that the 65 is one heck of a nice block plane. It's pretty heavy, it feels great in my hand, and the knuckle-joint lever cap really locks down the iron well. It's a bit bigger than the LN, also.
After all was said and done, I think I have a new favorite block plane.
Anyway, something completely different for you to consider, if you don't mind a bit of tuning. I think 65's go for around $40 or so on eBay, a Hock blade will set you back $35 or so. So, you're looking at around $80 for a great block plane.
Just a thought.
Eric
Yep, that's crazy alright!
MikeL in SoCal
>Sheesh Eric, I'm having enough trouble finding a cheap #65 and now you have to go and instigate more competition for me. Oh well, that "one dollah" garage sale #65 is out there somewhere and I'm gonna find it. :-)
Cheers,
Mike
Love my 65
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>Even with the stock Stanley iron, it's a sweet tool, and the sound of that knuckle joint cap snapping down is an extra aesthetic joy.
Stanley 65 alternative
Rossmoor Galoot
>I too love the Stanley 65 LA block. I think it is far and away the best block plane Stanley ever made. I love the feel of that knuckle cap. If you are having trouble purchasing a 65 at a reasonable price try finding a Craftsman 3732. It was made by Stanley for Sears and is exactly the same plane (I have compared them side by side). I ran across this little gem Valentine's Weekend while visitng Frederick, Maryland and paid a whole $18 dollars for it.
Re: Dreamer!
Ernie Miller Topeka
>That is one active imigination you have there. I didn't think they had tools in California or garage sales. I don't see them here and I do alot of sales.
Awww, c'mon Ernie....
MikeL in SoCal
>....A fella's entitled to a fantasy or two ain't he? Heck, it ain't like I'm hoping to find an infill jointer or an ivory-tipped ebony plow.
Cheers,
Mike (who has just about given up on local garage sales for anything beyond the occasional push drill or driver)
As a fellow SoCal Resident....
Rossmoor Galoot
>As a fellow southern California resident who long ago stopped haunting garage sales I can definitively say that your odds of finding an infill jointer or an ivory-tipped ebony plow are just as good as finding any other old tool out here. Ebay and side excursions on business trips are where my finds come from. I found one new condition early 60's era boxed Record #4 in the wild out here in 10 years of looking! I also had a Union #5 and a Stanley #3 follow me home from local fleas but they required total restorations to become even users and I had to over pay for both!
Funny
Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA
>I've had relatively good luck in our area, which seems odd. On the one hand, it was a farming area, which means lots of people working with their hands. On the other, it was not terribly populated (being a farming area) during the period that the truly fine tools were being sold retail -- our town, current population something like 6,000, had 1,800 people in it in 1944, according to the dictionary I got from my grandmother's estate.
I hate to make y'all feel bad with a driveby gloat, but my older No. 65 cost $12.50 (not sure about the $0.50, it may have been an even 12).
But I don't know Southern California, so I don't know whether you're missing veins of good tools. As a true Northern Californian (native, too), I tend to whimper a lot when faced with a map of the LA basin. Anywhere that the freeway layout looks like a map of the neural pathways of a brain on drugs kind of gets me nervous. Maybe all the good tools got paved over.
Re: Funny (LA)
Paul M. in San Diego
>But I don't know Southern California, so I don't know whether you're missing veins of good tools. As a true Northern Californian (native, too), I tend to whimper a lot when faced with a map of the LA basin. Anywhere that the freeway layout looks like a map of the neural pathways of a brain on drugs kind of gets me nervous."
I grew up in LA. I lived the first 30 years of my life in LA and Orange counties. I hated it. Moved a hundred miles further south, and I've been much happier ever since.
I still travel up to LA 3-4 times a year to visit relatives. Every time I go I remember why I left. It's not just because you are unfamiliar with LA. In some cases, familiarity breed contempt. ;-)
Hmm... Do leading quotes get snipped off?
Paul M. in San Diego
>
A good way to quote...
Ted Owen, Pittsburgh
>is type < i > at the beginning of the quote, without the extra spaces. Then < / i > at the end, again without the extra spaces. That italicizes the quote and stops it at the end.
Also works for b (bold) and u (underline).
Best, Ted
Lemme try that Ted
Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine
>How now Brown Cow?
How Now Brown Cow
How Now Brown Cow
Todd O.
It Worked!! :~)
Todd O. Cronkhite Native of Maine
>Well, hot dickety-do it Worked!! Will wonders ever cease? Seems to me that our missing in action buddy Ray W. in Trenton tried to pound that into my skull several months ago, and I didn't understand it then. I do now tho. :~)
Now how do I underline bold and italices?
Re: Second this
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
>I too have a #65 knuckle joint with Hock blade. This is simply a stunning combination and cuts endgrain shavings with ease. I also have the "companion" block plane, a Stanley #18 knuckle joint, which is a standard angle and better suited for long, straight grain than endgrain. Incidentally, only Hock makes a blade for these planes - LN does not have one to fit.
To get back on topic - Andrew, most of us would be very happy to own just the LN 60 1/2 LA block plane, if restricted to just one in our lifetime (Heaven forbid!). This and the LV are in the same category. Block planes seem to take on a personality of their own, and it is evident that many of the users here have a special attachment to theirs. Me too. What ever you choose will work well. That is almost a secondary factor.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Regards from Perth
Derek
See? We'll teach you Maine guys something yet : )
Ted Owen, Pittsburgh
>
Ted, now look what you have done!
Don Thompson, Cutler Ridge, South of Miami FL
>You have created an HTML monster!
(Fix 29874, he left off the end-italics command.)
Re: LN v's LV low angle block plane
Tony Z.
>For what its worth, I have an older Stanley 60-1/2 with a Hock blade and a new LN equivalent (Christmas present). My go to is still the old Stanley--lighter and planes as well.
Just be sure
Dan Donaldson
>Be sure to put the closing tag at the end for any HTML you use.
Re: It Worked!!...Well, Almost!!
Ted Owen, Pittsburgh
>After the word "buddy," you needed to include < / i > to end the italics. That's what Dan means by closing HTML tag.
As can be seen from your example, it's easy to combine the commands. Just start a new one without ending the old. Thus < i > < b > < u >, again without the extra spaces, makes Italics in bold and underlined, and < / i > < / b > < / u > ends it.
Why do I have the feeling that from now on we're gonna see a lot of italics, bold, and underline from you, ToddO? : )
Best, Ted
Re: It Worked!!...Well, Almost!!
Eric from Little Rhody
>Not to be a nit-picker, but if you start with < i > < b > < u > you should end it with < /u > < /b > < /i > closing tags, rather than < /i > < /b > < /u >. The tags are nested, doing it the second way is invalid HTML.
There's no guarantee how a browser might handle invalid HTML (though most of them seem to deal with this type of thing OK).
Re: LN v's LV low angle block plane
Frank D.
>FWIW,
I have both. You won't go wrong with either one (both are worth their price), but I bought by LN after the LV because:
-I find that the LN blades last longer, the edge has less a tendency to break down when the going gets rough
-because of design, I guess, the LN chatters less on end grain (solid, lower center of gravity, maybe also due to the narrower blade), although I do push my block plane to the limit when I square off and flatten the ends of beams and posts.
-feels better in my hand, easier to hold so I can get more out of it
So if money is no object, I recommend the LN.
Frank D. in Montreal