Veritas smooth plane? *LINK*

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

David Barnett

>It sure wouldn't hurt to have a Veritas low-angle smoother, but it pretty much depends on the type of 'figure' and the wood species. On woods where it's well-suited, it'll work like a charm. On woods where it's not, you'd be better off with a higher pitch smoother, such as the ECE Primus or a Lie-Nielson smoother with 50-degree frog. Of course, you'll need sharpening skills and tools. Okay, it's a bit slopey. Oh, and a good flat bench with a tail vise and dogholes, and maybe a few other odds and ends. Yeah. Get the LA smoother. To start. At least.

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

MikeL in SoCal

>Hi Grant, David, and all,

Regarding the low angle vs. high pitch approach to gnarly woods; the latest Lee Valley sales flyer offers a supplemental iron for their LA smoother that's preground to yield a 50 degree effective angle. You can, of course, just regrind the original iron to whatever angle you want but the idea of interchangable irons seems like a good idea and I can see how the low bedding angle reduces chatter (that's just speculation and not real experience though).

Cheers,

Mike

That works

David Barnett

>I have an extra iron I use that way with my L-N LA jack and smoother and it works quite well, although there are times that the Primus still seems to do better even with the same effective angle. Hell if I know why, though. Phase of the moon maybe.

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

Grant Smith remove 1 for email

>David, Mike,

Yeah, that's where I saw the plane advertised.

The wood I want ot be able to work is curly cherry. Some might call it flame cherry. Lots of very nice wood, and also some inexperience working with it.

I kind of want to do some small projects with the wood to "get to know it", and to hone my skills as well.

I have had some pretty nice success using a hand scraper to follow up light passes through the *electric* planer, but was hoping to speed the process up a bit.

Any other planes/ handtools that might be a better choice?

Regards,

Grant in Iowa

2 blades, one plane

Joe Hurst

>Grant-

The Veritas low-angle is a nice choice for the buck; two blades will make a good plane work even better.

A few months back, I took the plunge and ordered a second blade for my L-N. (Thanks for the advice, Chris!)

It worked like a charm. I was planing curly ash at the time, but also played around with some wildly grained cherry scraps. When wiped on a little oil, the boards looked 3-D, like I was looking into a shallow pond. Neat-o.

...that said, I got almost the same results with my favorite oldie #5 that was armed with a wicked sharp Hock blade ($30 investment). This is my tool of choice when planing curly maple. If you're short on funds, I'd consider upgrading an oldie, and spending what's left on good sharpening equipment.

Messing about with one bevel angle on a low-angle plane is just an easier than adding a back bevel to a standard bench plane. (That's jedi-level sharpening stuff. Forget I mentioned it, for now.)

Now in addition to buying a plane, don't forget about a sharpening system. Waterstones, scary sharp...take your pick, they all work.

IN ADDITION, consider picking up a set of cabinet/card scrapers. Planes aren't always perfect. Scrapers are cheap, easy to sharpen, and once you figure out how to use one, you'll want to buy them for every other woodworker you know.

-Joe

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>Get the LV LA Smoother

Get the second High Angle Blade

Put a secondary microbevel on it of 40-45 degrees (this along with the bedding angle will give you an effective cutting angle of 52-57 degrees)

Adjust the toe piece for a mouth just open enough for the slightest shaving that will pass.

Now you have a very, very effective smoother for most highly figured woods--and will have done so for a very modest price. You will also have a very adaptable plane (with the second blade) that will be good for trimming mitres and planing dovetails.

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

Ed Falis

>Knight smoother? Shepherd Tools infill smoother kit?

I've got the LV LA smoother, and it's nice. I plan to get that additional blade, which is what I'd use on your problem with this plane. But those others are probably even better at it.

- Ed

Re: Thanks all, I'll put it on my list

Grant in Iowa

>

Re: 2 blades, one plane

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Joe,

I asked a question about back beveling an old very pitted swetheart blade about a year ago. I finally got around to doing it this past week and it was really easy. When I asked, someone suggested using a plastic bolt in the slot to get the really low angle.

I got a pack of hinge bolts for a toilet seat (less than $2) and set the bevel angle with a protractor. It was really easy Although the blade took a bit of work - the pits went about 1/3 of the way through the hard steel. But the blade works pretty good - and I didn't have to throw out a nice old sweetheart blade.

Skip

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

Charles

>ECE Primus smoother. If that doesn't work then use a scraper.

I'm not much for back-beveled irons and all that geometry. It makes my head hurt. If a high-angle smoother doesn't get you there a scraper most certainly will and they are dirt cheap.

Lyn,question(hijack?)

Jack from Maine

>Just say hi Jack. Seriously tho. Will the same thing work for a LN low angle jack?(that's alot of jack's in this post)---thanks---Jack

Re: Veritas smooth plane?

MikeL in SoCal

>Hi Charles,

The above discussion on different bevel angles is for bevel up planes so there is no back beveling required. It's simply a different grind angle on the main bevel. I'm not about to fuss with back bevels either*.

Cheers,

Mike

*There is one purpose for making a very minor back bevel that I may try. The point of it is to decrease the surface area on the back that has to be polished. For example, assume you have an old iron with some minor pitting on the back and you just can't get an even polish across the width. A few strokes on each stones at an ever-so-slight angle should remove enough material near the edge to result in two polished geometric planes meeting at an intersection. I haven't tried it yet but have heard positive reviews from those who have.

Works for me, Jack...

David Barnett

>On both L-N LA planes. At least those with the adjustable mouths.

Yes!

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>