4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas

Look at the battles er discussions of the past

Eric Hedberg

>Jeff,

I'd search the archives here for some spirited discussions on the topic which will also include the low angle vs. standard angle smoother debate. In the end with such good choices you win either way.

Eric

Re: Look at the battles er discussions of the past

Jeff Spirer

>Eric

Thank you, unfortunitly, my ability to do searches is poor.

Don't know if it's the computer, link, me, or what. But, still problematic.

If i could, I'd go back to Windows 95 or 2000, this Xp program is terrible.

Jeff

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas  *LINK*

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>


http://www.woodcentral.com/newforum/archives_handtools.shtml

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas *LINK*

Jack Guzman from Maine

>This isn't exactly what you wanted but it may help.I like the LV version but I've never used LN's so I can't compare.I have handled it and I'll tell you that it is a beautiful tool.The LV however does everything I wanted ,is a high quality tool from a reputable maker and is cheaper.---Jack


Lyn Mangiamelli's review of high angle planes

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Generally I hate metal bench planes; but I have the LV 4-1/2 (Rob Lee talked me into it) and like it quite a bit, for both planing wildish grain and shooting board use. I suspect that the LN bench planes are as good as their block planes, which are very good.

Pam, who uses a lot of wooden planes

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas

Dan Clermont in Burnaby

>Hi Jeff,

I have owned both at one time or another and like the LN version better.

It is heavier, comes with an A2 cyro blade and the traditional style tote (which I prefer).

Good Luck,

Dan Clermont

I'll cast my vote for the...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>LN. I have one and absolutely love this plane! It�s gorgeous to look at, very comfy to hold and a joy to use. I received mine with the 50 deg frog and improved chip breaker. There's nothing this plane can't handle. It also is not that hard to push with the 50 deg frog as some people might think. It�s my go to smoother now. Besides the LV one is butt ugly IMHO.

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas

Brent Langdon, Sterling VA

>I purchased the Veritas 4 1/2 back in February as a birthday present to myself. It is my first "good plane" and it is very nice. I wish I could say that I have lots of chances to use it, but with son #3 following shortly after my shop time has been limited.

Since my purchase, there have been lots of rumblings about the Veritas Low Angle Smooth plane. I don't have any regrets, but if I were purchasing today I would be likely to go with the LA Smoother with an extra high angle blade.

- Brent

4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother

Hoa Dinh in Alameda

>Rumor has it that LV is about to release a LA plane that is in between the curent LA smoother and its big brother LA jack. The new plane is about as long as the current LA smoother but as wide as the current LA jack. It shares the same blade with the LA jack. It may fit your need/want.

I don't know if it's gonna be called 4 1/2 LA smoother. That's from me.

It is on my list.

-- Hoa

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

Frank Martin (Chicago, IL)

>Does anyone have an idea when??

I would be one of the first to get one too.

May be Rob will chime in and give us some tips.

Re: 4 1/2 Lie-Nielson or Lee Valley/Veritas

Kevin French, Antrim NH

>The way it was discribed to me by a famous WW'r who wrote a book on the subject. "Rebuild and upgrade Stanleys, BUT-BUY a LN 4 1/2"

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN?? *LINK*

Rob Lee

>Hi Frank/Hoa...

It'll be just after the scrub, and just before the LA jointer.... :)

4 lb 14 oz (call it just shy of 5#)...

Stanley woulda called it a 164 1/2 H...

This one, the Jack, and the Jointer will all use the same 2 1/4" blades... allowing one to have a "suite" of blades for different woods/planes...

No promise date - but, it'll look sorta like the rendering below....

Cheers -

Rob


Heavy Smooth....

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

Frank Martin (Chicago, IL)

>Rob,

Looks like the sides will not be machined like the scraper plane. Wish it had machined sides though. Realize it doesn't matter as long as function, but thought would better complement the rest of the plane line-up.

Thanks for the update! Looking forward to this and the low angle jointer..

Holy sheep...

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>a #164 1/2H...

LOL!

So what is the motivation of having this versus having a regular LA smoother?

Simply a heavier plane with a wider blade?

Also, will YOUR low angle jointer have an adjustable mouth and stop-screw?

just wondering...

Great stuff by the way!

Oh yeah it seems like you are having a higher demand for the LA jack than expected...Are they selling well?

Hi Chris...

Rob Lee

>... well - I don't want to fire all of our bullets at once here... :)

Mass and blade width are two factors.... we also tweaked the handle a bit - and you'll notice that there are no "sides" - this is a pure smoother.

All will have the adjustable mouth and stop-screw....

As far as production goes - this time of year we're a mess...and this year is worse than normal. We released the planes to our export markets, which has caused a heavy blip in sales...

We also have a fair amount of new product this fall, which means we had no real chance to build inventory. More mills and grinders have been ordered - but it all takes time (and HUGE amounts of capital)... could have worse problems though!

We'll be back in good shape in two or three weeks...

Cheers -

Rob

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

Dean J in MN

>Rob --

Was I dreaming when I heard there is a plow pane in the works???

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

John Meikrantz

>So Rob, how about a pic of the new honing guide? :-)

John

Re: The unasked question

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>A lot of people have heaped on a lot of anecdotal advise, but no one so far has bothered to ask you whether you already have a lesser smoother. Will this new one be your primary smoother, or your "GO TO" (Wirth notwithstanding) smoother?

The high angle frog of the L-N has some advantages, but a back bevel, if you are willing to do keep up with the maintenance, will do the same job, and an additional blade is a lot less in initial outlay than an additional frog, or an additional smoother, for that matter. OTOH, I prefer the flexibility and maintainability of smoothers with adjustable mouths over smoothers with adjustable frogs.

Ugly is as ugly does. That's the beauty of the LV designs.

One answer

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Will this new one be your primary smoother, or your "GO TO" (Wirth notwithstanding) smoother?

Now there's a blast from the past. Trying to root out the software people? Revisiting Dykstra tonight? :)

Pam

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

paul womack

>Wish it had machined sides though. Realize it doesn't matter as long as function, but thought would better complement the rest of the plane line-up.

I disagree. I hope Lee Valley/Veritas continue to avoid any cost-adding processes that only add to appearance, not function.

To date, they've done a thoughtful job of creating tools with a superb cost/benefit analysis.

Any fool can simply over specify everything. It takes a designer to have the courage to leave stuff out.

BugBear

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

paul womack

>Was I dreaming when I heard there is a plow pane in the works???

I think, having reviewed LV's changing product line over the last 24 months, I've spotted a pattern.

I think LV intend to have a pretty damn complete line of planes; the delivery dates would appear to be the only extant question...

So I'd say the answer to the question of "do LV plan to bring out 'X'" is "yes", for all 'X'.

BugBear

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

Rob Lee

>Hi John -

After Christmas...and after the Bessey sale has died down somewhat...

After all - we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves...

Cheers -

Rob

Re: 4 1/2 (?) LV LA smoother-WHEN??

Rob Lee

>Hi Dean -

The Plow's a ways off...router plane are after the LA planes...and we still need a "Cheek" plane...

Cheers -

Rob

Re: The unasked question

Jeff Spirer

>I hope it will end up as my primay smoother.

I also find the #4 a touch to small for my hand and hope this will work better.

Also, after all the cheap planes and Stanleys and Records I've fixed up, I'd kind of like one that is ready to go. Not need a day to fix up.

Jeff