Lie-Nielsen Hand Plane Advice Needed!

Re: Lie-Nielsen Hand Plane Advice Needed!

John Hoffman

>Hi Eric. This is a great problem to have and all the advice posted is relatively good. The real issue is what type of work are you going to do. That comes with time and in my case I found that each year brings new revalations on what tools are essentail for the work I "like" to do. I would never argue with Adam as he is from the Northeast and those people have tempers. That said he knows what he is talking about for his type of work (which I am drawn to). I can tell you that if you buy a tool from LN, which is my prefered company, you will not be dissapointed and the tool will hold its value. The LV stuff I have are not planes but is good quality. Best of luck and enjoy the ride.

JH

Not so fast there!

Bob Hackett

>The box currently on the list is a trade up from my original road box on a second hand roll around.The trade up was made just before I left the yacht yard and just after I bought and paid for all those metric tools so I could work on all the boats born offshore.I now have a 6 foot tall chest of drawers to store all my high dollar tools in that only get used to repair my daughter`s car.

It is a nice place to stack all those long term projects on top of though.Too tall to really see them when you`re crouched over the bench working on the important stuff.;^)

Before you ask,I keep the WWing handtools in the barrister`s bookcase in the livingroom just like the rest of you dedicated slope sliders.

Don`t tell me Kevin and I are the only ones with glass fronted toolboxes now!Must be a NE thing.

Mainely,Bob

Thank You All! And here's what I chose...

Erik S. Friis, wish I was in Dodge!

>I just want to say Thank You for all of the very informative posts! I have read them all and will be re-reading a few of the longer ones several times as there's a lot of great info there.

I decided to go with the LN low-angle adjustable mouth plane because I want a one handed plane to smooth end grain. It's not such a major investment so if it becomes redundant I figure I can always sell or trade it, though I'll probably just keep it. The fellow at Woodcraft in OH said it was their biggest LN seller.

I also decided to go with a 4, std. angle, bronze. The bronze weighs in at 4-1/2 lb. vs. the iron at 4. I'm a pretty big guy so I figure I can handle the extra 1/2 lb. and it will perhaps give the plane a little more heft.

I almost layed out the extra bucks for a 5-1/2, but had second thoughts and felt I better get a little experience under my belt first before taking the plunge for this one too....and I also thought maybe I'd get the 7 instead.

I am buying the nice dovetail saw with case and a Tite-Mark III as well as the dovetail gauge, so I figure I have enough to keep me busy for a while. I need to work on my sharpening skills and get the bug out of my Tormek as well. Would be nice to get together with an experienced WW'er...I'm in northern NJ, so if there's anyone not too far away, pls. give me a shout.

I'm sure I'd be happy with any of the LN planes, so it was a tough decision to make. I passed on the HAF for now as the Woodcraft guy thought it was not such a good idea for a beginner and I can buy one as an accessory or purchase another plane with the HAF. If anyone feels strongly that I should have gone for the HAF, pls. let me know and I'll see if I can change the order.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

Good choices

James Watriss

>The low angle block will serve you well. And the 4 is just a really good, all-around size to have for a plane when you're just getting started. It's a good plane to learn the basics on, but as you progress, you'll find that the extra 1/2 lb from the bronze will really help when you get into serious smoothing. That won't come until you're sharpening a little better, but for now, you've made a great start.

Just remember, though... to get your money's worth out of that plane, spend a lot of time learning to sharpen. The results will be most dependent on how sharp you can get the blade.

Talk to anyone you can get your hands on, get debates going among woodworking friends and acquaintances... there's a lot of information out there, and you're going to have to drown yourself in it for a while. There are some common themes you'll discover, and after a while, you'll be able to at least organize the information you're receiving. And practice.

Thanks James...

Erik S. Friis, wish I was in Dodge!

>I agonized over the decision on the planes (and perhaps still am as I re-read the above posts). I'm second-guess whether the interchangeability of the 4-1/2 and other would not have made the 4-1/2 a better choice over the 4, but your post makes me feel a little more comfortable. I suppose I can buy a HAF and alternate blade for the 4 in the future to switch over. I think they said the HAF was about $75. Steve's post kind of hit home about the 4 being much more common than the 4-1/2. Like I said it was a tough decision on what to go with.....

Re: I different point of view

Glenn Madsen in the SF Bay area

>"Mainely,Bob-Who`s Shopsmith and Snap-on toolbox head the list."

I'll shout out a hearty AMEN, Brother! regards the Shopsmith. What it cost most was the confidence my wife had in my ability to make wise decisions. :-)

It sits, dusty & unused in a storage shed right now. Can't even earn a space in the shop as a disk sander.

One handed planes

Adam Cherubini

>You're right, Frank. I do need to "one-hand" a plane occasionally. Depending on what I'm doing, I may just grip my (wooden) smoother, covering the throat with my palm. But other times I just use my LV LA block plane. And I like to use my block plane for finish carpentry work around the house just for the reason you state.

I have a LV and a S#9-1/2. The LV is a beautifully built, thoughtfully designed plane. But for my limited use, the lighter Stanley works just as well. Now I know others disagree (and they make good points) but I say if you want a bench smoother buy a smoother. If you want a block plane for carpentry, buy a cheap one. My house isn't built out of curly cherry.

In the cabinet shop, I don't see much use for my block planes. I'm always tempted when I'm planing dovetails flush (because of all that end grain), but I don't like a straight iron for that duty.

Anyway, that's my two cents, Frank. But you're right. That's one big advantge of the block plane.

Adam

Re: One handed planes

Warren in Lancaster, PA

>This may come as a surprise to many, but in 18 years as a full time hand tool woodworker my block planes have not made it out of the odd tools box. They may be pretty rusty by now. There are plenty of woodworkers that I respect who use block planes, but I found them less and less useful and gradually abandoned them.

I often use my #3 smoothing plane with one hand and I occasionally use #4 or a wooden smoother one handed.

Re: Thanks James...

Norman (Metcalfe, Ont.)

>Eric,

Welcome to the slippery slope.

I started with two planes like yourself,

and now have two wall cabinets brimming with them :)

You made good, practical choices.

You will find as you progress that you develop

a sense of what you need for the type of work you do.

The type of work is an important factor in all this.

Also, what type of planes and weights feel comfortable to you.

This is subjective most of the time.

Maybe these planemakers should set up a trial center with their

selection of planes available, a decent workbench, and

some scrap wood.. We could then test drive the planes

much like taking a car or truck for a road test before purchasing.

Norman

Test drives are called woodworking shows ;-)

Dan Donaldson

>

Going soft?

Steve Kubien

>Adam, are you going soft on us? I wouldn't have thought you would even have a block plane let alone admit to using it. Will wonders never cease.

Runnin' and duckin'

Steve Kubien

OT: What is a block plane these days? *LINK*

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Merriam-Webster says a block planes is:

a small plane made with the blade set at a lower pitch than other planes and used chiefly on end grains of wood

But it appears that LN defines block planes as simply low angle, including the LA smoother, LA jack, and LA jointer, none of which, btw, would be suitable for one-handed planing.

LV, otoh, includes only small planes, but does include standard angle planes in their definition.

So, what are block planes?

Pam


Lie-Nielsen block planes

C'mon Pam,

Frank D. in Montreal

>Everyone knows that LN gives the collector's definition of a block plane. If you ask someone for a block plane and they hand you a LA jack, you can be pretty sure they're a collector ;).

Technically I guess it's a plane with no frog, but usage has it otherwise as LV and Webster's attest.

As I always say, "There are block planes, and then there are block planes."

Frank

#1 bench plane ;)

Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI

>

They did.

James Watriss

>The L-N factory has a showroom, complete with benches and racks of tools, so you can play to your heart's content. I had the privelege to tour the factory while I was taking a class at the school for furniture craftsmanship, which is a 10 minute drive from Lie-Nielsen's factory.

No worries

James Watriss

>I kinda raised an eyebrow over the interchangable frogs post, myself. I've taken a frog out of a lie-nielsen plane before, and I had one hell of a time getting the pins re-aligned afterward, so that they'd line up with the set screws. I don't think they're really meant to be yanked out and swapped around on a regular basis like that. Personally, if it came to that, I think I'd just move the frog forward or backwards, depending on what I needed, and maybe swap blades, if they were profiled differently.

Don't sweat the small stuff. People have been smoothing with normal pitch for years. There are a few tricks to getting them to work with screwy grain, but that's a topic for another day.

Have fun with your new planes. :)

Infills and woodies have no frogs. :) nm

James Watriss

>

Re: OT: What is a block plane these days?

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>The first line of the "block plane" discription in the L-N website includes the words bevel up and they offer normal angle and low angle in all the smaller planes. Also they mention the availibility to change the working angle by modifying the bevel angle grind. It appears that L-N considers bevel up planes block planes.JR

I differ with that different point of view

Todd Stock

>I'd def try the LV and LN blocks side-by-side before buying. I find the LV to be too wide and less than comfortable in the hand, although my mitts are merely large, versus Shrek-sized. The adjuster and nearly everything else about the tool is nice - if LV would put it on a diet, I'd like it better.

As to useful? I've carried a LA block on toolbelt or in apron since high school. While I think Adam might be correct in the sense that there is likely a 'better' tool for nearly any job, a good block handles many, many jobs in an adequate fashion, moving it up the newbie tool shopping list to at or near the top.