LV Bevel Up Smoother - a review *LINK*

Re: jatoba?

Dean in Burlington

>Well Steve thanks to you I just got a Knight Coffin 45 degree smoother in the mail on Tuesday. I will give it a shot!!!!

You`re gonna love it.It`s money well spent.

Bob Hackett

>

LN 164?

Jim in N. Va.

>Thank you for sharing! An excellent and thorough review! I can appreciate the amount of work it took to conduct and then write up. Therefore I am somewhat hesitant to ask...but I guess I will anyway...whether you considered the LN 164 in the mix?

Do you conclude that a BU plane is easier to use?

Ian in Sydney

>Derek

A very informative review, especially your digression into the shape of the tote. For a while, I've thought that the traditional tote shape was possibly unsuited to a modern benche which is set-up for general purpose use and not dedicated to the dimensioning of wood by hand.

From the review itself I get a sense that you find bevel up planes, and the bevel up smoother in particular, easier to use than a conventional bevel down (LN, Stanley, Record, et al) plane. From your own perspective and experience, is this so? Or are there some planing tasks that seem to be better undertaken with a bevel down plane?

Ian

Re: Do you conclude that a BU plane is easier to u

Derek Cohen (in Perth Australia)

>Hi Ian

The hardest part of writing about something is what to leave out.

One involved the realisation that what I liked about the HNT Gordon is that has a low centre of gravity - in spite of being a bevel down plane. In some ways the feel is like a large block plane (and I really enjoy using block planes for this reason). This sensation is more pronounced with the bevel up planes, particularly the LA Smoother, but also the BU Smoother. There seems to be a greater sense of connection with the timber than there is with a Stanley-type bevel down bench plane. Note that this has little to do with the ability of the plane, per se, just its "feel". From this perspective I certainly do prefer using bevel up planes.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: LN 164?

Derek Cohen (in Perth Australia)

>Hi Jim

No, I did not consider using the LN164. The inclusion of the other planes with the BU Smoother was really to to provide contrasts in order that specific features could be highlighted. The review was not a "shootout". I did want to include a lighter version of the BU Smoother to explore the mass factor, and the LV LA Smoother (rather than the LN LA Smoother/164) is the more obvious choice in this regard.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Very nice shavings....

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Derek please don't take my comment about measuring devices too seriously, I was kidding.

I totally agree with you about any smoother able of producing sub 0.001" shavings is a very well tuned/adjusted plane.

"Just to produce an intact shaving on Jarrah is a feat in itself"

I know what you mean, been there done that, got the shirt...

Thanks again for your review.

Glad to hear it. Enjoy!

Steve Kubien

>

I'd like to see your expression

Roger Nixon

>when you see the answer to that question :).

Why is that?

Denis Chénard, Orléans, Ont.

>

Re: Well...

Lyn J. Mangiameli

>Oh gee, let's just say I like and use different ones depending on my mood, if they are already on the bench, and the nature of the project at hand. There are a lot of nice smoother's out there. But it is true, I currently choose the LV Jack more than any other right now.

The Scared Cows

Andrew F in Australia

>One of the best typos I've seen in a while, Derek. Otherwise, an excellent review.

Cheers,

Andrew

Cool!

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>Rob,

I'll be looking forward to your introduction of this tool. Our Victorian's trim boards were milled back when a nominal 1" board was actually about 7/8", rather than the 5/8" of today. It'll be great to have a plane that can bulk up boards to fit the original trim.

Will you subsequently apply this technology to an alternate scrub plane, so we can make more thickness faster?

Heck, all you need is a teenager

Bill Houghton, Sebastopol, CA

>When my city-girl (then) 15-year-old niece came out to visit a few years back, she kept trying to pet the cows in the fields (not ALL of Sonoma County is grapes, or the Other Light [herbal] Stimulant - we still have a lot of dairy around here), but every time she went bounding up to the fence, they would run away. I finally had to get her a stuffed cow to pet.

Most excellent review, Derek. Thanks much!

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>

The Scared Cows!!!!

Derek Cohen (in Perth Australia)

>Goof Gried! I didn't realise until this moment!! Talk about selective attention. Should read "Sacred Cows" as you know. Everyone was so polite!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: LV Bevel Up Smoother - a review *LINK*

Greg Sloop, Portland Oregon

>My table worked just fine. The top was easily handled. It's not super figured, but it shouldn't be a problem. Are you sure it's still sharp? Jatoba really has a lot of silica in it and it hammers the blade pretty hard. I had to sharpen fairly often.

But the BU LA Jack worked wonders for me, especially on the lacewood.

More here if you're interested. (The top was flattened with a LN 62, which was then traded off for a LV 62.5 (LA BU Jack) which handled very similar stuff with at least as much aplumb, if not better.

Cheers,

Greg

http://www.sloop.net/lisatable/index.htm


Jatoba and Lacewood "coffee" table.

Re: The Scared Cows!!!!

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Maybe, they were scared because they were concerned that someone might shoot them, thus making them holey?