LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

The short answer is no.

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond, CA


>They won't do it. I all ready asked...

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

Frank D. in Montreal


>Just to add to what Scott said,

apparently Bronze can't be milled (I believe the 4.5 anniversary is bronze?). Corrugations don't really make a plane easier to use though.

FWIW,

Frank

I don't think that is the reason...

VTAndy4


>...because the nos. 1 through 4 are available in bronze, with corrugation.

You're right...

Frank D. in Montreal


>...Andy,

I was told by Rob Cosman that the bodies of LN bronze planes are less precise than the cast iron ones because they can't mill bronze...I thought they made the corrugations that way but I guess not.

Re: I don't think that is the reason...

RichStevens


>I have a No 3 in Bronze with a Corrugated sole. Works fine for me. With regards to stability etc, I understand LNTW experienced a lot of issues with their larger bronze castings - especially the No9 Mitre Plane which led to it being redesigned and now only available in iron. Well - that's the official reason anyway...

R

Steel bridges

Bill Houghton, foggy mornings in Sebastopol, CA


>Using a corrugated plane on edges always reminds me of riding a motorcycle over those frightening steel eggcrate bridges in the Midwest, where the bridge steers the motorcycle. If you hit the corner of the board at the wrong angle, the corrugations steer the plane. The corrugations are neato-looking, but I'm not sure they're an improvement.

This is, based on past threads, something of a minor Ford/Chevy argument, though not nearly at the level of bevel-up vs. bevel-down.

Actually I'm wrong again...

Frank D. in Montreal


>It's grinding that's the problem with bronze, not milling.

Frank

Bronze

jim reed @ tallahassee


>My guess is that bronze is just too difficult to justify its use. It case hardens when worked, which is just the opposite of steel. It clogs grinding wheels. It bends and distorts. Its working properties are so different from steel. Requires different tooling and different labor skill sets. All the $$$ adds up quickly. Real hard to justify in this mfg setting.

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

Phil Winn


>The first batch was to be shipped in Aug---now the third week of September...

Phil

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

david.marcus.brown


>So the second batch should ship around President's Day next year?

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

V Parisian


>I suspect that there must be some production issue that must be sorted out. I would rather wait for one that is right than get one today that's not.

My $.02 (2006 dollars).

Regards from Huuumid Houston,

Victor

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

Dave Thompson


>Agreed. FWIW, I seem to recall the first batch of bronze LN#3's came out about 3 months after expected due to some casting issues.

The plane will last a life time. If they need a couple of weeks or months extra to get it right, that's just fine with me.

Re: LN Anniversary 4-1/2 Question

david.marcus.brown


>I absolutely think that's the answer. My response was totally tongue in cheek. I'd much rather they have the issues sorted out than send out a plane with a problem.

I'm sure LN has more irons in the fire than we know about. Kudos to Tom for keeping a level head and being upfront with customers -- and for not rushing something into production without all of the kinks worked out. Tom is a good businessman and he runs a tight ship.

FYI, Times up for the Bronze LN#4 1/2

Dave Thompson


>Just spoke to LN... I was curious how many more orders they were going to take before they hit their 500 limit. They said they expect to have no more available in the next week or two. So if you were holding out to X-mas, it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Regarding the delay on the first batch, it sounds like they had a communication issue with their foundry. Apparently, the foundry went on vacation for three weeks, and that wasn't worked into the schedule.

enjoy,

Dave