Cute little plane *LINK*

Re: Cute little plane

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>I had the opportunity to play with this recently. For such a small plane it was quite impressive. I will post my observations later. Indeed, a "cute" plane but not a toy.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Cute little plane

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Derek, I'd love to hear how it compares to the HNT Palm Smoother as well as some Japanese finger planes if you've got any.

Thanks,

Pam

I Like Mine....

Todd Hughes

>Heres an original one I have. Of course I didn't have to pay as much for it as they are asking for the repop though .....Todd

Me too!

Rich Glisson

>Mine was my grandfather's.

Hmmm, wonder how it compares,

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>With a Stanly 101. Or the new LN tailed models...

For Pam - Victor vs Gordon

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Hi Pam

Sorry. I can't really do the Bailey "Little Victor" vs the HNT Gordon Palm Smoother as I do not have the latter. What I have is extremely close - one of the "bargains" that seems to go unheralded. This is the Mujingfang Mini Smoother. It is nearly impossible to spot any differences alongside the Gordon. Same size body, same size blade. The Gordon is the better quality of the two, and no doubt that tiny improvements are additive..

Here are the Little Victor and Mini Smoother (mine is Ebony) alongside each other:

Immediately it is obvious that we are talking about two significantly different sized planes. You can drop the LV into your pocket, but the Muji is quite bulky with the long blade.

Further, the Muji has a 60 degree bed while the LV is 45 degrees. The blade of the Muji is 1/8" (as per the Gordon).

The Muji is a wonderful little one-handed smoother. I use it when smoothing very small areas. It has a tight mouth, so it takes off very little material at a time. It is not the type of plane that one would use to chamfer an edge because it would take forever (although I have used it this way because it is comfortable to hold).

By contrast, the LV is able to hog to a greater depth and will enable one to trim edges, etc quickly.

Further, with its lower angle of attack, the LV will produce the shinier smoother finish on end grain. The Muji cuts end grain well, but leaves a more matte result.

Like the LV, the Muji can reverse its blade (with a 30 degree bevel) and, because it has the higher bed angle, it will perform as a true scraper plane. Its overall performance as a smoother/scraper is several classes away from the LV. But then the LV is not intended as a smoother, but as a block plane.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks. The LV color is bit offputting, but ... :)

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>

Re: For Pam - Victor vs Gordon

Chris Scholz

>In addition, as far as I can tell, every equivalent of your local hardware store in China that sells planes offers both varieties (i.e. smoother and palm-size plane).

Since there does not appear to be an active tool collector community in China, I infer that these palm-size planes might be used extensively.