Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
Hi Steve

I agree with all your comments.

Just to clarify a point: my recommendation to Lee Valley was to include the 50-degree frog among the standard choices. I believe that most work could be done with this minus the chipbreaker. A 50-degree cutting angle on a BD plane requires no noticeable extra effort to push than a 45-degree cutting angle, and has a slightly better ability to cope with tearout. So why bother with 45 degrees?

For the woods I use, I need either significantly more than 50 degrees, or I need to use the chipbreaker. Since I was choosing the chipbreaker, I wanted to drop the cutting angle as low as possible, and in doing so I was also prepared to accept the extra care needed in setting it. Hence I went for a 42-degree frog. That makes it a smoother that is dedicated to use with a chipbreaker.

The same comments apply to the frog choices for the jointer.

Regards from Perth

Derek