full size scraper plane opinions [Archive] - Sawmill Creek Woodworking Community

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jim hedgpeth

10-10-2009, 7:05 AM

Sam Takeuchi

10-10-2009, 8:08 AM

I have a LV one and I like it a lot now. Actually after I bought it, I didn't use it much nor like it for a while. Getting good edge with that thing was the first hurdle, as blade is veeeeery wide and bevel is quite narrow. Blade will fit in Veritas MkII honing guide, but just barely. I'm not sure if other honing guides can take that blade. Doing it free hand is very tough I find. Not enough meat on the bevel to stand on. Plus, the stones I had were narrower than the blade, while it's not a problem by itself, using honing guide and going diagonally was bit awkward. I now use scary sharp for the scraper blade.

So for all these reasons, I didn't bother to use it for quite a while. And then I set out to settle with this thing one day. Once I got done honing the blade and finished with setup, it was simply a wonderful tool to work with. It's wide. Adjustment knobs are very sensitive and allows fine tuning for lightest cut to impractically aggressive cut. Comfortable to hold (I don't mind LV handles much) especially the low knob style knob. Camber knob I haven't messed around with much since I mostly use optional thick blade. Thin blade makes quite a bit of noise, so I don't use it at all. But having that camber knob is a good thing. Although I don't use it, I'm sure a lot of people find it useful and I'm sure i'll find it useful if one day I decide to use thin blade and need even finer adjustment.

I think the blade width is the same as the LN scraper, but LN blade is a bit thicker than the optional LV blade. It should fit if you want thicker blade than the LV offers. Speaking of the blade...the back of LV scraper blade comes quite rough. So you'll have take care of that first. I don't know if LN blade is the same. It's not a deal breaker, but I thought I'd tell you.

David Keller NC

10-10-2009, 10:22 AM

Jim - I have all 3 of the Lie-Nielsen scraper planes, and I've used the Lee Valley copy of the Stanley #112.

There are some significant differences between the LV and LN copies of the #112. As Sam mentions, one of the most significant is the blade thickness. It's for this reason that I chose the L-N #112 - the blade is thick enough that chatter is nearly impossible. A toothed blade is available for all three of the LN scraper planes - I'm not sure about the LV.

What I'd say about the comparison between the LN larger models (the cabinet scraper and #112 copy) is that they perform different functions. You will want to hone the #112 blade with a slight camber as you would a smoothing plane blade, and use it on large surfaces like drawer fronts, case sides and table tops.

The cabinet maker's scraper plane works best in different circumstances - primarily, in a rabbet or fillet. I use mine frequently to clean up a fillet in a molding after shaping it with a wooden molding plane. For this purpose, you want the blade on this tool honed straight across with no camber. Also note that the cabinet maker's scraper is less versatile on wide surfaces than the LN #112, as you cannot adjust the blade angle on the cabinet maker's scraper, though you can of course hone a back-bevel on the blade to change the cutting angle.

Richard Dooling

10-10-2009, 11:27 AM

I have the LV and find it very useful. I have the thin blade and like that it can be bowed like a hand scraper. I also have the toothed blade but only have used it a few times on very difficult grain. I also intend to get the thick blade at some point.

Sam mentions the LV handle and some feel they are overly large but they feel fine to me. LV actually encourages folks to custom modify their dovetail saw handles and this plane handle certainly has enough meat to reshape if that's an issue.

Have not tried the LN scrapers but I'm sure they are quality products.

willie sobat

10-10-2009, 2:08 PM

I have the LN 112. I like it a lot.

David Gendron

10-10-2009, 2:24 PM

The LV Veritas Is a great plane! Love mine... After figuring out how to tuned it properly!

Eric Brown

10-10-2009, 8:34 PM

St James Bay also has a large scraper cast in bronze. They claim the extra weight helps.

http://www.stjamesbaytoolco.com/

Eric

Dominic Greco

10-10-2009, 9:48 PM

I got the LV Large Scraper plane last year and have been really pleased with it. It's a piece of cake to set up and is very comfortable to use.

Before this I had a No12 Stanley that worked somewhat well. It had a scraper blade made from an old saw. Before I got the LV I wanted to improve the performance of the No12. So I got a Hock scraper blade and installed it. To put it bluntly, it bit the big one. No matter what I did, no matter WHAT angle I tried, or how I honed the blade, it wouldn't work. After a month of futzing with it, I put the Hock blade away in in frustration with the thought of selling it.

Then along came my LV Large scraper plane. And it worked from the moment it came out of the box. So one day I get curious and decide to see if the Hock Scraper blade will fit the LV scraper plane. Guess what? It DOES! And it works fantastically! So now I have the "thin" stock blade I can bow and the thick Hock blade that resists chatter.

BTW, I also have the LV cabinet scraper and the LV Small Scraper plane. And THEY work great too!:D

Brian Ashton

10-11-2009, 12:31 AM

Short and sweet, I am looking to get a scraper plane in the (hopefully) near future. I like the open sides of the LN here
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=85

The $$ and adjust-ability of this one from LV
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=48431&cat=1,41182,48945

I do like this one, but being so similar to the Veritas I am not likely to spend the extra
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=112

I am sure all of them are great, but would like to hear from those that have one (or 2 or all 3 :D not that anyone here would have all 3 :rolleyes:;)) about specific likes/dislikes of each style.

I had thought about building one, but feel I may be better off with a good one for "reference";) or at least that's my story, and I am stickin to it.

Thanks,
Jim

To be honest I'd say you won't go wrong with any of the scrapers you've listed. I have the LN Cabinet makers and the LV 112 and use to have a stanley 112 and found all of them to do the job they're suppose to. Many find the stanley 112 to be a pain but actually I found I regretted selling it when I bought the LV. It would have made a good companion to it.

I liked the thin blade because I would extend it slightly further below the base and then "load" it by bending it as I pushed down on the wood. For me it produced very nice surfaces by doing that. In certain woods a thick unyielding blade wont bend and often compresses the fibres just enough that they quickly spring back producing a fury feel (especially when the blade wasn't at its sharpest); often occurs in air dried softer woods such as fir. For me that has been the biggest draw back to the LN cabinet makers, you have to keep the blade extremely sharp. Where as the stanley would produce a nice surface because the blade was too weak to compress the fibres enough. If it started "screeching" all that was telling me was I were going to fast over that particular piece of wood and too slow down. You could easily find the sweet spot for scraping simply by listening to the plane.

Your mileage may vary

steve swantee

10-11-2009, 7:19 AM

Yep, you can modify your LV scraper plane tote. If you're interested, here's my experience http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=91995 .I reshaped and shortened the tote, and for me it seems to be an improvement.
I have to admit I do not use mine enough to justify it's existance in my stable. Since I have upgraded my planes with LN irons and started to use backbevels I have mostly left the scraper plane on the shelf. I am interested, however, in hearing more of your experiences with the thicker blades vs. the thin stock blade. I think I would like to get the thicker one and try it.

Steve