Stanley 102 type

[Prashun Patel]

Does there exist a Stanley 102 type plane with a depth adjuster - like the Lie-Nielsen 102 and the Veritas Apron planes have?

I really love my 102, but would love to have one with an depth mechanism. I'm this close to pulling the trigger on the Veritas, but would rather buy used and rehab.

[Jim Koepke]

According to Patrick Leach and his Blood and Gore, the #103 is a #102, "with a cheesy adjuster added."

jim

[Prashun Patel]

Jim,
What's your impression of the 103?

Why's the LN low angle block called a '102' then? It has a depth adjuster.

Also, in pix of the 103's, the adjuster looks like a lateral adjuster.

[Jim Koepke]

Jim,
What's your impression of the 103?

Why's the LN low angle block called a '102' then? It has a depth adjuster.

Also, in pix of the 103's, the adjuster looks like a lateral adjuster.

I have never owned either of these.

The lever adjust is used in quite a few planes. The only one of mine that adjusts this way is the #95.

I haven't a clue as to why LN named their offering a #102 and not a #103 other than they both share a basic design with one being low angle and the other being standard angle.

I do not find any unique uses for a high angle block plane that can not be done with my small bench planes. For a low angle block plane, I like my Stanley #60 and #65 type planes.

jim

[Prashun Patel]

I have to back and measure my 102. I thought it was a low angle. I'm working on a rocking chair now, and the 102 is indispensible. It's smaller and lighter than the 60 1/2, so, for smoothing bandsaw marks on gentle curves, it really excels. Ran at a skew angle, it can get into some pretty tight spots that my 60 1/2 cannot. It's even better here (for a maroon like me) than spokeshaves (which are prone to chatter and not great on switchy grain) or scrapers (which follow the contour a little TOO well).

My 102 seems to do as good a job at handling any grain as my 60 1/2 (knock off).

Thanks for your help! You are the man!

[Pinwu Xu]

I have a no name, 102/103 sized block planes, with the depth adjustment
lever.

The size is so nice, almost fully wrapped by one hand.
It's not low-angle, though, and I think the blade could be better (or my
sharpening skill).

Really like this little gem, I prefer it over the Stanley 65, or 9-1/2.

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for your help! You are the man!

You are welcome. Thanks for the complement. I don't know about being the man, I just read a lot and remember pretty good.

Maybe it comes from my short career as an actor and remembering lines.

I still remember phone numbers that people changed years ago.

Blood and Gore doesn't say anything about high or low angle.

For the work you describe, you might want a compass plane or to make your own wooden body planes with curved bases to suit your needs.

Not sure that a 101-1/2 would be the right kind of plane for the job. It has a radius in both directions, side to side and front to back. My father gave me a coffin smoother type plane that had a curved sole. It had a big crack in it, so it wasn't usable. He said it was his grandfather's and was used for making chair seats.

jim