My New Toy

[Michael Peet]

I finally got tired of dimensioning stock with my old Stanley #3, so what with tax season and all I treated myself to a new LN #7. It arrived today!

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I could not believe the size of the blade. It is massive. I don't believe the Veritas MK II jig could accommodate much more. I did spend some time polishing it and putting on a 2° microbevel. It arrived sharp but not Sharp, if you know what I mean.

This is not the thinnest shaving I've ever made but I liked the shot -

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I am also amazed at just how flat this plane can make a board. With my #3 I was always chasing around high and low spots. This thing makes it so much easier. Having watched Chris Schwarz's Coarse, Medium, and Fine video recently, I feel like I am starting to get the merest, faintest, grasp on this neander thing. :eek:

Cheers,

Mike

[Jim Koepke]

Nice toy.

I discovered that my Mk II holder for my power sharpening system will not properly hold my 2-5/8" blade from a #8. It had to be done with a work around. Maybe I will have to end up getting one of the cheap eclipse style holders.

jim

[Alex Silva]

Now for the newbie, I am, what would you suggest in terms of a 90o fence for edge jointing for a LN #7 or #8 ? Magnetic fence ? I like the fence LV is selling for their jointer planes.

Cheers

Alex

[Rick Erickson]

Alex, give it some practice without a fence and see where it gets you. I bet you will be surprised. Put a slight camber on the blade so you can move left or right on the edge to true it up.

[Bob Jones]

I agree with Rick. I do not use a fence because I always skew mine by a few degrees when edge planing anyway. Get an engineers square and check it regularly.

[Jim Koepke]

Throw in my 2¢ with the others on learning to get square without the fence.

Learn to check with a square and then adjust by feel and you will do much better.

Some people learn to feel square with their fingers on the bottom of the plane and their finger nails riding along the side of the board they are edge planing.

jim

[Eric Brown]

Sorry fella's, I think a fence is a good thing to have. Let me clarify.
If you are simply shooting a square edge or simply knocking down a corner then it is usually easier to do it freehand without a fence. However, if you decide to shoot a particular bevel, then it may be easier with a adjustable fence.

The Veritas is only good for 90 degrees unless you also attach a beveled face to it.

Stanley made a good adjustable one (#386 I think), but others were made too. The only new adjustable one I can think of is made by St. James Bay Tool Co. It's a beauty made of bronze.

Now I'm sure George will tell you that you can shoot any angle freehand and with lots of practice get good at it. He would be right. Do you have the time?

Personally I use mine as a way to compensate because my lack of time in the shop severely limits my abilty to equal the skills of someone who makes cabinets for a living. (I still have nightmares that Roy Underhill comes into my shop with a hatchet and cuts better dovetails than I ever could. Oh well, practice, practice, practice. Right?)

Basically I'm saying don't get a fence unless you feel the need for a crutch. In the end people won't care so much about what tool you used but more on what you created.

Eric

[Michael Peet]

Alex, I have the LV fence but I don't use it. So far it just hasn't been that difficult to check frequently with a square as others have suggested.

Mike

[Alex Silva]

Thank you for all your advices... I have finally opted for LN planes and the #7 or #8 will be my 1st purchase.. starting BIG !!!

Cheers

Alex

[James Taglienti]

I didn't have a jointer fence for years... a friend let me borrow a stanley 386 and I loved it, so I bought one recently. I never skewed my jointer, It seemed that the amount of skew I could put on it while still having decent sole contact was negligible. However, a lengthwise tapered auxiliary fence would allow one to have their cake and eat it too!

[Rick Markham]

Alex, I am a newbie to planes too, my first purchase was a LN no.8 and I love it, I have not had any problems edge jointing. I think you will be surprised, being that it is top heavy it is pretty easy to tell when it gets out of plumb. My number 8 is a source of joy and a pleasure to work with! Just listen to all the folks and practice a bit, I think you will find that it is easier than you think. Good luck!

[Rick Erickson]

Rick - good to hear you are liking the No. 8. It is certainly one of my favorites as well.

Alex, you can always use your bench as a fence for longer boards if you are having difficulty squaring an edge. Just elevate the board on top of some sticker boards and clamp it down. Then run your plane on its side along the edge you want to square. It's like turning your bench into a large shooting board (very effective).

[Frederick Gross]

You can clamp up multiple boards as well and joint the edges at one time, especially if the two boards are going to be glued together. Even if you are slightly off a couple of degrees, the two edges will fit together because they are the same angle.