Plane advice on specialty planes

[Mark Singer]

I have quite a few planes...but as my wife says about shoes, "You can never have too many" I was thinking about adding a couple of Lie Neilsens...a # 62 Low angle Jack...I have their #64 Low angle smoother and love it.

Then I was thinking of getting a #140 Skew angle Block or the #601/2 R Rabett block plane....I have the I have the low angle block already.
The 140 comes with and without a nicker

Reccomendations? If it helps I can post pictures of what I already have.
Thanks.

[Tyler Howell]

If It helps:confused: :confused: We always love pictures! What's a nicker???
The 140 comes with and without a nicker

Reccomendations? If it helps I can post pictures of what I already have.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]

[Mark Singer]

Tyler,

They are a bit hard to identify; But here you go..

The nicker is a spur that you can engage by turning it to cut the cross grain without tearing it. The blue Record 78 has one also.

[Halsey MCCombs]

you must have more than Dave Anderson. Halsey

[Jason Roehl]

you must have more than Dave Anderson. Halsey

Yeah, but he's nowhere close to Eugene Landon (check the recent FWW Tools and Shops issue).

[Tyler Howell]

OOOOOOH You have got it real bad (Good)!

But that bench doesn't have any visible marks on it! And your planes are pretty clean:rolleyes: Is this a collection or working tools:mad: :p :p

Thanks Mark, I think I'm going to have to make a personal inspection

[John Weber]

Mark,

Very nice collection. The #62 was my first nice plane, and still the most used of my large non-block planes. It is awesome! I talked to Tom Lie-Nielsen about it a bit when I took his class this summer. It is incredibly flexible. Adjustable mouth, and you can purchase multiple blades and grind different profile angles for different work. It's light with good mass and feels great in the hand. I say get the 62 and you will be very pleased.

John

[Mark Singer]

jOHN,

GREAT ADVICE...the 62 is for sure! Any suggestions between the 140 and the 60R rabitting block....I am leaning toward the #140


Mark,

Very nice collection. The #62 was my first nice plane, and still the most used of my large non-block planes. It is awesome! I talked to Tom Lie-Nielsen about it a bit when I took his class this summer. It is incredibly flexible. Adjustable mouth, and you can purchase multiple blades and grind different profile angles for different work. It's light with good mass and feels great in the hand. I say get the 62 and you will be very pleased.

John

[Gene Collison]

Mark,

I have the 62 and love it, the only issue is you have to keep the iron really square. That said, I just recieved my 62.5 from LV today, I ordered both blades. It's an alternative you may want to consider but it has all kinds of neat things about it, for instance, it's not necessary to keep the iron square, a lot of adjustment available. It also has a stop that prevents the nose piece from striking the blade. The mouth is set back to get better registration, a big feature. Over the counter high angle blade availability. It weighs about 2 pounds more, that may or may not be an asset. If I were only to own one, oh well, I think you have already got the impression which it would be. It didn't take long to come to that conclusion, especially considering the price, but even if price was not a factor. I honed both irons, incidently both irons came almost with a polished back and front, a new standard from LV. I also tested the sole for flatness on a granite surface plate, I was unable to get a .001 feeler guage under any part, it's flat!! Check this one out, it's worth it!

Gene

[Steve Wargo]

Low angle smoothers I'd go for the Rabbeting block plane. I purchased one about a month ago after speaking with Alan Turner (thanks again Alan) and think that for fitting long tenons it is without doubt the best tool for the job. Just my $.02.

[Roger Myers]

the skew block is terrific and one of my most used planes....of course you now can get left hand or right hand...so you will want both :D
and, get the nicker....you can always not use it, but you will be thankful you have it...my older one is going back to have the nicker added...
Roger

[Joe Mioux]

O.K. Mark, you have more planes than your neighbor has goats. What gives? Inquiring minds want to know. Why are rewarding yourself with a couple more planes? You must have accomplished something or finished a project that justifies this honest pleasure.:) :) :) :)

[Roy Wall]

Mark,

I have the #62 and the 60 1/2 R LN's..........

the 62 is an end grain wonder...I appreciate its heft ( but still not cumbersome)
I will probably buy a couple of blades (their beautiful) for Christmas to aid in its flexibility.

I bought the 60.5 R because I didn't have a shoulder plane. From the advice of a very experienced local neander, he recommended the "R" because of its flexibility in "tenon" work....it truely does a great job squaring shoulders and fitting joints.

This being said, if you are happy with your shoulder planes....this would be somewhat of a duplicate and you may want to go for the 140.

I think those ECE planes also top of the line:)

[Mark Singer]

Joe,

They are not my neighbors goats they are for fire protection...its hard to get insurance up here since the fire in 93. I do use all the planes ...some more than others of course. The Lie Neilsens and ECE and Clifton ged used a lot! The rabbet and shoulder planes get use as well. It is amazing how nice the simple coffin planes feel and work ...very light. Wood against wood is nice too.

I just thought I would add a little diversity and I don't really buy too many tools anymore. No room and I pretty much have everything. The LN hold their value and they are great to use so its not a big decision. It is great to get the advice from freinds that are knowlegable and already have the same planes.


O.K. Mark, you have more planes than your neighbor has goats. What gives? Inquiring minds want to know. Why are rewarding yourself with a couple more planes? You must have accomplished something or finished a project that justifies this honest pleasure.:) :) :) :)

[Tyler Howell]

So the answer to this question is those are your goats??? Way cool dude.

Please define coffin plane and Infill for this fledgling Neander.


Joe,

They are not my neighbors goats they are for fire protection...its hard to get insurance up here since the fire in 93. I do use all the planes ...some more than others of course. The Lie Neilsens and ECE and Clifton ged used a lot! The rabbet and shoulder planes get use as well. It is amazing how nice the simple coffin planes feel and work ...very light. Wood against wood is nice too.

I just thought I would add a little diversity and I don't really buy too many tools anymore. No room and I pretty much have everything. The LN hold their value and they are great to use so its not a big decision. It is great to get the advice from freinds that are knowlegable and already have the same planes.

[Mark Singer]

Tyler,

The City of Laguna hires an independent contractor. They have about a thousand goats and they move them around the hills where the foliage and chapparel gets tall. The goats eat the stuff, turning into little round balls....they kind of look like small olives...although I must say I never tried them!:p We all feel a bit safer after they do their thing. There is even a large indicater sign with a pointer that city workers adjust to tell the residents the relative fire danger.

My wife makes this Peruvian dish called "Cabrito" it is made from lamb or goat...I have gotten the urge at times...but they are way too cute. I once brought a baby goat home and placed on my wife that was sleeping ...the thing was light as a feather....and very innocent...she woke up and held it.

Now, what does this have to do with my choice in planes....I know you and John are getting together tomorrow.... that doesn't help me...The last SMC friend I had over here was Jim Becker... why don't you drive a little furter...I even posted all the pics for you. Come on Tyler.

[Tim Sproul]

I just picked LN's butt mortise and beading tool.....those fit into the "specialty" category for certain.

And I also recently watched an Ebay auction for the LN butt mortise that went over $100 (FTJ sells for $90, LN sells for $100) +$10 shipping. Talk about holding value :)!

[Alan Turner]

Mark,
I have used the LA R LN for years to fit tenons, as Steve said, and I like it because I trim the enitre cheek with one pass, normally. A fine, simple plane that works quite well. I also have the LV Med. Shoulder plane, which I also like, but it gets less use. I do not typically use it on shoulders becuase I prefer a paring chisel. No tear out that way. But, each to his own.

The skew planes seem ideal; you will need the pair of course, and I would go with the nicker. My old Stanley rabetting plane has a nicker. When it is in the out position, I always manage to cut myself at least once. But, small cuts only.

I wonder how much work it is to sharpen and hone the skewed iron? I use the Tormek (when needed) and my favorite honiing jig is an Eclipse, for plane irons, and it would not work with a skewed blade. I have the LV honing jig as well, but I am not sure it would work either. I prefer to hone with a jig to keep the angle just right.
Alan

[Robert Tarr]

If you are happy with your large shoulder plane, I would go with the 140. I am a lefty, so the original 140 is the easiest to use for me (righties will find the LH version easier to use.) I find this to be one of my most used block planes and interestingly enough, I find that I use my 62 as my other block plane (remember, is is just a very large bevel up LABP with an adjustable mouth.) When I first got the 140, I was a bit intimidated by sharpening it, but that has proved to be a non-issue. The blade is thick enough to give you enough reference area to free hand without much trouble.

I think you will be impressed with the 140 (with nicker) and keep finding ways to use it (fences etc. for fielding panels...)

Take care and keep em sharp.

Robert

[Matthew Dworman]

Then I was thinking of getting a #140 Skew angle Block or the #601/2 R Rabett block plane....I have the I have the low angle block already.
The 140 comes with and without a nicker


The 140 has become one of the handiest planes in my collection. Truly awesome. Definitely go for the nicker, but be prepared to grind it yourself as it comes blunt. The adjustable fence allows for precision rabbets, fielding raised panels and is quite handy. The skewed blade SLICES through endgrain like butter. A trick I picked up from Rob Cosman using this plane is awesome too:
When cutting dovetails by hand, one of the trickiest parts is registering the two boards when transfering your tails to the pin board. The slightest mistake, and your dovtails stink. With the 140 and the fence, you set the fence to the length of your tails, and shave a couple thou' rabbet on the inside - this creates a tiny "Step" which you can register your pin board up against for perfect transfer every time. Just remember to keep the couple thou in mind when marking the depth of cut for your pins as it is now a tiny bit LESS than the thickness of your tail board.

[Matthew Dworman]

Oh. almost forgot. One thing to be careful about on the 140 is overtightening the levercap. Because there is no real support on the "Open" side, you can cause deflection in the sole. Once you feel the lever cap engage, only tighten the wheel maybe 1/8th of a turn. It won't feel like enough, but trust me, it's more than enough... your blade WILL stay put and you will be able to take 0.001" thick endgrain shavings. If you overtighten, you will actually be pushing the sole behind the throat down below the "Plane" of the nose and thus forcing a thicker shaving. MINIMAL pressure is all that is needed to secure the blade and the cap.

I have read peoples complaints that they can't take fine shavings with this plane, and surely it is because they are cranking down on the wheel. This plane can take shavings that won't even register on dial calipers. Truly one of the best purchases I have made in woodworking...