A little LN addition

[John Miliunas]

With all the larger planes I've been acquiring lately, I figured I should probably balance it out a bit. Picked up this little LN LA Block with adjustable mouth a week or two ago (sorry.....Didn't think of the pic until today!). Super-thin shavings right out of the box, just as I have found all the LN's to be thus far. Pretty happy with!:) Couple more LV's coming down the pike and I should be set for a while! Of course, the mandatory TJ pic included!:D Thanks for taking a peek. :cool:

[Terry Hatfield]

John for some crazy reason said.............

"I'll be set for a while"

LOL...get real. Your wife ain't readin' the Creek so you can be honest with us. :D :D :D

Seriousy, that little bronze plane is really cool!!!! I got the LV and I'm super happy with it but the LN is one fine looking tool!!!

Now, get to work and stop trying to convince us you ain't gonna buy no more stuff!!

t

[Aaron Heck]

Nice lookin' plane, but I have to ask. Is that really the adjustable mouth version?

[John Miliunas]

Nice lookin' plane, but I have to ask. Is that really the adjustable mouth version?
Aaron, it's been a long, hard day, full of electron-filled trials and tribulations. :( Now, why in the heck I pulled that one out of the drawer is beyond me!!! :rolleyes: Hang on....As soon as #2 daughter gets to bed, I'll jump back out to the shop, shoot the RIGHT one and replace it! Thanks for the nice catch, BTW!:o :cool:

[Dick Parr]

Very nice John, you are getting yourself a nice collection there, cut where do they plug into. :D

[Doug Shepard]

John

I've got the same plane (the one you're going to shoot) and love it. Couldn't make up my mind whether to get the LA or the std angle, so I ended up getting both. LN should be required to post a Surgeon General's warning "VERY ADDICTIVE".

[John Dingman]

John,

Congrats on the addition to the growing stable! Beautiful Plane!

John

[John Miliunas]

LN should be required to post a Surgeon General's warning "VERY ADDICTIVE".
AMEN to that, Doug! 'Course, after seeing some of YOUR work, I'd venture to say you have a pretty good grasp on HOW to USE these cordless wonders! I'm still in the "get the right equipment" stage of that. Never having done *any* Neander-type work, it's been quite the experience. Mostly eye-opening (and expensive), but pleasant! I suspect that, as long as I give them a fair chance, then one of these fine years, I'll get the hang of it. That or, LOML will have one heckuva' lucrative auction when I kick off!:D :cool:

[Mark Singer]

John,

You did great! That is my favorite block plane...I use it all the time and it is a widely accepted favorite among furniture makers and finish carpenters!

[Alan Turner]

That is my "go to" guy also. Mine is a bit older, ans so had the older blade. Then, a couple of years ago, I ordered the A-2 iron, so now have a back up, which is quite handy. Sometimes you need to just keep going. You will have many years of enjoyment with it.
Alan

[Jim Becker]

Oohhhh...my favorite!! Good choice. Most used hand tool in my shop...every project.

[Aaron Heck]

Well, since we now know that you have both the adjustable and non-adjustable planes, can I ask you how they compare? I have the adjustable one, as picture above, but something draws me to the bronze castings of the non-adjustable ones. I was thinking of someday picking up the bronze standard angle plane. Just wondering if that would still get used with the adjustable model around. I guess I could always just put it on a shelf and stare at it. :D

[John Miliunas]

Aaron, limited use on both, thus far. The main thing I've noticed already, though, is the adj. mouth seems to do better on end grain. The standard does a super job on edges. I have mine set for extremely shallow cuts, which has allowed me to "tweak" a few edges, which otherwise had a very slight bow or similar. Like I said though, limited use and that's only been by a real newbie!:D :cool:

[Tom LaRussa]

I should be set for a while!
Yep...

Sure you are John buddy.

Sure...

All set.

Yep.

Not a single thing out there to look at.

Nope.

Not a thing...

Why I'll bet you won't be buying another single tool for at least ...

... um ...

... well ...

A FEW DAYS!


:p :p

[Bob Marino]

Beautiful looking plane and would also be curious as to how the adjustable and non-adjustable compare.

Bob

[John Miliunas]

Yep...

Sure you are John buddy.

Sure...

All set.

Yep.

Not a single thing out there to look at.

Nope.

Not a thing...

Why I'll bet you won't be buying another single tool for at least ...

... um ...

... well ...

A FEW DAYS!


:p :p
Egads! I feel like Rodney Dangerfield over here. Just get no respect! *Nobody* believes me when I say stuff anymore!:eek: NOW, when I said I should be set for a while, I dern well meant it! "A few days"...Indeed! Why, I'll bet that, not counting the stuff already "on order", it'll be at least.....ahhh...at least....ummmmm.....Well, MORE than just a few days! So there! :D :) :cool:

[Tom LaRussa]

Egads! I feel like Rodney Dangerfield over here. Just get no respect!
John,

Of course we respect you.

Heck, we even like you.

And we believe you. Really we do...

[Tom LaRussa]

Hey John,

Did you see those beautiful Stanley #750 chisels Rich Magnone snagged off eBay? http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=15917

Wow, some beauties, eh?

By the way John, how are you fixed for bench chisels?

Paring chisels?

Mortise chisels?

Dovetail chisels?

Just curious, that's all. :rolleyes:

Oh, and while we're on the subject of highly figured woods, have you looked at infill planes lately? Man, those fellows at Shepard really do some nice work, don't they? :)

[John Miliunas]

Hey John,

Did you see those beautiful Stanley #750 chisels Rich Magnone snagged off eBay? http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=15917

Wow, some beauties, eh?

By the way John, how are you fixed for bench chisels?

Paring chisels?

Mortise chisels?

Dovetail chisels?

Just curious, that's all. :rolleyes:

Oh, and while we're on the subject of highly figured woods, have you looked at infill planes lately? Man, those fellows at Shepard really do some nice work, don't they? :)
Yes, I saw the chisels. Yes, I already have a set of chisels. Yes, I have seen the infill planes. They're gorgeous. No, I'm not buying more chisels....for now. NO, I defintely NOT buying an infill!:eek: (But I am looking at some Tashiro hand saw blades! :D :cool:

[Tom LaRussa]

NO, I defintely NOT buying an infill!:eek: (But I am looking at some Tashiro hand saw blades! :D :cool:
Gee, who said anything about buying an infill? I just asked if you thought they were perty, that's all. :rolleyes: Heck, we don't have to buy every tool we look at, do we? I mean, just because a certain tool would allow us to do much better work with much less effort -- like, say, this Sheperd Norris A6 smoother in brass http://home.earthlink.net/~augieboo/a6.jpg doesn't mean we have to buy it, right?

Of course, a Shepard plane is more than just a tool. If you buy the kit form then it's a tool, plus a project, plus a woodworking learning seminar all rolled into one!

And, if you compare the price to, say, this Holty, (which goes for 3200 POUNDS), they are darn reasonable as well. http://www.home.earthlink.net/~augieboo/holty.jpg

Speaking of reasonable, have you ever looked at Steve Knight's woodies? This lovely scrub is only $115!
http://home.earthlink.net/~augieboo/115scrub.jpg



Speaking of saw blades, have you seen the ones at Hida Tool? Really cool stuff man. http://www.hidatool.com/woodpage/saws.html Of course, Japan Woodworker has nice ones too. http://japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=11805

[John Miliunas]

Tom, don't tell me ALL of those planes are part of your own collection!:eek: YES, they are perty. Perty looking, perty functional AND, perty expen$ive!!!:D Way, WAY out of my budget!:(

I have been thinking about picking up one of Steve's woodies some time in the future, simply because the only one I have is the ECE and I think it would be neat to play with one, which is a "true" woodie, with the wedge and all.:)

Have not checked out Hida, yet, though I probably will take a peek. (Never even heard of them before!) For right now, I'm going to try what appears to be the best saw blades at a truly budget price, those being the Tashiro units. Mark Singer has extremely high praise for them and, if in the course of learning to use them, I should just happen to schmuck one of them up, not a major $$ loss. :) :cool:

[Tom LaRussa]

Tom, don't tell me ALL of those planes are part of your own collection!:eek: Not hardly. :o

I just swiped the pics from the respective web sites.

My metal planes are all Stanleys, and my woodies are all at least 100 years old. My most expensive plane -- my #7 -- cost me about $45.

That's why I need you to keep buying -- so I can live vicariously! :D



For right now, I'm going to try what appears to be the best saw blades at a truly budget price, those being the Tashiro units. Mark Singer has extremely high praise for them and, if in the course of learning to use them, I should just happen to schmuck one of them up, not a major $$ loss. :) :cool:Those do look like really good prices, and Mark knows his tools. Heck, they are comparable to the price of a replacement blade for the plastic-handled pseudo-Japanese saws sold by Shark and the like. Be sure and let us know how you like them. I may want to use one for the next generation of my Marilyn saw.

As for messing them up, just remember to use them in the manner intended and for the intended type of wood. In other words, don't use a Japanese dovetail saw to make one quick cut in a sheet of plywood, no matter how much of a hurry you may be in. You're liable to ruin a bunch of the teeth. DAMHIKT! :mad:

[Ed Hardin]

If the adjustable works as great as the non adjustable it may the another woner of the world. My little bronze LN nonadjustable is the cats meow!

[John Miliunas]

If the adjustable works as great as the non adjustable ........is the cats meow!
Maybe even a touch BETTER!:) Meeeeeooooowwww!:D :cool:

[Clay Craig]

Well, just to muddy the waters entirely, this discussion of adjustable v. non-adjustable has gone on long enough that my resistance has been worn down. I didn't wanna do it, I coulda resisted had it petered out after 4 or 5 messages (and as you can see from my post total, I lurk much more than I post, and do not take every opportunity to toss in my 2 cents). Were I not tempted beyond my ability to resist, I would not, in effect, toss a bucket of oiled BBs onto the slope.

But, there IS this third option - combining the bronze tiny-ness, and weight, and portability of the apron plane, with the adjustability of the 60.5 ...

At first glance, it appears to be just another 102 - a nice new bronze LN non-adjustable apron plane.

But, turn it over, et voila! The adjustable-mouth apron plane.

I assume that this must have been discussed here before, but just in case not, it's the LN '102 Special.' The two additional mouth plates visible in the second picture are each slightly larger than the one you see in situ. So, by filing the rear edges on those justeversoslightly, they provide three different mouth sizes on the 'nonadjustable' 102, right down to a barely-hair's-breadth mouth.

AFAIK, this yummy item does not appear on the LN website, nor in the catalog, but if you call LN and order it, they have 'em in stock. (Or at least they did recently.)

I just wanted y'all to know there is this other choice - of course, I would not want anyone here to have to choose - thus, I think the best course may be to get all three (the 102, 102 Special, and 60.5), so as to be certain that all bases are covered.

Enjoy,
Clay

[Tom LaRussa]

{{snip}}
But, turn it over, et voila! The adjustable-mouth apron plane.
{{snip}}

AFAIK, this yummy item does not appear on the LN website, nor in the catalog, but if you call LN and order it, they have 'em in stock. (Or at least they did recently.)

I just wanted y'all to know there is this other choice - of course, I would not want anyone here to have to choose - thus, I think the best course may be to get all three (the 102, 102 Special, and 60.5), so as to be certain that all bases are covered.

Enjoy,
Clay
Wow, that's really cool.

How much does the little beauty go for?

[John Miliunas]

Clay, now THAT is something totally new to me! (Doesn't take much on the Neander side, though!:rolleyes: ) You're absolutely right about the footprint of the 102 being real handy to throw in your shop apron and this "pseudo" adjustability is kinda' cool!:) So, in practice, what size throat opening do you normally run on it? BTW, feel free to "muddy the waters" more often!!!:D :) :cool:

[John Miliunas]

Wow, that's really cool.

How much does the little beauty go for?
Settle down now, Tom! I thought you were saving your $$ for one of those Norris smoothers!:D :cool:

[Keith Cope]

I'm going to have to stop reading these Neander posts...you guys are going to suck me into the dark side with all these awesome LN's...

Keith

[John Miliunas]

I'm going to have to stop reading these Neander posts...you guys are going to suck me into the dark side with all these awesome LN's...

Keith
Awww, come on, Keith! Every wood shop needs, at least, one nice plane! Just get yourself the little LN 102 for fine-tuning an edge here and there. No harm in that, is there? :) Maybe a couple chisels or so for cleaning up joints and you'll be set! Really. Sure. I'm serious. No kidding. I wouldn't lie to 'ya, now would I???:eek: :D :) :cool:

[Clay Craig]

I'll have to report back on the mouth measurements after it's seen some duty - I haven't even gotten it into the shop yet. But, both of the spare mouth inserts are 'longer' than the one you see in the photo (which approximates the mouth in a standard 102), and a quick trial fitting indicates that with them at their as-delivered length, the mouth will be essentially closed. The instructions that come with it warn explicitly about opening the mouth delicately - a little filing goes a long way. I expect I'll set one of the spares at just-barely-open, and keep the third one intact, in case I think of some specialty use some day.

I believe it was $125 - the 'standard' non-adjustable bronze apron is $95. But, I expect this is one of those items you can't get from any of the secondary LN sources, so you can't get the common 10%-off-plus-free-shipping, as you can on most LN planes, at Fine Tool Journal (http://www.finetoolj.com/lnorder.html), among others.

Glad I could show y'all something new! It was quite a hit at the local WW Guild meeting ...

Clay

[Clay Craig]

John,

You mentioned a desire to have a 'real' woodie, "with the wedge and all." Let me recommend making one yourself ... a truly easy project, and very rewarding when the fluffies float out from your handiwork. Below are a couple of my homemade efforts, just plain ol' maple, with goncalo alves soles (OK, one touch of the tropics - the wedges are loquat). The absolute easiest route would be to buy the kit from Ron Hock here (http://www.hocktools.com/kf175.htm).

Or, have a look at the instructions here (http://www.norsewoodsmith.com/smoother/smoother1.htm) for a different type.

Mine are the 'Krenov style,' made from these instructions (http://www.crfinefurniture.com/1pages/sitelinks/howplane.html) by David Welter at College of the Redwoods. (The Hock kit is the same plane as produced from these instructions, the parts have just been prepped for you.)

Give it a try, and of course, let us know ...

Clay

[Jerry Olexa]

John you know you'll be buying more toys errrr I mean tools, shortly (within a week), Looks good . I'm slowly learning to appreciate the value of a quality plane. Enjoy!! Stay out of the SNOW:)