Which plane do I buy, the LN No. 5 or a 5 1/2 ?

[Robert Miller]

Does anyone have any thoughts on which plane I should choose? I intend to use the plane for several purposes. (duh, that's why it's called a "jack" plane) My shooting board, as a fore plane, jointing and smoothing on figured wood. ( curly maple), and as an all around plane.

Anyone have any thoughts or opinions? I'm leaning towards the 5 1/2 for the extra heft and size.
Thanks.

[David Weaver]

I would get the 5 1/2, you'll appreciate the mass on a shooting board, and if you camber your irons, you'll appreciate the extra width for smoothing.

[Andrew Gibson]

I think I would go with the 5-1/2 as well. I find myself reaching for my #6 over my #5 for most situations...

[Chris Fournier]

Given your intended applications I too would say 5.5! It's nice to work with the wholes or the halves so to speak because then you can swap out frogs if you need to move from higher to lower pitches etc. when you've got a big job to do.

This being said I would prefer a 4.5 and a 7 over the 5.5. Yeah that's two expensive planes!

[Patrick McCarthy]

Just went thru this debate. It kind of depend on whether you really want to use it as a smoother on figured wood. I really like my 5 1/2 for its heft, size, feel, width of blade, etc., and would have to say it is probably my favorite "go to" plane. BUT I am going to be making kitchen cabinets with raised panels that will be birdseye maple, so I was debating on getting a high angled frog so as to use it as a smoother. I called LN to get some insight and ultimately got a 4 1/2 HAF smoother. The shorter 4 1/2 can smooth a less "flat" board than the 5 1/2. I know we are supposed to be dealing with flat stock anyway, but it seemed to make sense at the time . . . . .

[Robert Miller]

Thanks, I'm probably going to go with the 5.5. I have a woodie smoother that I made in the Krenov style, and since I finally learned how to get a truly sharp iron and scraper, I prefer a hand planed finished. I don't hardly use any sandpaper anymore. My hand plane fetish is going to break the bank........

[Jim Koepke]

I think you will be happy with the 5-1/2. Especially when you need a little extra width on a shooting board.

If you have a real plane fetish, you will eventually find a #5 at a yard sale for a price that can't be refused.

jtk

[Zach England]

I wish I had a good 5 1/2. If you are building a plane collection and don't have a billion dollars to spend I would not get a LN 5. A good Stanley/Bed Rock 5 is not too hard to find and relatively inexpensive. A good 5 1/2, however, is going to be a bit harder to find and cost a bit more.

I bought a new LN 5 as one of my first planes and I think I could have better spent the money on a vintage 5 and bought a LN 5 1/2.

[jamie shard]

If you want to do a few things with the plane, I would buy a few vintage planes, maybe a 3, 6, and 8 for smoothing, fore-ing, and joining/shooting, respectively. It will cost the same and be much more fun for your work. I love my 5.5 but its a dedicated "smoother" only -- tight mouth, slightly cambered blade. I would strongly recommend getting a LN 5.5 it for that reason. But I wouldn't recommend getting it for every task of a "jack", too expensive and too fussy.

But most of all, buy the 5.5 :D

[Pat Zabrocki]

I kind of went through this debate, too, except not as efficiently. I bought a 5 and I like it, but realized the 5 1/2 is what I really want. If I had to choose, I'd go with the 5 1/2 but I like having both, too. It's good to keep a blade with a lot of camber in the 5 and set up the 5 1/2 for smoothing.
Pat

[Jim Koepke]

Just a thought, an inexpensive way to settle this could be to buy a couple of used planes like a Stanley/Bailey #5 & #6. The #6 is 3" longer than the #5-1/2. I have used a #6 for shooting and some smoothing.

jtk

[Mike Henderson]

I wouldn't spend LN prices on a #5 or #5 1/2. A good Stanley with a modern blade will perform the tasks those planes were designed for quite well. I'd spend LN dollars on a smoother, like a #4 or #4 1/2.

Mike

[Tony Shea]

I know this wasnt an option up there but I might also consider the BU jack plane if it were me. I've recently purchased a LV BU jack plane and it has suddenly become my most used plane in my collection, aside from my LN #7. But it is very close as far as use goes with the 7. For the tasks you stated you want this plane for the BU Jack excells at a few of those. SHooting especially with the low angle blade on end grain, smoothing knarly grained wood with a 25* included blade sharpened and cambered to a higher angle than you can get frogs for in a bench plane, and joints edges fine on shortish boards. I have 3 different blades for mine at the moment, all sharpened for different tasks. I plan to get one more 25* blade and prob the toothing blade for extremely difficult grained wood. Although I have yet to come accross too nasty of stuff that my highest angle blade wont plane satisfactoraly (spelling?). There are some drawbacks when it comes to using the BU plane heavily though, which Derek Cohen talks about over at his site. Wear on the backside of the iron can be difficult to hone out of the blade and eventually requires re-grinding. BUt I have yet to experience this myself.

Sorry to throw another option in the mix. But if that isn't a direction you want to head I also agree that the 5 1/2 is the way to go without question.

[Robert Miller]

I ordered the 5.5. with a plane sock, with an extra blade, yikes!

BUT, it's only going to hurt once. Until I have to get two #140's, Thanks again.

[Andrew Gibson]

it's only going to hurt once.

Unless you get it real sharp and cut yourself with it.

Why do you want two #140's

[gary Zimmel]

Good pick on the 5 1/2 Robert. Won't be long and I bet a left and right 140 will be on order.

[jamie shard]

Yeah, you'll enjoy the 5.5! If you want to get obsessed with planing, consider getting the charlesworth videos on planes. It will help you get every thousandth of an inch of performance out of the tool.

[Mike Brady]

Unless you get it real sharp and cut yourself with it.

Why do you want two #140's

R & L, I would guess.

[Robert Miller]

Yeah, you'll enjoy the 5.5! If you want to get obsessed with planing, consider getting the charlesworth videos on planes. It will help you get every thousandth of an inch of performance out of the tool.


I think it will be the right choice,I have both DVD's. Really great instruction.

[Robert Miller]

Unless you get it real sharp and cut yourself with it.

Why do you want two #140's

LN makes both a right and left handed version. If I'm planing end grain, and the grain is going the other way( I'm left handed) you use one or the other. You don't HAVE to have both, but it's the plane obsession thing again.

[John A. Callaway]

I cherish my 5&1/2 ... very much. I bought the 55 degree high angle frog too... you have to take really, REALLY thin shavings on things like curly and bird's eye ... and the hope chest i am currently building is cased in sapele... it doesn't like any plane I own, set up any different way. It just wanted to tear out. but for straight grained wood, you cant ask for a better tool.

[Chris Fournier]

The LN 140 was the first of their planes that I bought, rarely used and finally sold. This thing is a clunker compared to the other block planes that they offer. It didn't even feel good in the hand.

Oh you want to use it to field raised panels you say? Uh huh. The skewed blade gives a better cut... any block plane blade can be skewed by the operator and in either direction.

If you want a LN block plane I highly recommend the 102/103 and the rabbet block. These planes carry their weight and are well worth the money.

The 10 1/4 bench rabbet will field panels and is another plane worth having as it is a bit of a jack of all trades and can be used as a smoother.

[Tri Hoang]

A #5-1/2 is a good size for jointing/shooting tasks. I'm not sure I'd like it as a fore or smoothing plane, though. It's workable but not ideal. A #4/#3 would be better sizes for smoothing.

[Mike Brady]

Chris Fournier commented: "The LN 140 was the first of their planes that I bought, rarely used and finally sold. This thing is a clunker compared to the other block planes that they offer. It didn't even feel good in the hand."

Chris: I have to disagree with you here. Did you give the 140 a chance? You said it was your first plane from LN and it is more complicated than their other block planes; but, I find it very valuable because of the skewed blade and fence. The 140 can be configred for any block planing task. The drawbacks are that you may require both versions and the honing (for me) required the skewed blade attachment for the Veritas Mk II guide. The plane I use the least now is the rabbet block plane because it is a comparitively coarse tool and does not perform particularly well cross grain for tenon trimming. The skew block is much better at that. The fence allows really nice rabbets, where the plain rabbet block needs a straight edge clamped to the work and the optional spur to do that job. If I has to give up a block plane, the 60-1/2 would be the one, since its stablemates can outperform it function-for-function.