Curious about LV bevel down planes

[James Scheffler]

Just curious. Flipping through the Lee Valley catalog recently, I was reminded that they have a whole line of bevel down bench planes. I've rarely ever heard anything about these planes, either good or bad. When people ask for buying advice, it's almost always "should I buy a LV bevel up or a LN?" Given that quality between the two makers is said to be a toss-up, and the LV bevel down planes are around $100 cheaper than the LN equivalents, why so little attention? The design looks solid and well thought out.

Now in my opinion, the LV bevel down planes don't have the sexy good looks of the LN planes, but I wouldn't think that would be such a big deal.

Jim S.

[Prashun Patel]

The LV BD planes get excellent marks from most reviews. The BU's are sexier, but the BD's are every bit high quality (at least this is my opinion).

[Augusto Orosco]

LV also doesn't have a BD jointer (nor several of the equivalent LN offers, if you are into full Stanley numbered sets). I think your LV BD options are limited to smoothers and a jack (#4, #4 1/2 and #5 1/2)?

Their adjustment mechanisms are also different; but that's a matter of preference. It seems to me that with the LV BD design, the mouth is easier to adjust.

Overall, I agree that that the LN planes look sexier (I see a bronze #4 in my future soon). I also like their tote design more, but that's certainly a matter of personal taste.

Although I don't own any LV BD planes, I do have their low angle block plane, the BU jack and a scrub plane: They are all outstanding. I haven't bought a single item from them that wasn't of great quality, so I would expect their BD planes to also be excellent. They wouldn't let a product go out to the market if its quality wasn't up to par.

[Zach England]

I have a 5 1/4 and I really like it. It took a while to get used to, though. The Norris-style adjuster is great and it is easy to adjust the frog and mouth.

[Zach England]

The tote profile is quite a bit different. Here is a comparison with a Lie-Nielsen plane. The Veritas also has set screws for fixing lateral adjustment. I can't decide if this is a nice feature or is superfluous. The other thing about the Veritas is that you can adjust the mouth without a screwdriver.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/zachslc/IMG_1032.jpghttp://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o237/zachslc/IMG_1031.jpg

[Ron Kellison]

I've had a LV #4 for several years now and love it! It's comfortable in my hands, easy to adjust and does everything I expect of a #4. The use of bronze doesn't have anything to do with performance but it does help the marketing. Both types of planes work, and the LV and LN examples are both well made. I would rather spend the difference in price on wood.

Regards,

Ron

[James Scheffler]

Zach,

Now that I see the LV with a little bit of wood dust on it, it looks a lot better. Maybe the catalog makes it look too perfect?

Jim

[Zach England]

Funny. After I uploaded the pics I thought "I really should have dusted it off a bit."

[Jules Martin]

I have purchased a few LV bevel-down bench planes over the years - the scrub, the 5 1/4, the right-angle plane, and most recently the #6. I can confidently say they are completely excellent planes, needing nothing but a hone to work excellently. I find the totes very comfortable, although some seem to have a hate on for them.

I wrote to Veritas when I got the #6, because it was a striking chunk of excellent design, outstanding manufacturing craftsmanship, and superb functioning.

You won't find a meaningfully better plane. I don't work for the company.

[Zach England]

I am really craving a Veritas no. 4. Like I need ANOTHER smoothing plane...

[Sam Takeuchi]

Their 5-1/4W has been on my "next plane purchase" list for a while. It's nimble yet large enough size that it's perfect for small to medium size musical instrument making. I simply don't have enough room to add more planes for the time being (tiny work area), so until I figure out storage issue, I think this purchase has to wait.

[Jim Koepke]

If my memory is working, someone once mentioned that the tote comfort may have to do with the user's bench height.

The angle of the arm in relation to the plane's use could change a lot about how the tote feels.

jtk

[Tony Zaffuto]

If my memory is working, someone once mentioned that the tote comfort may have to do with the user's bench height.

The angle of the arm in relation to the plane's use could change a lot about how the tote feels.

jtk

What Jim says 10X. For newbies looking at this thread, whatever plane you use, try planing at different heights, until you find the best combo of bench height, your height and tool. For me, though I'm only 5'-8", my bench height of around 30" works best for me (primarily Bedrock or Bailey style planes).