Who wants to try a Veritas Bevel Up Smoother?

[John Coloccia]

That's right. I have a Veritas bevel up smoother that I'm willing to ship to someone to take for a test drive. Why? Because I don't use it very much. Why? Because I don't build furniture...I build guitars. Back when I thought I built furniture, I got it as a gift, but we've all decided ("all" being me and my wife) that I don't have the time to build any furniture anymore because it's distracting me from my actual day job, i.e. building guitars. This particular plane just doesn't get much use in my shop and it's a shame, because it's a heck of a nice smoothing plane.

So this thing is taking up space and I want it out of my shop....but I like it FAR too much to sell it!

I will ship it to the first person to ask for it. Use it, sharpen it, abuse it...it's a tool...it should stand up to some abuse. I already broke the tote and sloppily glued it back together. Whatever. When you're done, post here and send it off to the next guy that wants to try it. Just keep me in the loop as to it's whereabouts. I believe in the good nature of most people, and I believe in putting my money where my mouth is.

So who wants to try this thing?

[Thomas Kila]

John,
I've already got a couple of awesome smoothers, but I just wanted to say I think it's great that you're willing to share a good tool with a fellow woodworker. Mahalo!

[Jonas Baker]

Hey John,

If no one else has volunteered yet, I would love to have the chance to use your plane. I'm thinking of getting the low angle jack so it would be great to test this one out,


Thank you,


Jonas

[Chris Griggs]

Again with this John? Pretty cool! It would be fun if this became a regular thing that any number of people decide to do. Be careful, this kind of generosity and fellowship is contagious. I'd actually love to send something of mine around, but don't have any extras/things I don't use/or multiples - hopefully that will change someday.

There are so many tools that we don't get to try before we buy, so it's such a great thing to have someone be willing to send theirs around. Looks like Jonas beat me to the punch. Oh well, I'll jump on it later.

[Jim Matthews]

That's the spirit!
Good man.

Jim
Westport, MA

[John Coloccia]

And the winners are:

Gary Viggers
Bill Clark De
Jonas Baker.

All please send me your address. I will mail it out to Gary. When he's done, it goes to Bill and then Jonas...and then to whoever else :)

[Don Dorn]

I have an idea that Rob Lee is also in favor of your generosity. After this makes the rounds, I'd be curious how many BU planes he may sell as a result of your goodwill.

[Howard Pollack]

I want to simply applaud your generosity. I appreciate what you are doing. Thank you. -Howard

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I have toyed with purchasing one of these for a long time, but have been very hesitant to do so without giving one a try. Silly me, I should have tried one at WIA 2011, but there were so many things to try there :-)



I would love to be added to the bottom list to give this a try.

Andrew Pitonyak

[Patrick McCarthy]

John, ditto on the comments re being gracious and generous.

BTW, I don't suppose you have an extra car or yacht that are taking up too much space, because if you do I am sure we can put together another list. :)

[Darcy Forman]

That is pretty cool idea. I have had that very plane now for a year. Actually it is the only plane I own to date. However, I use it every time I am in the shop. Some day I may get another type of plane but for right now I sure enjoy useing this one.

[Gary Viggers]

And the winners are:

Gary Viggers
Bill Clark De
Jonas Baker.

All please send me your address. I will mail it out to Gary. When he's done, it goes to Bill and then Jonas...and then to whoever else :)

Guess I picked the right night to stay up late :)

Thanks, John. I'll PM my address.

[Pat Zabrocki]

John,
I have the LN 164 so I won't need to take a turn but just wanted to say this has to be one of the coolest threads ever posted! You're clearly one of the good guys in the world.
cheers
Pat

[Chuck George]

John, PM sent.

Chuck

[Chris Griggs]

No idea where we are on the list, but whoever is currently last, I am officially adding my name just below yours.

[John Coloccia]

Gary's got it.

Bill Clark: Send Gary and myself your address and phone number so he can mail it out to you.

[John Coloccia]

Bill has graciously offered to let someone else give them a try before him as he's not really in the market for one but would just like to try one. We won't forget about you Bill :)

Jonas Baker is up next. Please send you name, address and phone number to Gary Viggers and I so that we can get them to you.

[Scott T Smith]

John, great idea! You're a class act.

Scott

[Joe A Faulkner]

How does one go about getting in the queue?

[John Coloccia]

How does one go about getting in the queue?

You're on the queue back after Bill.

Right now we're

Jonas
Chris
Bill (I put you back on after Chris)
Joe

[Zahid Naqvi]

John, that's might nice of you, done in true SMC spirit. I am often surprised by the camaraderie of woodworkers. I'd throw my hat in the list but I am afraid I'll be tempted and I already have all the basic planes I need from a smoother all the way to a jointer. Must keep temptations away.

[Nathan Callender]

If the offer is still standing, I would love to give this plane a try. I'm thinking about getting a few good planes (I have a couple beaters) and would love to know what I'm missing. Unfortunately, I don't live near enough to a woodworking store to try them out. :-( Thanks for your very generous offer, btw!

[Jonas Baker]

John, this is so gracious of you. I am next up on the list, so I sent John and Gary my address. I will let both of you know when it arrives.

As I said in the PMs, I am pretty excited to try this plane. My next plane will most likely be the Low Angle Jack, but who knows, maybe after trying this I'll want the low angle, or the bevel up smoother. I need something that will work on difficult grained hard woods without tear out.

I assume this plane is coming with a 25 or 30 degree bevel on the blade? I do want to try it at a higher angle on some really hard birdseye maple I have.

Looking forward to receiving it. Thanks again John for giving us the chance to try it.

Jonas Baker

[John Coloccia]

Well, it's about time to pass this thing on. I've been busy and haven't really been paying attention, but it looks like Chris is up. Chris, please send Jonas and I your address and phone number.

[Chris Griggs]

Sweet! Sending PM momentarily!

[Maurice Ungaro]

John,
Could you please put me on the wait list as well?

[John Coloccia]

So the current list, after Chris, is

Bill (I put you back on after Chris...you waited long enough)
Joe
Nathan
Maurice

This time I'm going to try and pay more attention and keep it to about 2 weeks or so.

[Chris Griggs]

So the current list, after Chris, is

This time I'm going to try and pay more attention and keep it to about 2 weeks or so.

I'll turn it around pretty quickly. I should get it some time next week, so my plan is to play with it next weekend and then send it back out the following week.

[Chris Griggs]

Ok, I've got the BU smoother packed up and ready to go. A good time was had! John correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Bill is next on the list. Bill, send John and I your address and phone number please, and I'll ship this out tomorrow or Tuesday.

[John Coloccia]

Yep, Bill his next. He gave up his spot earlier on, but he's up if he wants it. Bill, send Chris and I your name, address and phone number. Thanks Chris.

[Dwight Beebe]

Hi John,

I'm a bit north of you, in Western Mass. Would it be possible for me to get my name on the wait list?

Regards,

Dwight

[John Coloccia]

Hi John,

I'm a bit north of you, in Western Mass. Would it be possible for me to get my name on the wait list?

Regards,

Dwight

Sure thing, Dwight. I think I'll end this round with you. That should take us through the next few months and then I'll have some fun with it again :)

[John Coloccia]

Well, I haven't heard from Bill. I'll give him until the end of the day, and then we'll move on. Going once....going twice....

[John Coloccia]

Alrighty, then. Mr. Joe Faulkner....you're up. Please send Chris and I your address and phone number.

[Maurice Ungaro]

John, I just picked up a LV 4 1/2. It should be fun to compare them in a side x side comparison.

[Chris Griggs]

John, I just picked up a LV 4 1/2. It should be fun to compare them in a side x side comparison.

I DEFINITELY want to hear the comparison. Be sure to write up what you find out.

[Maurice Ungaro]

I DEFINITELY want to hear the comparison. Be sure to write up what you find out.
Will do, Chris. I'll try to go through a few species of wood for testing. Mahogany for sure, some oak, Southern Yellow Pine, and some maple, if I have any.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Alrighty, then. Mr. Joe Faulkner....you're up. Please send Chris and I your address and phone number.
Done. I have an end grain cutting board on the bench right now, so I'm looking forward to taking this plane for a spin. My plane collection consists exclusively of reburbished Stanley's, so I'm particularly interested in seeing how this compares.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Safely arrived in Indiana today. Next stop - end grain cutting board.

[Chris Griggs]

Glad it arrived safely. Have fun with it Joe, I know I did. I had never used any kind of BU plane before so I am really glad I had a chance to use it. Feels really different if you are used to BD planes, but it really does perform wonderfully. I still think I have a preference for BD planes in most cases (probably because thats what I'm used to) and I likely won't buy one of these for myself (although I have an LA jack on the way for shooting), but I must admit this thing just bulls through the wood like it isn't even there and once I got used to the different feel I really got why so many people love these planes.

[John Coloccia]

Nathan, you're up! Joe PM'd me that he's had enough fun. Nathan, kindly send your name and address to Joe and I, and we'll get that out to you :)

[Nathan Callender]

Hey all - just sent my address to you. I'm pretty stoked!

[Dirk Lewis]

John, just stumbled across this thread and have to say you get my vote Creeker of the Year! Very cool. Wish I was south of the border as I would have loved to participate.
Well done!

[Joe A Faulkner]

Have to say that it was fun having this. Nathan, it was shipped this morning. You should have it early next week.
As a relatively new handtool guy, this was the first "modern" premium plane I've ever had the opportunity to use. It helped me get a better sense of what to expect from my refurbished #4 Stanley, and it motivated me to finish honing the iron on the old #8 Stanley that I received as a Christmas gift. Thanks John!

[Robert Thomas]

Hay guys.
Have not been here for a while. Just this morning I was looking at my Luthier workbench (where I had broken it a few years ago)thinking I wish I had a good Smoothing plane to use to help fix this end grain. I come back here and I find this. So can I get on this good Karma list???
Thanks RCT

[John Coloccia]

Hi, Robert. I'm sorry, but I decided to end this with Dwight. I needed to get it back at some point to use it myself so I had to draw a line somewhere. I'll probably send it out again at some point, though, since it seems like a popular game, and you'll be first on the list. In the meantime, I'd love to see your luthier workbench :)

[John Coloccia]

So the current list, after Chris, is

Bill (I put you back on after Chris...you waited long enough)
Joe
Nathan
Maurice

This time I'm going to try and pay more attention and keep it to about 2 weeks or so.

So the current list is now:
Nathan (will have it in a couple of days)
Maurice
Chuck
Dwight

It looks like Chuck contacted me some months ago and I accidentally forgot to add him. I'm going to stick you before Dwight, Chuck. Sorry, Dwight, but he got to me back in January and I just forgot to add him.

[Robert Thomas]

Great John
I'll show off the luthier workbench when I get it fixed up a little bit. Other wise I'll have to explain how I broke it. No one wants to here about that.
Thanks RCT

[Dwight Beebe]

So the current list is now:
Nathan (will have it in a couple of days)
Maurice
Chuck
Dwight

It looks like Chuck contacted me some months ago and I accidentally forgot to add him. I'm going to stick you before Dwight, Chuck. Sorry, Dwight, but he got to me back in January and I just forgot to add him.

Hi John,

No apology necessary. I'm happy to have the chance to try out the plane, and later is just as good as sooner.

Take care,

Dwight

[John Coloccia]

Maurice: You're up next. We all know the drill..... Maurice, you send your name, address and phone# to myself and Nathan, and Nathan will finish up and mail it out to you.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Sent you both PMs. Looking forward to giving this a spin!

[Nathan Callender]

Maurice the plane is on its way to you. Enjoy!

[Maurice Ungaro]

It arrived yesterday, but I won't be able to play with it until tomorrow night. Have to head out overnight for a friend's wedding. Plan on testing it out on some maple cutting boards first, then some SYP and some mahogany.

[John Coloccia]

So update: Maurice is passing it on to Chuck. That means that after Chuck there's only one guy left and then it will go back to it's owner....who appears will be Maurice :) LOL.

[Maurice Ungaro]

My many thanks go out to John for being generous in allowing us all to partake in this sharing experience. This has been an eye opener for me, as I have a Veritas 4 1/2, and really enjoy the mass it brings to the party. I like a heavy smoother, and when comparing the BU Smoother to the 4 1/2, the results were hair splittingly similar, with regard to the chips produced. I operation, the BU Smoother, with it's low center of gravity, seems to sail through the wood. The result is a heavy smoother with less effort needed to push it.

I tried out both planes in three different woods: Southern yellow pine; maple; and, mahogany. For me, anyway, the results were consistant across the three species of wood - same fine shavings, but with less effort to push the BU Smoother. I'm looking forward to getting it back. This time, for good!

[John Coloccia]

Did Chuck ever get back to you, Maurice? If not, let's get this show on the road and get it to Dwight. Since we'll need it anyway, Dwight, please be so kind as to send Maurice and myself your address and phone number.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Chuck received it on 1 August. He indicated to me that he would turn it around in a week, if not sooner. Dwight, you need to swap info with Chuck, John, and myself.

[John Coloccia]

Well, it is with a bittersweet satisfaction that it's time to bring this to a close. During the 9 months this plane has been out of my shop, I've discovered that I don't miss this plane one bit for the kind of work I do (not really a flat surface in sight in my shop!)....and Maurice fell in love with it...so Maurice, please give Chuck all of your info as the plane is heading back to you, assuming you still want it.

Amazingly enough, this plane has travelled thousands and thousands of miles, over the better part of a year, and passed through many hands without one hiccup or problem. In fact, many of the recipients only had a couple of posts and were pretty much unknown to our little community. It kind of affirms my initial guess that people are generally good :)

[Maurice Ungaro]

John, many thanks go out to you for being such a such a good host, and offering generously of your time and tools. Thanks again! Chuck and I will correspond.

[Scott T Smith]

John, yours is the gift that keeps on giving! Maurice stopped by my shop today and he was kind enough to bring your (former) bevel up smoother along for me to try out. WOW - what a great tool! One of these is definitely going on the Christmas list.

My thanks to both you you for sharing the opportunity to try out this wonderful tool.

Scott

[John Coloccia]

John, yours is the gift that keeps on giving! Maurice stopped by my shop today and he was kind enough to bring your (former) bevel up smoother along for me to try out. WOW - what a great tool! One of these is definitely going on the Christmas list.

My thanks to both you you for sharing the opportunity to try out this wonderful tool.

Scott

One of these days, Rob Lee is going to have to send me a t-shirt or something :) I definitely wouldn't recommend sending tools out like this, but I had some luck on my side and everything worked out.

Stay tuned. I'm may press my luck one more time in the near future, though it won't be with a hand tool. I have someone local that I'd like to try it first (he's setting up a new shop with dust collection...hint hint) but it may be available in 2 or 3 months for more fun and games.

[Maurice Ungaro]

Scott, good to see you yesterday! Thought you would fall in love with that plane with the first pass on that red oak!

[Scott T Smith]

Scott, good to see you yesterday! Thought you would fall in love with that plane with the first pass on that red oak!

I did.....