My Lonely LN BU Jack

[Charlie Ross]

I wanted to start using hand planes, so I purchased: 4 ½, 3, #7, BU Jack and a few block planes. I’m not sure what to use my Jack plane for since I don’t need it for a smoother or planner. From what I understand one of the nice things about a Jack, is that it can be used for several purposes, including a shooter. So I was wondering if I should set it up with a toothed blade for heavy removal, or if anyone has another suggestion.
Thanks,
Charlie

[David Weaver]

If you don't use it for a shooter, I don't know what else you'd use it for. Using the double iron in your jointer should negate any need for a toothed iron. There's probably a reason that there aren't gobs of common pitch hogging planes out there with toothed irons from 175 years ago.

I use the only LA plane I have for a shooter, it works nice for that though it still doesn't get used too often.

[Chris Griggs]

I would (and pretty much do) just use it as a dedicated shooter.

[Zach Dillinger]

I wouldn't use a toothed plane for heavy stock removal. No reason for it. And I'm still not sold on using a bevel up plane for rough work. I know the modern planes are much better, quality wise, than the old ones, but I still can't get ever a perceived fragility that stems from seeing so many 62s with busted castings and chipped mouths. If I were you, I'd probably keep the BU as a shooting plane and find a vintage jack (Stanley-esque or woodie, doesn't matter) for my rough work. Or sell the BU, still buy the vintage jack, and use the 7 for shooting.

[Steve Friedman]

Besides using it as my shooting board plane, I use a toothed blade in the Low Angle Jack to flatten boards to eliminate tear out. Just swap the regular blade back in and the tooth marks clean up easily. It might be different if I had a high angle frog for one of my bevel down planes, but I don't (yet).

As an aside, I would not use the toothed blade for "heavy" stock removal. Those teeth will break off if you hit something hard (DAMHIKT). A cambered iron in a #605 is my tool of choice for heavy stock removal before going to the low angle jack.

Steve

[Mike Allen1010]

[QUOTE=Zach Dillinger;2085021] If I were you, I'd probably keep the BU as a shooting plane and find a vintage jack (Stanley-esque or woodie, doesn't matter) for my rough work.

Hi Charlie,

I'm with Zack, I think it's really helpful to have a vintage #5 Jack plane set up with an open mouth and a fair amount of camber to the blade (a little less than a typical scrub plane), for rough stock removal.

I use my LN BU Jack as the next step, sort of a "fore" plane for leveling out the high spots/ridges left by the jack. The LN Jack is a little short for this (I typically would use The longer #6 or #7 as a fore plane), but I like the LN as a fore particularly with hardwoods, because the narrower blade is easier to push and it can be quickly sharpened.

I guess there are a couple schools of thought; some guys like to use a few well tuned planes and adjust them for different uses, personally I Appreciate the luxury of having a number of planes, each set up and ready to go for a specific use.

All the best, Mike

[Charlie Ross]

From what I’m hearing, how’s this sound… I’ll have one blade for a shooter, and have another with a camber for rough stock removal? Once the smoke clears from buying all the new planes and sharpening stones I’ll pick up a vintage roughing plane. Or do you think one of my other planes would better double as a roughing plane.
Thanks for all the help guys, I still have a lot to learn with these planes; still not sure what to use, where!!??


[QUOTE=Zach Dillinger;2085021]Or sell the BU QUOTE]

Now you've gone too far:eek: :D

[Zach Dillinger]

Hehe. I think you're better off getting a separate roughing plane rather than using any of what you have. I prefer a longer roughing plane, as I think it is easier to produce a flat surface with one than with a scrub plane. You can find a decent #5 or a wooden jack for less than the cost of a new blade for your BU.

[Matthew N. Masail]

Hehe. I think you're better off getting a separate roughing plane rather than using any of what you have. I prefer a longer roughing plane, as I think it is easier to produce a flat surface with one than with a scrub plane. You can find a decent #5 or a wooden jack for less than the cost of a new blade for your BU.

I'm with Zach on this one. once the scrub basically levels it all out I really like using my trying plane (about 19 inches) for major stock removal. so a jack would probebly be nicer than
a scrub.

however a small scrub is nice for locolized removal.

[Steve Friedman]

From what I’m hearing, how’s this sound… I’ll have one blade for a shooter, and have another with a camber for rough stock removal?

Agree with Zach and others about getting a vintage #5 for the roughing. I think it was Derek Cohen who wrote an article about the geometry of cambering a bevel up blade, which requires you to remove a ton of steel. Doesn't look like fun. #5's are plentiful and cheap. It doesn't even need to be super flat. Just needs a very sharp blade and a frog that will support the blade solidly. If you want to supercharge it, get a Hock replacement blade and cap iron for the #5. It will soon become one of your favorite planes.

Steve

[Prashun Patel]

I have a toothed blade for my BUJack. I love it - but not for stock removal. It's good for working areas prone to to tearout.

I end up using my BUJack as a back up for my other planes: It's a jointer when the #7 is a little long for the job, and a smoother when the #3-4 is too small. I like having a utility player in the lineup, where everyone else plays a designated role.

[Gary Hodgin]

I use my LN BU jack as an intermediate plan in typical woods. It's primary bevel is 25 degrees and I add a 5 degree secondary bevel. The one thing I definitely prefer it for is planning end grain on stock to big to use on my shooting board. I prefer it over the my block plane. I don't have a normal block plane. Mine is the LN small block plane.

It a good shooting board plane as well. I really like the size and weight of the plane.

[Jim Koepke]

These kinds of threads really bring to mind how everyone does things in different ways.

My LN BU Jack is used primarily for shooting end grain. It occasionally sees other duties.

My specific reason for using this plane for shooting is because of a shoulder injury.

That same injury makes using a #5 as a scrub plane a bit difficult. For me the lighter and narrower #5-1/4 makes a great scrub plane. An old plane that was beat up for years by nomadic high school shop students has the job. It has cracks in the sole around the mouth and a few other indications of foul play, but it does the job it is dedicated to do. There is also an undamaged #5-1/4 in the shop for regular use.

For short pieces my #5 is often used to work the edges and another is set to take light shavings to remove any tear out.




I guess there are a couple schools of thought; some guys like to use a few well tuned planes and adjust them for different uses, personally I Appreciate the luxury of having a number of planes, each set up and ready to go for a specific use.

All the best, Mike

+1 on having a number of planes set up for different tasks.

jtk

[Jim R Edwards]

I use my bevel jack for almost everything. It's the most usefull plane I own and I own almost every size. I cannot imagine doing hand tool work without my bevel up jack.

[Jack Curtis]

The big advantage of a BU Jack is that it makes a great first plane because it works right out of the box and it can do almost all planing tasks to a very high level. Then you can take your time determining which functions need specialized planes. At this point, I primarily use it for shooting end grain; but I have a couple of Japanese shooters, so I've really been thinking about selling the LN. Something keeps me from doing that, perhaps sentiment, it was my first great plane.

[steven c newman]

I have a Vintage #5 as a cambered plane257848 And a couple #6s as Fore/Try planes257857 and IF I get around to making a shooting board, that #6c would be on it, There is also the usual smoothers around. Even bevel a table edge with a few planes257862257863 The #4 to start the end grain bevels, and the block plane to smooth it off. The long grain sides were beveled with the longer plane. I do have three BU planes.....all block planes. The newest of which is just under 60 years young....

[Adam Cruea]

Agree with Zach and others about getting a vintage #5 for the roughing. I think it was Derek Cohen who wrote an article about the geometry of cambering a bevel up blade, which requires you to remove a ton of steel. Doesn't look like fun. #5's are plentiful and cheap. It doesn't even need to be super flat. Just needs a very sharp blade and a frog that will support the blade solidly. If you want to supercharge it, get a Hock replacement blade and cap iron for the #5. It will soon become one of your favorite planes.

Steve

I didn't get a Hock, but I did get a replacement LV A2 iron and cap. This turned one of my #5's from a "meh, decent" to my "go-to" plane for almost everything. Rough work? #5 with a wide mouth and that iron sticking out like a sore thumb. Pre-finishing work? #5 with the iron barely peeking out and the mouth shut like a spy's. Some finish work on smaller pieces? #5, same way as pre-finish.

Don't get me wrong, I still *love* my #8 smooth-bottom I bought from Supertool. There's nothing like ramming that 10 pound monster down a board and hearing the wood shaved gently off and never feeling that thing slow down in tough grain. Same with my two #7's. But by far, my #5 gets the most work of all my planes. It really is a jack-of-all-trades type of plane just because of the size.

Oh, and getting an old #5 Bailey or Stanley is pretty dirt cheap. I think I got my rust-bucket on Fleabay for around $30, and that seems to be a fairly usual going price.

[steven c newman]

I have looked at those Bevel up jacks, decided they were nothing more than overgrown Block Planes, and moved on. Maybe I should try this one to shoot small miters?257905

[Jonas Baker]

I wouldn't use a toothed plane for heavy stock removal. No reason for it. And I'm still not sold on using a bevel up plane for rough work. I know the modern planes are much better, quality wise, than the old ones, but I still can't get ever a perceived fragility that stems from seeing so many 62s with busted castings and chipped mouths. If I were you, I'd probably keep the BU as a shooting plane and find a vintage jack (Stanley-esque or woodie, doesn't matter) for my rough work. Or sell the BU, still buy the vintage jack, and use the 7 for shooting.

I have a Lie Nielsen 62 and I use it with a toothed iron for heavy stock removal as well as shooting with the hotdog attachment. I enjoy using the toothed iron, as I am able to remove a lot of wood with little effort, and not have to worry about getting tear out. Of course a heavily cambered iron in a jack plane works very well also. I am moving more and more to using wooden planes (jointer and jack), and I just don't get as much satisfaction out of using iron planes, but the #62 is one I keep for it's technically proficient design.

I compared shooting on a Lie-Nielsen 51, #9, and a 62 with the hotdog attachment, and they all worked well (of course a #6 or 5 1/2 will work well too in terms of getting the job done), but they were also all comfortable in use when shooting. I find the #62 works very well for shooting, and is very comfortable with the hotdog attachment. I get sore hands when using a bevel down plane when shooting, and I also can't get as good as a grip which can lead to the plane getting off of it's sides and not shooting at proper perpendicular angle to the board when you are shooting thicker wood that may be more difficult to shoot, like thicker pieces for instance.

So for me, the low angle jack is not used as a jack of all trades, but it comes in handy for a lot of tasks even still.

Jonas

[Zach Dillinger]

I have a Lie Nielsen 62 and I use it with a toothed iron for heavy stock removal as well as shooting with the hotdog attachment. I enjoy using the toothed iron, as I am able to remove a lot of wood with little effort, and not have to worry about getting tear out. Of course a heavily cambered iron in a jack plane works very well also. I am moving more and more to using wooden planes (jointer and jack), and I just don't get as much satisfaction out of using iron planes, but the #62 is one I keep for it's technically proficient design.

I compared shooting on a Lie-Nielsen 51, #9, and a 62 with the hotdog attachment, and they all worked well (of course a #6 or 5 1/2 will work well too in terms of getting the job done), but they were also all comfortable in use when shooting. I find the #62 works very well for shooting, and is very comfortable with the hotdog attachment. I get sore hands when using a bevel down plane when shooting, and I also can't get as good as a grip which can lead to the plane getting off of it's sides and not shooting at proper perpendicular angle to the board when you are shooting thicker wood that may be more difficult to shoot, like thicker pieces for instance.

So for me, the low angle jack is not used as a jack of all trades, but it comes in handy for a lot of tasks even still.

Jonas

A toothing iron will work ok for heavy stock removal. I just don't think it does a better job than a vintage jack, certainly not enough to justify buying a new toothing iron when a vintage jack could be had for significantly less than the iron itself. I much prefer peeling a big ol' 1/16" shaving or so with my wooden jack plane to the toothing iron / 62. On stock removal, tearout isn't a concern unless you are really gouging up the grain (shouldn't happen with smart stock selection and proper sharpening / planing technique) or you are doing a finished surface with the plane (not likely with a toothing iron, unless its the inside of a case, in which case tearout is meaningless). Different strokes and all that. I'm glad you found something that works for you. And no doubt the plane is handy.

[Jim Koepke]

A toothing iron will work ok for heavy stock removal. I just don't think it does a better job than a vintage jack, certainly not enough to justify buying a new toothing iron when a vintage jack could be had for significantly less than the iron itself.

Why buy a toothing iron when pitted blades are a dime a dozen and do the same thing? :D

jtk

[Zach Dillinger]

That there is a million dollar idea! Take the old pitted blades and sell 'em as specialty toothed blades for heavy planing. Brilliant!

[Mark Roderick]

To prove that there are many roads to the same end, I do use my low-angle jack plane for stock removal and love it. To flatten a table top, for example, I use two planes, my low-angle jack with a toothed blade, then my jointer with a regular blade, both by LN. The advantage of the toothed blade is that there is much less chance of disastrous tearout than using a scrub plane. So you get the rough surface with the toothed blade and follow it up with the wonderful long jointer. Goes very swiftly and smoothly.

I guess I should add that I also use the low-angle jack as a shooting plane and other general-purpose tasks.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I use my LN low-angle jack for rough work too - bought a second blade and ground a heavy camber on it for working across or diagonally to the grain. I've managed to wear all the finish off the handles which are now this weird gray color, but it does the job for me.