Veritas® Side Rabbet Plane or LN Side Rabbet Plane Pair

[Mike Rother]

Hi everyone

about to buy a side rabbet plane (or two?)

trying to decide which way to go. Veritas all in one or the LN pair?

anyone have any experience with both? Either?

thanks

[Tobias Lochner]

Hi Mike. I have had a pair if the LN planes for quite a while and love them. they are classically made and do their job properly. I have not had any experience with this style of LV planes at all, but have a few other LV planes which are fantastic tools.

Best regards
Tobias

[paul cottingham]

I have the LV plane and it works well. You need to round off the blade a bit, and it needs to be really sharp indeed. I have a friend with a set of the LN's and I like them as well.

[Jim Koepke]

The closest I have come is the Stanley 98 & 99 pair upon which the LN version is based.

They come in handy often.

The problem I see with the both in one design is the depth stop can only be set for one side at a time. Most of the time when using one of the side rabbets the other one is needed on the same job. Having to change the depth stop each time the grain or planing direction changes is a "a bit fiddly" if we can still a phrase from the chip breaker threads.

The other part is the nose piece. On the LN it can either be about a half inch skate nose, a bull nose or no nose. The Veritas appears to be a bull nose or no nose. It is sometimes nice to have the extra nose in front of the blade for registration.

jtk

[Hilton Ralphs]

The problem I see with the both in one design is the depth stop can only be set for one side at a time. Having to change the depth stop each time the grain or planing direction changes is a "a bit fiddly" if we can still a phrase from the chip breaker threads.


Jim, the reality is that it takes mere seconds to rotate the Veritas depth stop and recalibrate against the depth of the dado/groove.

Dunno about the nose though, never thought about it.

Mike, take a look at the review Derek Cohen posted on his website. His summary is probably spot on.

[Brian Ashton]

Hi everyone

about to buy a side rabbet plane (or two?)

trying to decide which way to go. Veritas all in one or the LN pair?

anyone have any experience with both? Either?

thanks

You can't go wrong with either. They're made by the top tool makers in the world. Lie Nielsen wouldn't have resurrected an old Stanley design if they didn't think they could make it work and Lee Valley wouldn't have designed theirs if they didn't think it was top notch

[Jim Belair]

I've got the Veritas and it works as expected. One tool vs. two to clean up rabbets leaves me more room in the till for others :rolleyes:

[Chris Griggs]

It really comes down to whether you want one tool or two.

I have the Veritas. It works beautifully and is a comfortable tool to use. I've used the LN. They work beautifully and are also very comfortable to use also.

Honestly, this is probably the one instance where I choose a the Veritas over the LN solely because of cost. I would rather have two planes than one, but the advantage of 2 vs 1 seemed to be a pretty small advantage and wasn't worth $100 to me for a tool that gets used as little as a side rabbet. Really, flipping the handle and depth stop around takes seconds, and more often than not I just use the plane in the opposite direction anyway rather than resetting it.

Anyway, side rabbet planes are really really nice to have when you need them, but I'll go months without using mine, so I just couldn't justify spending $225 on the set. I have zero regrets about getting the LV and it is indeed super handy to have when I need it. BUT if money were taken out of consideration I would probably have gotten the LN, not because I think they are functionally or ergonomically any better, but simply because having two does offer some advantage (YMMV). They are indeed a lovely pair of planes.

So I'd say decide if you think having two is an advantage or not and decide what that is worth to you. Either brand will do a wonderful job getting the tasks at hand done.

[David Weaver]

I'd personally rather have a pair of stanley 79s and leave only one end cutting on each.

Never had the LN's, but at one point had the 98/99 pair,and it costs about the same to get two 79s, and they are easier to use. Be sure whatever you get is complete. there are probably more vintage incomplete planes than there are complete planes.

[Mike Henderson]

I agree with David. I have a set of LN 98/99 planes and a Stanley 79. I mostly use the 79. When I bought it, the 79 was a LOT less expenisve than the 98/99 pair.

Mike

[Added note: If you buy a Stanley 79, make sure it has a depth stop. Makes it much easier to use. I think some of the old 79's did not come with a depth stop, or maybe it got lost.]

[David Weaver]

Yeah, I didn't do a good job of explaining the cost. My 79s were about 50 bucks each. You have to look a little while to find two good ones for that price, but if you find one, it'll work until you can find two.

[Mike Rother]

I agree with David. I have a set of LN 98/99 planes and a Stanley 79. I mostly use the 79. When I bought it, the 79 was a LOT less expenisve than the 98/99 pair.

Mike

[Added note: If you buy a Stanley 79, make sure it has a depth stop. Makes it much easier to use. I think some of the old 79's did not come with a depth stop, or maybe it got lost.]


Thanks guys
I'm leaning towards the LN pair, but just saw that Patrick Leach has a vintage 98/99 for sale in this months list. Only about $75 cheaper than a new set of LNs though.

Thx again

[Chris Fournier]

I have the LN pair. Worth every penny. What clever tools!

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks guys
I'm leaning towards the LN pair, but just saw that Patrick Leach has a vintage 98/99 for sale in this months list. Only about $75 cheaper than a new set of LNs though.

Thx again

I saw those. Those are pre-depth stop. Some people think depth stops are superfluous. I find them useful.

It looks like the current cost of a pair with depth stops is too close to the LN price for me to suggest purchasing used.

The Stanley #98/99 planes can have problems.

The screw that holds the reversible part of the skate is often frozen and has no intention of being removed.

Sometimes there is a crack from over tightening the blade right at the top of the blade and visible on the back side.

Why buy grief when you can by Lie-Nielsen (or Lee Valley).

Here is a short post on the side rabbets:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?129994-Those-Rascally-Rabbets%85&p=1314494#post1314494

It is kind of hidden in a much larger thread.

jtk

[allen long]

I have had the LV reversible side plane for several years and love it.