Which lie nielsen smoothing plane

[jeff vanek]

I have a Ln 62, and for my next plane I was looking at the 164 or the #4 or 4 1/2.. Would you guys be leaning toward another bevel up if you only had the 62, or would you want an standard plane like the 4 or 4 1/2 ?

[Bryan Robinson]

I have the LN162 and use a vintage Stanley 4 1/2 and a LN 3 HAF. the standard plane feels right for me.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Bronze #4 with high angle frog. Mine has never failed me!

[jeff vanek]

The 3 or the 4, was what I was leaning toward, I have googled more information on the Ln 3, 4, and 4 1/2, then I care to admit.. I was just looking for more opinions on the next plane that go best with what I already have

[Ben Kiefer]

I own a LN 164, and 4 1/2. I can only tell you what works best for me, but I reach for the 164 much more frequently than the 4 1/2. The 164 is such a comfortable little plane that works well for the work that I do.

[Shannon Brantley]

I think it should really depend on what you are planning on building with it. Bigger surfaces or smaller? And do you work with difficult grains often?

[Jim Neeley]

Jeff,

I started out going BU and then picked up a LN bevel down plane to try. While I still own and sometimes use them (especially for cross grain shooting) I've found that I greatly prefer the blade adjustment mechanism on the LN BD planes a lot better, especially how easy it is to adjust the cutter depth while planing.

With them I start out with the blade retracted, advancing the blade a bit with each stroke until it's where i want it and then slowly retract it as I get to my final cuts so the last few passes leave a beautiful finish. I find "adjust-on-the-fly" a really pleasant and useful feature.

Since getting my first BD LN, my future purchases have all been more BDs.

That's just my $0.02... and YMMV! :-)

Jim

[jeff vanek]

I think it should really depend on what you are planning on building with it. Bigger surfaces or smaller? And do you work with difficult grains often?

No specific project in mind, It would be used for both big and small pieces. It will be used with oak, cherry, walnut and maple most of the time.

[Brian Holcombe]

My experience has been the same as Jim's, and I'm using the exact same smoother as tony mentioned.

I have a Bu jack I bought first, which I like, but I certainly prefer BD now.

[David Weaver]

If I was going to buy any LN, it would be a common pitch 4 1/2. There are so many good 4s out there that the only way I'd buy a 4 from LN would be one of the special blingy ones like tony mentioned.

Actually, I had an LN 4 1/2 for a while, it was a nice plane in a size where a good vintage one costs a sizable fraction of the LN, anyway, unless you get lucky. Using Warrens terms, I like a 4 to be like playing ping pong with a ping pong paddle, and a 4 1/2 to be like playing ping pong with a cast iron pan. The LN afford that, as do some vintage bedrocks, even though the bedrocks aren't much heavier in some sizes (and they're just about cost prohibitive in 4 1/2, anyway).

[Jim Koepke]

Jeff,

The answer to your question can only be found by you.

Is there any chance you can get to an LN Tool Event before you purchase your next plane?

Another question is do you choose to build your tool box around new tools or do you plan to mix and match? All but a few of my planes are old rehabs. My only reason for purchasing new was to acquire models that are price prohibitive in vintage models.

I like my #4-1/2, but it is a bit more work to push a larger plane around. My #3 likely gets more work than my #4-1/2.

My use of bevel up planes is mostly limited to end grain and fairing tasks. (besides, the #164 looks like an odd duck that wasn't a popular choice among users when Stanley made one.)

The idea of having a smoother with a high angle frog is appealing to me. Though in my case I would want it as a spare frog and not my only choice. In such a case a smaller plane like a #3 might be my choice. The reasoning behind this is the times it is really needed is usually for smaller areas.

This also would be if you were mixing old and new. If you are going the all new route, then it is hard to beat the versatility of a good ol' #4.

jtk

[Jim Matthews]

The 4 1/2 as a smoother is a lovely plane.

A little heavy for my taste, but excellent.

You might get more mileage from your LN62
if you bought a fistful of spare blades
and had different grinds available.

Christian Becksvoort wrote an excellent article on that approach...
http://www.finewoodworking.com/tool-guide/article/one-bench-plane-can-do-it-all.aspx

[Jim R Edwards]

I own a LN 4 1/2 with a 45 degree frog. It's a beautiful plane and one of the few bevel down planes I own. If I were buying a LN smoother today it would be the bevel up model. I have grown to like bevel up planes over bevel down. The nice thing about LN tools is that they hold their resale value very well. If you don't like it you can sell it and recoup most of your cost and purchase something else.

[jeff vanek]

I went to the LN event today in Chicago and bought the #4 with the 50 deg frog.