Anyone thought of fitting a fence to the Lee Valley LA Jack?

[Matt Lau]

I bought a Low angle Jack about 3 years ago as my first good plane.
I've never regretted it since...and I don't give a crap regarding resale value.

It's about the perfect size for jointing guitar neck-length blanks.
Since I'm rather bad at jointing wood freehanded (aside from guitar backs and tops), I was thinking of attaching the fancy jointing fence to my plane.
I have a corded hand drill and a set of vintage taps. I'm considering drilling some screw holes for the plane.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=52414&cat=1,41182,52515

Has anyone done this to their LA jack?

-Matt

ps. Alternatively, I'm tempted to go make my own version of the fence with some scraps and rare earth magnets.

[Chris Griggs]

LV sells one with that attaches via magnets..

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=41716&cat=1,41182

[Derek Cohen]

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Lee%20Valley%20Bevel%20Up%20Jointe r_html_7c471ec9.jpg

Fits anything.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Matthews]

I wouldn't drill any holes, where double sided tape will do.
Take it off when you're done - no drilling required.

http://www.startwoodworking.com/post/quick-trick-jointing-boards-hand

294274

[Tom Bussey]

Great tip on the double sided tape. I am going to try that.

[Mark AJ Allen]

LV sells one with that attaches via magnets..

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=41716&cat=1,41182

That's a interesting idea but if my memory serves correctly, I've tried it and it doesn't fit properly. There is a disclaimer stating that fence doesn't fit the bevel up jointer and smoother either .. I believe that's also the case for the Jack. It's works well on the planes it's meant for.

[ronald mccormack]

I have this same plane and also love it, with spair blades honed at different angles it is very versatile and an excellent shooting board plane
I know lee valley sells fences with magnets but fifty bucks is a lot for magnets and a piece of bent metal. I have made wooden fences attached with small c clamps but the low slung nature of the plane body makes it difficult. I would glue rare earth Meg nets into a wooden fence just make sure the fence covers part of the blade so you don't get ridges and many a dowel in front of the plane so the fence doesn't pull of due to friction. I'm pretty sir the commercial version has these pins to help push the fence along

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Great tip on the double sided tape. I am going to try that.

+1

and I own the Veritas fence!

[Jim Koepke]

My thought on such a thing is to do no damage to the original equipment.

One solution could be a long shooting board.

Another could be a wooden fence made to attach without holes in the side of the plane body.

jtk

[john zulu]

No drilling please. Use the attachment from LV

[Matt Lau]

Thanks everyone!

Has anyone tried the magnetic attachment on the LA jack (aside from Mark)?

I may make my own--until I can budget for a LA jointer (if I ever do. It seems overkill for guitar work).

-ps. On second thought, I may just make it.
I have all the parts I need, and UHMW film and rare earth magnets are cheap on Amazon.

[Mark AJ Allen]

Confirmed ... LV fence will not fit LA jack properly. It has a peg on the upper, front part that is a tad too low to give clearance to allow the fence to attach to the side of the plane properly.

[Daniel Rode]

I've been practicing creating square flat edges freehand. It's not really that hard. I can do it with my #6 or #4. IMO, getting it flat has been harder than getting it square.

[Christopher Charles]

I wouldn't hesitate to drill and tap for a fence -if- you'll use the configuration. If done well should not affect, and might even enhance resale. That said, I would not try to drill without a drill press.

Good luck,
C