My first miter plane

[Mateo Panzica]

This plane has a 8 1/8'' sole. The 1 11/16'' blade is honed at 25 degrees and bedded at 17.5 degrees. I used O1 instead of A2 steel because of the steeper bevel. I feared that A2 would be prone to chipping. The knob can be screwed into either side or topside. The body is stainless. It's a bit of a tank, but I'm into weighty planes.

[Frederick Skelly]

Very nice work, as always! How does she feel in use? Is the knob comfortable when shooting miters?

[Mateo Panzica]

It is... but it functions more like a thumb hook than a knob.

[Derek Cohen]

That's very nice indeed, Mateo.

Why the 17.5 degree bed? How did you come up with that angle?

With regards to O1 vs A2, I have complete confidence in Veritas A2 blades with a 25 degree bevel in a 12 degree bed shooting hardwood endgrain. I have not experienced chipping in over a decade of using this combination. I cannot speak for 17.5 degrees, however, and I suspect that such an edge may become more vulnerable as the bed angle increases (I compared 12 degree and 45 degree beds, and the lower BU beds far outlasted the higher BD beds when shooting).

How much weight is "weighty"? :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mateo Panzica]

17.5 is the number you settle on when you don't see a clear benefit to a 15 or 20 degree bed. I wanted to allow the user to have a low angle cut, but easily micro-bevel to a steeper angle.

As a user, I vacillate on a O1/A2 preference. As a maker, A2 is a no-brianer. I usually send my A2 blades out at 32.5 degrees. At 25, I used O1 to be on the "safe" side. I, too, have not have problems with A2 at lower angles... but this plane isn't for my personal use, and (right or wrong) I do bow to the consciousness of opinion.

[Andrew Hughes]

Bad ass plane!

[Patrick Chase]

This plane has a 8 1/8'' sole. The 1 11/16'' blade is honed at 25 degrees and bedded at 17.5 degrees. I used O1 instead of A2 steel because of the steeper bevel. I feared that A2 would be prone to chipping.

You mean steeper bed / *shallower* bevel right?

If so then I think you're right - 25 deg is generally too shallow for A2 in my experience. You want something fine-grained with an edge that acute.

EDIT: I see that Derek reports success at 25 deg with Veritas A2 irons, and come to think of it my Veritas low-angle shave has held up pretty well at 25 deg (I'd forgotten that was an A2 blade, but it is. The shaves were only available with A2 irons back when I bought it). I suspect that processing and hardness/tempering come into play here. Veritas' A2 blades seem softer than some others, and that would help with low bevel angles..

[Jim Koepke]

Nice plane Mateo. My LA jack has an A2 blade honed to 25º and doesn't seem to chip a great deal outside of running into a knot or something harder than the wood.

jtk

[Stewie Simpson]

Given the bevel angle, O1 was the right choice to make. imo