Gloat ...LV BUS

[Jim W. White]

Guys,

I know we've already discussed this plane at length in several previous threads but I couldn't help posting anyway. This just showed up late today and didn't find it on the porch until getting back from a movie. I had to race into the garage and give it a run through while my wife got the kids in their jammies (bless her heart.) It is my second LV plane (also have the 112-like scraper) and I must say I'm constantly impressed by the engineering that goes into these Veritas products.

This smoother is nothing short of wonderful. I bought the 50 degree blade as well as the standard 38 and I've been too impressed with the standard (york) configuration on the fiddleback maple to even change over to the higher pitch as of yet.

Thanks to all the creakers that gave previous reviews on this plane. It realy is the cat's meow!

...Jim in Idaho

http://myweb.cableone.net/jimnbeck/smoother.jpg

[Mike Wenzloff]

Well, congrats on the plane, Jim!

It does work very well. Take care, Mike

[Brian Hale]

Congrats Jim! That could be the next plane i purchase (or the medium shoulder plane) and it'll be a good match for thr BUJ i got a couple weeks ago.

Give us some detailed input about it after your floor is covered with shavings!

Brian :)

[Jim W. White]

OK,

The floor is not quite covered with shavings, but I think I've used it long enough to make a couple of conclusions.

1.) I really like this plane!

2.) I've decided to return the 50 degree bevel blade and stick with my LV scraper plane instead for the final pass over the really figured sections/pieces.

My conclusions may have been different if I didn't already have a large format scraper plane which I'm quite happy with; but I found the 62 degree setup (12 degree frog + 50 degree blade bevel) to be a little too extreme. What I men by this is that it was extremely hard to push across the wood and was much more prone to gouging the near perfect finish you were quickly approaching than the large LV scraper plane with the blade bowed in the middle.

Now to expand on the first bullet... Did I mention I really like this plane?! :D

Several of the really nice features which you can easily gleen from the manufacturer but don't trully appreciate until you've worked up a good sweat with the plane would be the following:

a.) EASILY adjustable mouth - Adjusting the mouth with the turn of the front knob is really enabling for clearing the throat effortlessly when you couple it with the set screw which allows you to slide the mouth right back to the same location without even looking down at it.

b.) The set screws on either side of the blade which lock in the left and right spacing of the blade in relation to the mouth opening work very well.

c.) The brass cap lever tightening knob works extremely well at locking the iron in place without loosing the blade position you just eye-balled for quite some time. It is also just the right diameter to allow you to tighten down the cap without overtightening.

d.) The rear adjustment knob which controls blade depth as well as blade angle works better than any other I have ever seen.


Now the only problem is the growing feeling that I'm going to have to replace my Bailey #8 with the BU jointer. Oh well ;)

[Brian Hale]

Looks like we have similar conclusions about these planes. Like you, i find the adjustments easy to use and well designed.

Having never used a Bailey #8 jointer i can't compare it to the BUJ but i can say the BUJ will put just as big a smile on your face as the BUS when you use it. Nice weight and really fun to use. In fact i stopped using my 6" Bridgewood jointer for prepping boards for edge gluing, the BUJ is just as fast and the joint seem a tad tighter.

Brian :)

[David Abel]

OK,

The floor is not quite covered with shavings, but I think I've used it long enough to make a couple of conclusions.

1.) I really like this plane!

2.) I've decided to return the 50 degree bevel blade and stick with my LV scraper plane instead for the final pass over the really figured sections/pieces.

My conclusions may have been different if I didn't already have a large format scraper plane which I'm quite happy with; but I found the 62 degree setup (12 degree frog + 50 degree blade bevel) to be a little too extreme. What I men by this is that it was extremely hard to push across the wood and was much more prone to gouging the near perfect finish you were quickly approaching than the large LV scraper plane with the blade bowed in the middle.

ll ;)

I wonder what Lee Valley will do with that used blade that you return?

[Brian Hale]

I'd keep the blade and regrind it to a different bevel, perhaps 30*.......

[Steve Clardy]

Jim. Sounds like you got a nice one!

[Derek Cohen]

<I>I found the 62 degree setup (12 degree frog + 50 degree blade bevel) to be a little too extreme. What I men by this is that it was extremely hard to push across the wood and was much more prone to gouging the near perfect finish you were quickly approaching than the large LV scraper plane with the blade bowed in the middle.</I>

Interesting, Jim. I use my BUS in 62 degree mode all the time. I appreciate that you - and others - find that this makes for hard work. I suspect that I have just got so used to it that I do not notice. Or perhaps I have mine set up differently to you. Or perhaps you are not used to the weight of this plane. Or ...

My BUS is set up for very fine shavings, something in the region of .0005". Even in the extremely hard wood I use, this does not make for hard work. If I switch to a HNT Gordon Smoother that is set a tad too heavy, it is then very hard work, more so since this is a light plane and lacks the momentum of the BUS.

The BUS does not need a host of blades. I'd say one or two are all that you will need, a standard angle for most soft- and straight grained wood, and a York pitch for the average hardwood. If I were to choose just one blade setting, I'd plump for the York pitch since even pine has knots and reversals that tear out.

Regards from Perth

Derek