Low angle planes vs. standard bench planes

[Kevin Blunt]

Could anyone point in th eright direction to an article explaining the differences and benefits of each style of plane. I am thinking of adding the Veritas Low Angle Jack to my arsenal but am not really sure what added benefits it will give me over the standard bench planes that I own now.

Thanks for any advice or help.

Kevin

[John Todd]

Not sure what planes you have, but the Veritas Low Angle Jack (or the Lie-Nielsen equivalent) offer amazing flexibility. They both make wonderful planes to use with a shooting board. The low angle works wonderfully on end grain. Additionally, the Veritas LAJ has those dimples that some don't like, but I think are wonderful that make them very easy to use with a shooting board. It's not just a shooting board plane though. Many people use them in a variety of typical bench plane uses for larger items.

The other benefit of a bevel up plane, like both the LAJs is that you can own a couple of irons to have low angle, regular angle or even York Pitch for use on difficult woods. Cheaper to have a couple of extra irons than to buy a high angle frog for a Lie-Nielsen 4 or 5 or 4 1/2 or 5 1/2. The other benefit is that the irons for the Veritas LAJ also fit their Bevel Up Smoother (BUS), or their Bevel Up Jointer (BUJ).

Most people who buy LAJs love them. I use mine in a variety of ways. While there are some who always love LNs for the bronze or the totes, most people seem to in this case like the Lee Valley/Veritas a little bit better. (I won't participate in a LV vs. LN discussion though!) The flexibility of the plane is the key...

[Zahid Naqvi]

Kevin, handplane central www.handplane.com has everything you ever wanted to know about hand planes.

[Greg Crawford]

My LV Veritas Low Angle Jack arrived a couple of days ago, along with a 25, 38 and 50 degree blade. Just got all three blades honed and polished today, and I've tried the 25 and 38. Can't wait to try the 50 on some gnarly wood. This is my first high-end plane, and so far, I love it. I can see that it has a great deal of versatility as well. It also has about 1/3 of the sole in front of the mouth, so it registers against the work very well. I figure I got three planes for the price of one.

[Jim Becker]

Gregg, I hope you'll post a "review" of your impressions with all three blades. That low-angle jack will likely be my next hand plane...

[Raymond Stanley]

The popularity of bevel up planes has really taken off in recent years, as compared to the hayday of handplanes. One of my first planes I got, and the one I use the most, a LV BU Jack. It certainly has many benefits, including the availability of the mid-priced but high quality lee valley planes and its versatility with its blades. But it also has at least one (rarely mentioned) weakness, regarding the wear bevel:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=46995

Once I have a full collection of planes, I think that I will mostly use the traditional bevel-down planes for face and edge work. But for me getting a BU Jack was the cheapest fastest way to get started in handplanes.

Good Luck!
-Ray

[Brad Olson]

Regarding the wear bevel. If you are seeing a wear bevel that requires more than a 1000 grit stone to remove, your plane is way beyond dull.

A better practice with any plane (BU or BD) it to touch up the blade at a regular frequency.

I find that with modern A2 irons I can get a good work out with the blade and then I pop it out real quick and touch it up on a 8000 grit stone (maybe 4-6 strokes) and done for the day/task. The only time I drop below a 4000 grit stone is when I nick the blade. While it may seem like this is sharpening more, it is actually sharpening LESS. Maintaining and edge with 4 strokes on a 8000 grit stone is much easier than spending 30 minutes grinding and re-honing a new edge.

Why all this fuss? Because if a plane iron is getting dull, this means that last stroke you put on the wood will be the worst. Since I use handplanes NOT for the joy of using them per se, but because I can go from handplane to finishing without sandpaper. Thus if I am not properly maintaining my edges, the last edge the wood sees is the worst and I end up having to sand anyway and negating all the effort of handplaning.

[Greg Crawford]

Jim,

I'm hardly qualified to make a great judgement on the plane, as it's the first good plane I've gotten. I'll put some (hopefully) objective observations together and post them. I haven't used the high angle blade yet, but the other two blades have performed well.

Greg

[Jim Becker]

I'm hardly qualified to make a great judgement on the plane, as it's the first good plane I've gotten. I'll put some (hopefully) objective observations together and post them. I haven't used the high angle blade yet, but the other two blades have performed well.

That's perfectly fine...comments from folks like you and me who are new to hand places are just as valuable as those from very experienced folks. Our expectations are sometimes different and that includes ease of use.

[lowell holmes]

I have the Veritas bevel up jack plane. I have the 25 and 38 irons. The 25 degree iron is good on a shooting board and endgrain. With the 38 degree iron, it performs favorably with a LN 4 1/2. I have a curly maple project coming up, so I ordered a 55 and the serrated 38 to use on the maple. I hope they will ease the pain of working the maple.

They say the 38 is comparable to a "York" pitch. The jack plane is longer than a #5, with a 2 1/4" iron. I think with the 38 in it, the plane does a decent job for joining.

I like the LN 4 1/2 for smoothing because I have a slight camber in the iron and with a fine setting, it leaves absolutely no iron tracks on the surface.

I havn't figured how to sharpen camber in a bevel up plane yet.

[Randy Klein]

I havn't figured how to sharpen camber in a bevel up plane yet.

Here's a thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=61788) I had on that.

[Eddie Darby]

The BU route is a good way to go for someone who has limited funds and/or limited space, and wants to have as much versatility as possible with each tool they buy.

All you need to do is perform a back bevel on the flat back of the blade each time you sharpen.

The time consuming job of initially flattening the back of the blade that is necessary with BD blades is not needed with the BU blades. This saves an enormous amount of time at the start, but you slowly eat away at that time saving throughout the life of that blade.

Since most BU planes are usually fitted with a Low Angle 12 degree bed, and all that is needed is a few degrees for clearance, then one has the option of making a 5 to 7 degree back bevel that will make for a more durable edge when working tough woods. The David Charlesworth "Ruler Trick" puts a small back bevel angle in the area of 1 degree.

I do not see the BU planes as having negative features, just that the approach with these planes has to be different from the approach of a BD plane, that is all.