#1 Deciding what I should get for X-mas - LV Smooth Planes

[Tim Dorcas]

I am trying to figure what I should ask my wife to get me for Christmas. I am thinking about getting a Lee Valley Smooth Plane. I should add that I already have a LV Low Angle Jack Plane.

Lee Valley has a multitude of Smooth Planes.

#4
#4 1/2
Bevel Up
Low Angle

If you could only get one, which do you think would be the most useful? I am also thinking about getting a LV Jointer Plane.

[Frank Martin]

The BUS (the heavy one) is a great smoother. Also, it shares the same blade with the LV Low Angle Jack that you have and the bevel up jointer you may get in the future. Personally, I don't care for the bevel down planes, because the bevel up design is so much simpler and easier to adjust with a much wider range of angles.



I am trying to figure what I should ask my wife to get me for Christmas. I am thinking about getting a Lee Valley Smooth Plane. I should add that I already have a LV Low Angle Jack Plane.

Lee Valley has a multitude of Smooth Planes.

#4
#4 1/2
Bevel Up
Low Angle

If you could only get one, which do you think would be the most useful? I am also thinking about getting a LV Jointer Plane.

[Lewis Moon]

The BUS. Grab a 38 and 50 degree blade to go with it. I now wish I had gone this route rather than starting out with the LAS and then getting the LAJ.

[Danny Thompson]

I asked for the Bevel Up.

Re: Lewis's suggestion about the 38 and 50 blades. Another alternative is one Derek Cohen has suggested . . . i.e., it may be easier to maintain 38 degree or 50 degree secondary bevels on the normal bevel-up plane blade than the 38 and 50 degree primary bevel blades. Something to ponder.

[Lewis Moon]

I asked for the Bevel Up.

Re: Lewis's suggestion about the 38 and 50 blades. Another alternative is one Derek Cohen has suggested . . . i.e., it may be easier to maintain 38 degree or 50 degree secondary bevels on the normal bevel-up plane blade than the 38 and 50 degree primary bevel blades. Something to ponder.
I hadn't thought of that. Great tip, especially with the ginormously thick blades on the BUS and LAJ.

[Jim W. White]

Another vote for the BUS! It performs so well I find myself reaching for it all the time.

[Gary Herrmann]

Yes, another BUS driver here.