LN Skew Block vs LV Skew Rabbet

[Bill Fleming]

Watched Crosman's Drawer Making Video and noticed him using the LN Skew Block - seems like a nick fit for this plane not sure the LV would be as good a fit but if one were to buy only one which is the most practical.

Any thoughts appreciated....

Thx Bill

[lowell holmes]

I have both planes (actually three with both LV planes). The planes seem to have different uses in my shop. The LN skew block is good for trimming tenons and also dressing dove tails after assembly. I suppose the LV planes can be used for such a thing, but ??

The skewed block plane has a lower center of gravity than the LV planes.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Bill

While the LN skew block plane does not have an adjustable mouth, it is set up with a small mouth for precision planing. This type of plane can take a moderately thick shaving, but is best with a fine shaving.

The LV Skew Rabbet planes are designed for a different purpose. With a rebate plane (ech to rabbet!), one wants to remove waste as efficiently as possible. Shavings need to be thickish. So these planes are set up with a wider mouth.

Similar planes but different goals.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Maleski]

I think Cosman teaches a method of using the skew block plane to cut a (very) shallow rabbet, crossgrain, on the inside face of the board being dovetailed. When transferring marks for the pins, the shoulder of the rabbet helps ensure the two boards stay aligned. Having never tried that trick and not being the owner of a skew block or skew rabbet plane, I have no idea whether the skew rabbet would work well for that application. I have wondered the same thing myself, though.

Mark

[Pedder Petersen]

Hi

Tom Fidgen has both and describes them in his rescent blog entry.

http://www.workingwood.ca/the-taming-of-the-skew/#comments

HTH Pedder

[David Keller NC]

Bill - Depends on what your work centers around. I have the L-N planes (both right and left handed versions) and use them as small panel raisers. If you make a fair number of pieces with smallish raised panels (10" X 14", for example), I'd recommend the L-N planes, as they're easy to maneuver on that small of a scale.

I don't (yet) have the L-V rabbet planes, but I do have the stanley as well as the wooden equivalents in rabbet planes and panel raisers. My thought there is that a wooden panel raiser is easiest to use on large, furniture-scale panel work. However, if you prefer metal planes, the L-Vs are certainly going to be a better deal than buying the antique Stanley skew-rabbet (which is very pricey because of rarity).