Most versatile veritas hand plane?

[jeff vanek]

What the most versatile veritas hand plane? I'm looking for a shooter and a smoother all in one, which would you suggest ?

[Mark Salomon]

Hands down the LAJ.

[David Weaver]

I would suggest the same.

[Jim Koepke]

+1 more on a Low Angle Jack.

I have the #62 from Lie-Nielsen. I have used mine mostly for shooting and some jointing or smoothing.

The Veritas will likely fill your needs quite well. It also has a blade that is 1/4" wider than the #62. You may want to add a second blade with a bevel at a higher angle for smoothing work.

For fine smoothing I like a bevel down plane. If you do not already have one, an old Stanley/Bailey smoother would be a fine addition to your fleet.

jtk

[Andrae Covington]

Not to dissuade you from the jack, which surely qualifies for the "most versatile", but if you are just specifically looking for a smoothing and shooting-board plane, also consider the Low-Angle Smooth Plane... not to be confused with the Bevel-Up Smoother Plane. Between those two BU smoothers, the Low-Angle Smooth Plane has ground sides which allow it to be used for shooting, like the Low-Angle Jack Plane.

[Jay Maiers]

Not to dissuade you from the jack, which surely qualifies for the "most versatile", but if you are just specifically looking for a smoothing and shooting-board plane, also consider the Low-Angle Smooth Plane... not to be confused with the Bevel-Up Smoother Plane. Between those two BU smoothers, the Low-Angle Smooth Plane has ground sides which allow it to be used for shooting, like the Low-Angle Jack Plane.

Does the added size and mass of the jack plane make it a better candidate for shooting?

[Rob Fisher]

Does the added size and mass of the jack plane make it a better candidate for shooting?

Generally yes. But the increase in length makes it harder to use as a smoother.

[Tony Shea]

The Jack is a better candidate for the shooting operations while the Low Smoother odviously is the superior in smoothing operations. But I only own the LAJ and use it constantly for smoothing squirrelly grain with a high angle blade installed. It just takes a lot more work to get my boards smoothed all over due to the longer sole of the plane. But I do end up with an extremely flat finished peice, at least right after smoothing. After sitting for a few weeks it probably isn't so flat.

I would start out with the LAJ if I was you as it is an extremely handy plane and very easy to set-up and use.

[Chris Griggs]

I don't have any BU planes (other than blocks), but I think it bears mentioning that the Jack can also be used as a small jointer, which if you have no other planes, is something you'll be glad about.

[Jay Maiers]

Great information guys. Thanks!
I'm still a little ways away from buying one, and have to decide if I want a better smoother or a better shooter. My Stanley #3 &#4 do a pretty good job on the wood I've used so far, but I've yet to test them on really figured grain. For that reason, and the fact that I hate my current shooting setup, I'm now leaning towards the Jack.

Crazy timing on this thread: I was just pondering this point last night as well as trying to figure out the difference between the two BU smoothers. Thansk OP!

[glenn bradley]

LAJ, enough said. This is one of those gems where everything just seemed to come together. Regularly gets high praise for a wide cross section of users. I rarely even bother with remove the hotdog for smoothing. I have the 25 and 50 degree irons.

[bob blakeborough]

The LAJ definitely gets my vote for versatility...

[John McPhail]

I have the LAJ and use it all the time like everyone else. But the LAB is finding new frontiers for me more and more, especially with the ball-end and front totes installed.

[Jack Curtis]

The Jack is a better candidate for the shooting operations while the Low Smoother odviously is the superior in smoothing operations. But I only own the LAJ and use it constantly for smoothing squirrelly grain with a high angle blade installed. It just takes a lot more work to get my boards smoothed all over due to the longer sole of the plane. But I do end up with an extremely flat finished peice, at least right after smoothing. After sitting for a few weeks it probably isn't so flat.

Yes, the LN/LV LAJ is the winner for me. However, Tony, I think it important to differentiate between flattening and smoothing. The former has no smooth requirements, just flat; whereas smooth says ready to finish.

Jack

[David Flynn]

I was recently asking a similar question in another forum and I got very helpful responses. I found Derek Cohen's response - he put it into numbers - very helpful. I hope I am not violating any rules, but here is part of what he said:

If it helps think of them this way - Out of 100 ... The LAS scores 75 as a smoother and 75 as a shooter. The LAJ scores 55 as a smoother and 90 as a shooter. You could total the scores, or you could pick the scores that meet your priority.

I chose the Low Angle Smoother and I couldn't be more happy. I have 2 blades - my smoothing blade is at 40 degrees. I was working on some oak and some maple and I was getting tearout on them with a standard bevel down plane. The Low Angle Smoother put on a glass like finish with no effort.

I don't have a lot of experience shooting, but this past weekend I was working on a maple table all by hand. My hand saw cuts are ok but not perfect, so I touched up the legs and stretchers on a shooting board with the LAS - I had no problems. It was easy and the results are great. (I hope the mitre saw will continue to gather dust.)

While I'm sure that the LAJ is great, I am very happy that I went with the low angle smoother.