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Thread: Hello again

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    St. Jacob, IL.
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    122

    Question Hello again

    It's been several years since posting anything. Health issues, other interests, and just life in general. The past few days I've been looking at the first 300 pages or so of threads. Something I've been wondering about is the age groups of woodworkers as it relates to why you like the LV type bench planes or the LN/Stanley type planes. I have a few tools from both manufacturers and know all about the quality. As for me I like the aesthetics of the LN/Stanley much better. I'm in my 60's. I wonder if more people in my age group feel the same and the younger ones prefer the LV.

    Just thinking out loud...Bob

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    Longview WA
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    My preference in bench planes is for the Stanley/Bailey style. The Bedrock/LN style really doesn't appeal to me.

    My other preference is to buy old and restore it into useable shape. Pretty is okay. So is something that looks like it came through the apocalypse.

    My ageometer just went past 68. My first planes were purchased approximately 30 years ago. Back then there wasn't as much choice in planes on the market. Especially if one didn't have a lot of disposable income.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
    Welcome back Bob! Glad you've come back to join us!
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    SE Ohio
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    144
    IMHO a bronze LN #4 with an adjustable mouth, like a custom Veritas, would be the bees knees.

    Having said the that: Most my planes are Baileys.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,209
    I think you would put me in the younger generation. My two favorite planes are double iron wooden planes. Next up are the bailey styles. I have none of new manufacture.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Dickinson, Texas
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    I'm 84 and I love my 604, 605, and 607 Bedrock Planes with Veritas irons and breakers.
    I also have a 5 1/2 Bailey that I use a lot. it is a big wide plane. They all make translucent
    shavings.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Calgary AB
    Posts
    179
    I'm 20 and while I like the Bailey pattern aesthetics quite a bit, some of the LV stuff is up there too for me. The custom plane line, the polished stuff too. I even like the way their saws look - I don't like the material nylon for such a purpose though. I quite like how the BU jointer looks, I have an Apple sticker on mine as a joke. For infills and the like I lean towards makers like Oliver Sparks and Konrad Sauer for their contemporary designs. Aesthetically I guess I do lean contemporary for planes. Even in woodies and making them. I don't dislike the LN aesthetics at all, I have used their saws and planes extensively and the LN dovetail saw lent to me by my design teacher was a gateway into fine tools and good craftsmanship. For me holding something that was aesthetically pleasing was important while attempting to create a new project and holding the saw was a good reminder of what to aim for. I really like the look of the LN bronze smoother and the cocobolo tote (or rosewood?) but the cherry is quite nice still. One of the last planes I would give up is my Stanley no5 with a rosewood tote. when I restored the Tote and knob and gave the brass fittings a quick polish I was sure it was the prettiest plane in my shop.

  8. #8
    I'm dangerously close to 50, not sure if that is young or old generation to you. My bench planes are all old Baileys with stock irons, acquired as inexpensively as possible and restored to good working condition and not beyond. I'm not a fan of either LN or LV. LN are too heavy; LV have unneeded improvements, and both are too expensive.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2016
    Location
    South West Ontario
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    1,502
    You pose an interesting question Bob, I have tried many LV offerings, living near their first store, then their second for many years may have something to do with it.
    My favourite plane was a 5 & 1/2 Bailey until a year ago. A little temperamental to tweak but a wonderful workhorse.
    The LV bevel up has not met the hype. Only in certain woods are they OK. Too much black. They are lighter however.
    I have older Stanley #4’s that work just fine.
    If I can find older tools in good shape I love to buy them but it is hard now. My new favourite are Clifton’s. They are classy heirloom quality right off the bat. Yes heavy and already they have gone up 20% in one year! I could only find one small defect, the brass screw in the front handle was too domed and ate into my hand so I ground them down and now they are perfect.
    i am just 60.
    My LV favourite is the large shoulder plane. The combination plane my least.
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  10. #10
    I turn 54 in a couple weeks, so i guess i'm now one of the old guys. I'll weigh in on the side of bailey pattern type 14 or earlier, with a soft spot for type 8. Not a huge fan of overweight premium planes, though a lie nielsen smoother in a #2 or #3 size would probably be ok. As is, i have more planes than i need and cash is tight so that bronze ln #2 is probably not in the offing...

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Columbia,SC
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    I'm in my early 30s and there's just something about the Stanley/Bailey style I prefer. You can find them for cheap if you are willing to put in a little work to fix them up. They work just as good as a LV. I just find the LV and the LN to just be too pricey for what they are and what they do. Give it 50 years and maybe we'll all start seeing LN/LV by the dozens at flea markets.

  12. #12
    In my 30s and for bench planes I prefer the Bailey pattern, 4,5,7(all with new LV irons/chip breakers). Something about renewing an old tool to new again and taking gossamer thin shavings is a real joy. I do have a LN 62, but it just doesn't resonate the same as the older planes. I also find the Baileys much more comfortable in use.

    For joinery planes however, it's LV. The plow, fillister and router plane are a real joy and a marvel of modern engineering applied to a historic tool.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Charlotte, MI
    Posts
    1,523
    I'm 34 and greatly prefer traditional English and Dutch wooden planes. When it comes to modern premium planes, I've owned or used most of them and gravitate time and time again to the Lie-Nielsen offerings. Nothing against the Veritas, of course.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
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    Thread Hijack Alert - Just one off topic question for Zach please before I am thrown out. Do you prefer single iron or double iron planes in your older Dutch/English lineup?
    David

  15. I'm 32 and new to the forum here. I really only got into woodworking over the last 2 years or so, I've learned a lot along the way, but wouldn't consider myself an expert. My experience, and preference, with planes is with the Bailey style, mostly due to cost. I just can't justify the price for LN or Veritas when I can get a perfectly good tool for much less, with the caveat that I'll have to put some work into it. I also find getting these old tools working to be rewarding on its own.

    Currently I've got a small collection of Millers Falls bench planes (#8, #14, #22), a Stanley #6, and an Ohio #8. I didn't pay more than $60 for any of them, and besides the Ohio (this particular plane has some funky problems, and to be honest I haven't put the effort in yet to really figure it out), they all work great with some amount of restoration/tuning. Besides the planes I own, I've had the chance to try out a number of other Stanley/Bailey copies, including Union, Sargent, Record, and a few others.

    As others noted the prices on old planes have gone up in recent years, but they are still cheaper than new high-end planes.

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