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Thread: In this situation...should I just get a Veritas jack plane?

  1. #1
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    In this situation...should I just get a Veritas jack plane?

    After reading/listening to a lot of Chris Schwarz stuff, I got interested in buying a vintage pre-war Stanley jack plane. And that has proven to be a harder search and a bigger PITA than I expected, (See the thread immediately below) AND I kind of need a jack plane right now to flatten my new workbench. (I glued it up a little wrong, and it has a 1/32" hill down the middle.)

    Long story short, I was *given* a nearly-new Veritas jointer plane a while ago...along with a brand new toothed and high-angle blade for it(!) A retiring woodworker took interest in me, what can I say. In this situation, I'm thinking of just buying a veritas low-angle jack plane and being done with it. Yeah, it'll cost me $250 as opposed to...say...$75, but because the Veritas blades are compatible, I'll have a nice setup. And I'll just be able to get flattening. Is there something I'm missing (besides the expense vs. 'cool factor' of having a hundred-year-old tool)?

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Shankar View Post
    After reading/listening to a lot of Chris Schwarz stuff, I got interested in buying a vintage pre-war Stanley jack plane. And that has proven to be a harder search and a bigger PITA than I expected, (See the thread immediately below) AND I kind of need a jack plane right now to flatten my new workbench. (I glued it up a little wrong, and it has a 1/32" hill down the middle.)

    Long story short, I was *given* a nearly-new Veritas jointer plane a while ago...along with a brand new toothed and high-angle blade for it(!) A retiring woodworker took interest in me, what can I say. In this situation, I'm thinking of just buying a veritas low-angle jack plane and being done with it. Yeah, it'll cost me $250 as opposed to...say...$75, but because the Veritas blades are compatible, I'll have a nice setup. And I'll just be able to get flattening. Is there something I'm missing (besides the expense vs. 'cool factor' of having a hundred-year-old tool)?
    You don't need a pre-war jack plane. One from any era will do. A Stanley Handyman would do fine and you wouldn't be scared to use it. That said, I'd just the jointer plane you already have. Put some camber on the iron and get busy.

  3. #3
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    It's your money...plenty of people on here will try to spend it all for you....

  4. #4
    I have a Veritas bevel-up jack and like it a lot for some purposes. I wouldn't want to use it for flattening a workbench. For heavy-duty work like that, you really want to have a cambered blade, and a cambered blade bevel-up plane is requires a lot more camber than for a bevel-down plane to get the same effect. With the thick blades that come with the Veritas planes, that can take a lot more effort.

    Derek Cohen has written about this topic: https://www.inthewoodshop.com/Woodwo...aneBlades.html

    A cambered blade can remove material much, much more quickly than a flat one. If you've never used one before, you will be shocked when you see how much faster it works. Chris Schwarz also talks quite a bit about the importance of a cambered blade.

    If you want a jack plane to do normal jack plane tasks, it really should be a bevel-down plane for this reason.

    As I said earlier, I like my Veritas bevel-up jack, but I mostly use it as a short jointer. I could live without it, though. On the other hand, I would not want to give up the two Stanley #5 jack planes that I have -- one has a heavily cambered blade, and one has a less-cambered blade, and they are great for doing things that a jack plane is supposed to do.
    Last edited by Winston Chang; 03-30-2020 at 12:48 PM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Charles Guest View Post
    That said, I'd just the jointer plane you already have. Put some camber on the iron and get busy.
    Can't (easily) put a cambered blade on the jointer plane...it's a bevel-up plane.
    Last edited by Sam Shankar; 03-30-2020 at 4:23 PM.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Shankar View Post
    ...I'm thinking of just buying a veritas low-angle jack plane and being done with it...
    The prices are going through the roof for vintage planes right now. A vintage low angle Stanley 62 is going to cost more than a Veritas/Lie Nielson low angle jack (and a Chinese Wood River cost the same as the Veritas/LN these days). I have a Lie Nielson low angle jack and a Veritas jointer in addition to some well-working post WWII Baileys. My boutique planes worked right out of the box, I expect you'll have the same experience. If you can sharpen then you're all set. Also for fettling vintage planes it helps to see the boutiques in action to experience well-working planes.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Shankar View Post
    Can't put a cambered blade on the jointer plane...it's a bevel-up plane.
    I don't understand why a cambered iron can't go on a BU plane.

  8. #8
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    Try it, and find out.....let us know how it turned out...

  9. #9
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    The toothed blades are pretty good for rough flattening, too -- I used the LV LAJ and toothed blade to flatten a workbench of reclaimed doug fir. This worked better than a cambered blade due to the tendency of the petrified doug fir to tear out badly.

    I would prefer a cambered blade to take down a very high spot if the grain is not too bad. You can use almost any plane for this -- a #4 or #5 of almost any vintage, with heavily cambered blade should work pretty well.

    Have you tried using your jointer with toothed blade for this ridge yet? Go diagonally across the grain and keep checking with a reference edge (straightedge or edge of plane) until things looking flat, and then you can switch to a non-toothed blade for removing the roughness of the toothed blade.

    Matt

  10. #10
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    Low angled jack and a "quiver" of blades can handle many tasks. I would want a "test drive" before committing to this approach, first.

    https://www.popularwoodworking.com/w...andplane-need/

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    I don't understand why a cambered iron can't go on a BU plane.
    Well, you can, kind-of. This is what I think of when I see a cambered iron

    camberedblade1.jpg

    This is a view of what is the "cutting" side of the blade. In a BU plane, it is the other side that is doing the cutting. I have never tried it and do not know anyone who has, so, I do not know how that affects the cutting. I don't know if you would still call it cambered, or just that you now have a curved edge.

  12. #12
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    You could do it just fine with a $50 # 4 smoother, if you tune it up. Plain across the grain first, then 45 degrees one way then 45 across the other way then finish up long grain. Keep your change.
    Last edited by Mark Hennebury; 03-30-2020 at 3:02 PM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Shankar View Post
    Can't put a cambered blade on the jointer plane...it's a bevel-up plane.
    Sure you can, though you have to remove more metal than you would on a bevel down iron.

  14. #14
    IMHO, I'd just get the Bevel up Jack from Veritas. Given that you have a high angle blade and a toothed blade for it, you'll immediately have a more versatile low angle jack than most people with a single blade do.

    It's a great plane. I've come to love it and appreciate what's good and not so preferable about it:

    Good: It makes a good shooting board plane, it has very nice heft so it can be used aggressively if you wish. Dropping in and resetting the blade with the low angles is a little easier than a double iron. It can be used on end grain
    Not so good: for me, there's no beating a well set bevel down for tear out. However, you can always get a #4 for that purpose. It's heavy, so if you are planning to use it as a scrub thicknesser, I'd reconsider.

    I don't think one needs a cambered blade to flatten a bench. I used my LA jack to do it just fine. It's a question of how much material you need to remove, I guess.

    At one point I had a #5 hacked together franken plane. I gave it to a friend. It was so good and light but I wanted to treat myself to somethign with a handle that didn't come loose all the time. I was wooed into getting a Veritas LA jack way before that, and it sat largely unused until I sold the #5. I started using the LA jack out of necessity and really haven't looked back. It's all about knowing your tool, I think. I can make it do what I need it to do, and know its limitations.

    I think either a #5 or the LA jack can be made to serve you just fine. If you're having an easy go of getting the LA jack, I'd prob do that. If you don't like it, I am sure you'll always be able to sell it for close to new price. Just take care of 'er.

  15. #15
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    There were a bazillion Stanley #5 made and you should be able to find one for cheap. I've had a number of them and I wish I still had one. A Jack Plane need not be fancy. It's a purpose built plane used after the scrub and before the smoother. The Stanley bevel down cutter is much easier to camber than a bevel up iron too.

    All that said, I had a Veritas BU Jack. It was really nice and a total performer. I never used it as a Jack though. It was like a cross between a jointer and a smoother, and good for shooting end grain with the 25* blade. I sold it, as I already have a good jointer and a good smoother.
    Sharp solves all manner of problems.

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