Extra blades for LA jack

[Dan McGonigle]

I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on the LN no. 62 low angle jack. It’s a plane I’ve been wanting for year. (Out of stock at the moment). I will definitely be using this plane for shooting, but also want to take advantage of the versatility of it and be able to use it for general use and smoothing difficult grain.

Is purchasing additional blades, honed at different angles, really worth the cost? $45 a blade on top of $265 for the tool is really pushing the budget for me, but if it’s worth it, I could swing an additional blade.

Would like to hear thoughts on this, thanks.

[Derek Cohen]

With the LA Jack, my view is that 2 blades are necessary: a 25 degree for shooting or planing end grain; and a 25 degree + 50 degree micro/secondary bevel (i.e. 62 degree cutting angle) for planing interlocked or other face/edge grain. For less severe and general grain, choose a 40 degree micro/secondary bevel (52 degree cutting angle).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Thomas Wilson]

I have found the toothed blade to be useful for stock removal. Added benefit is that it makes great packing material for wine boxes.

[Jim Koepke]

Dan, my LN #62 was used mostly for shooting. Sure it could pull as fine a shaving as any other of my planes:

Shavings on LN #62.jpg

A micrometer tells the story:

Shaving in Micrometer.jpg

0.0003" or 3/10,000" is a pretty good shaving any day from just about any plane. And yes, it can also make thicker shavings.

For shooting, imo, you will likely find a hot dog more useful than a spare blade. It would be possible to make your own hot dog. Derek Cohen shows how on his web site:

inthewoodshop.com

Unless you are importing some exotic gnarly grained woods you will likely find a bevel down plane to work quite well for your needs. Extra #5 Jack planes are likely cheaper than spare blades if you have yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, junk stores and any number of other places where old tools show up for sale. A few of my #5s were $15 or less. That way one can be set up with a cambered blade for scrub plane work. One can be set up with a 5-10º back bevel to work gnarly grain with a high angle blade. One can be set up with a straight blade as a short jointer and one with the slightest of camber for a smoother.

My use of a shooting board grew enough that it led me to purchase a left hand shooting plane. My original reason for purchasing an LA Jack for shooting was because of an old shoulder injury. This was before Lie-Nielsen or Lee Valley had shooting planes on the market. A bit of extra money allowed my purchase of a dedicated shooting plane and it is even nicer than the #62. My shooting plane was purchased as a left hander because it is my right shoulder that get sore from too much rough work. My #62 is now on the shelf waiting for those times when something absolutely positively has to be shot from the right hand side.

jtk

[Jerome Andrieux]

I would not recommend low angle planes for an expensive « jack », versatile, plane.

For smoothing or jointing difficult woods, the possibility to reach 50 to 90 degrees cutting angle is great. On common woods, the chip breaker is just as good.

To shoot hard wood end grain, 25 degrees is to weak to be durable. 35 is better but makes no difference with a bevel down.
And the plane cheeks are too narrow to keep it plum on difficult pieces, compared with bevel down planes.

To remove lots of material, I find heavy cambers to be difficult to maintain on such low projection, thick and short blades.

If you only want to put money on one good plane and some blades, then itÂ’s good enough. That or a 5 1/2 for the same blade width.

You can’t go wrong with lie Nielsen, veritas or even the quangsheng clones, they are good planes, but I am not sure the “jack” aren’t actually more specialized than versatile for the price.

[Phil Mueller]

+1 on Derek’s view based on what you plan to use it for (shooting and difficult grain).

[Derek Cohen]

I would not recommend low angle planes for an expensive « jack », versatile, plane.

For smoothing or jointing difficult woods, the possibility to reach 50 to 90 degrees cutting angle is great. On common woods, the chip breaker is just as good.

To shoot hard wood end grain, 25 degrees is to weak to be durable. 35 is better but makes no difference with a bevel down.
And the plane cheeks are too narrow to keep it plum on difficult pieces, compared with bevel down planes.

To remove lots of material, I find heavy cambers to be difficult to maintain on such low projection, thick and short blades.

If you only want to put money on one good plane and some blades, then itÂ’s good enough. That or a 5 1/2 for the same blade width.

You can’t go wrong with lie Nielsen, veritas or even the quangsheng clones, they are good planes, but I am not sure the “jack” aren’t actually more specialized than versatile for the price.

Hi Jerome

I have used a Veritas LA Jack for a little over 16 years. It is an excellent plane, beautifully made, and with advanced features. Mine is as good as the day it arrived.

Over these years I have used it as a shooting plane, and short jointer, and as a panel plane. It has planed end grain, face grain and across the grain (traversing). It does all these effortlessly.

I have used A2, PM-V11, CPM-3V, and M2 blades in this plane.

For shooting, a 25 degree bevel is all I have ever used, and never experienced any chipping. In fact, at 25 degrees (for a 37 degree cutting angle) I absolutely guarantee that an A2 edge will last longer in this plane that an A2 blade in a BD LN (or any other similar BD) plane. Check this out if you are sceptical: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...tingPlane.html

With regards cambering a blade for a BU plane, I sorted this out nearly 14 years ago! It is easy-peasy when you use the right technique: create the camber as part of a microbevel on a 25 degree primary bevel. The original article is here: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Woodwor...aneBlades.html

Note that this reply is not about which plane - BU or BD - is the better choice (I am not disagreeing with you here, except that it should be pointed out that the BU is the superior shooting plane). It is about how to set up a BU plane, as requested by the OP.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Prashun Patel]

For difficult grain I prefer to stick with bevel down. Even for shooting a shooting plane performs the task easier. The la Jack in my hands is truly a Jack of all trades and master of none. For stock removal I prefer a smaller lighter plane.

This is not to say I don’t use it. I use it a lot for general planing or as a short jointer. I have several blades for it and really only use the 25 and toothed blades.

I thought at first a la with many blades would be a money and space saver. But eventually, in my hands, I found happiness with more specific, individual tools for those tasks.

[glenn bradley]

I'm in the shallow and steep camp. I got my LAJ for shooting and went with the 25 degree iron. I also have a 38 and a 50 but, my irons are interchangeable between 3 planes so the "added" cost is mitigated through increased usefulness. All those big words aside, a 25 and a 50 (or a 50 degree secondary on something else) would be my choice for the use you describe.

[Jim Koepke]

I also have a 38 and a 50 but, my irons are interchangeable between 3 planes so the "added" cost is mitigated through increased usefulness.

This makes sense to me if one is planning on having the Veritas trio of BU planes.

jtk

[Jerome Andrieux]

Hi Jerome

I have used a Veritas LA Jack for a little over 16 years. It is an excellent plane, beautifully made, and with advanced features. Mine is as good as the day it arrived.

Over these years I have used it as a shooting plane, and short jointer, and as a panel plane. It has planed end grain, face grain and across the grain (traversing). It does all these effortlessly.

Hey Derek, I know that you enjoy your veritas jack plane and I like mine too. I agree they are splendid planes but they just don’t feel as good to me in many ways. Nose heavy, straight handle... A thousand cuts, something like that.

For anyone looking to buy one, I always recommend your fine articles. But when I let people try mine, most often than not, they decide on the bevel down.

[Rob Luter]

I guess I'm odd man out, as I don't think the LN 62 makes for a great shooting plane on anything but really small stuff. It's too light. I used to use a LV 62 1/2 (LA Jack) which is much heavier, but sold it it favor of a LV Shooting Plane. I had all the different irons with that plane. The high angle (50* I think) was awesome for tough grain.

All that said, I love my LN 62. It's light and maneuverable. I have three irons. One is sharpened at 25* and one at 50* for tough grain. The other is toothed. I'll be investing in a 4th one day and grinding a camber on it for traditional jack plane work (that is unless I can find a good #5 for cheap).