Jim Becker asked for it now! This is my first tool review on SMC, so I hope I do a good job for the readers. About 95% of what I know about hand planes has come in the last 7 months, and much of that from SMC. While I believe I’ve gotten some great information, I’m no expert. My entire collection of planes consists of a 3 Stanleys, a 9 1/2, a Handyman and a well abused #5, and now my Veritas.
Fitting miters on hardwood molding takes care, and curved molding even more so. It has always driven me nuts to try to not trim too much, but shave just the right amount. When I first learned of shooting boards for hand planes, it really got my attention. I whipped one up and tried my grandpa's old Stanley Handyman on some end grain. Not a disaster, but not pleasant. It got worse when I checked the sides of the plane for square. My #5 was just as bad, and the block plane just wouldn’t cut it for me. At that point, I started researching good planes for shooting boards. I pretty much decided on a low angle plane, but the old Stanley 62's were more expensive than a Lie Nielsen or Veritas, so I turned my focus to those. I had heard many good things about both, and the decision actually came down to LV offering 3 different angles on blades that would work in their Veritas plane. With a 25 degree blade and the 12 degree bed, it gives 37 degrees for end grain. The 38 degree blade gives a combined angle of 50 degrees (york pitch) for good smoothing, and the 50 degree blade gives a steep 62 degrees for tackling figured wood. Combine that with the adjustable mouth, and I figured this would be a very versatile tool, so I ordered the plane with all three blades in the A2 steel.
There have been some nightmare stories about packaging and shipping from Creekers lately, so I thought that would be a good place to start. The plane was well packed, with a box inside a box with paper wadding surrounding the inner box. The plane came with a fake plastic blade installed, and the real blades all neatly packed in their own boxes. Inside these boxes the blades were in a plastic bag, with a tag suggesting the user save the bags for storage to help prevent rust (there is a claim that it is a corrosion resistant bag). Everything arrived in great shape.
I also wanted to compare it to my #5, so I placed them side by side. As you can see, the Veritas is slightly longer and wider, but the part I difference I like best is the front is slightly longer. Just as LeeValley claims, it does make the plane register to the wood in a very pleasant way.
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