Differenece between LV low angle smoother and Lie Nielsen low angle smoother

[Zhi Tian]

I am planing to buy a smoother, the price between Lee Valley and Lie Nielsen is more than 60% off. Is there any reason that why Lie nielsen is so much more than Veritas?

Thx

[David Gendron]

To me, not realy... I meen if you look at a user point of view, both work just as good and the quality is equal. The adventage of the Veritas other than price, is that the Veritas offer different blade in different angles(25, 38 and 50 degres) for different applications. 25 is the all around and good for end graine, 38 for more tricky wood and 50 for figured wood like curlly, birds eye etc...
But if you are after a classic look the LN is a bether looking plane to some!
David

[Charles Shenk]

Lie Nielsen also sells their blades in all the different angles. They make them in house. Veritas markets the fact their blades are interchangable with the jack and jointer models.

[Joel Goodman]

Whichever one you get, get two of the standard 25 degree blades - add a microbevel at a higher angle (try 35 to 40 degrees) for the second blade. Also the LN BU jack #62 is a good all purpose BU plane. I'm sure the LVs are also good.

[Eric Brown]

The L-V jack has a 2 1/4" wide blade. The L-N is 2".
If using the plane on its side for shooting the extra 1/4" might come in handy. I will agree that the L-N is prettier, but the L-V offerings are easier to clear the mouth and then putting it back without hitting the blade thanks to their stop screw. As for performance, both L-V and L-N will be better than most anything Stanley made. If you want to see something even better, check out http://www.marcouplanes.co.nz/index.php/home.

Now thats what I call art. Beautiful. The L-V and L-N look sort of plain in comparison.

Eric

[Danny Thompson]

Lie Nielsen also sells their blades in all the different angles. They make them in house. Veritas markets the fact their blades are interchangable with the jack and jointer models.

Be careful here. Are we talking Smoothers or Jacks? It makes a difference because Lee Valley sells two very different Veritas low-angle bevel-up smoothers.

• Veritas Bevel-Up Smoother Plane (Interchangeable)

The blades on this plane are 2 1/4" wide, 3/16" thick, and ARE INTERCHANGEABLE with the Veritas Low-Angle Jack Plane and the Veritas Bevel-Up Jointer Plane. The Bevel-Up Smoother is not suitable for shooting, because the side of the plane is not ground flat. 5 lb. 12"L

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...15&cat=1,41182

• Veritas Low-angle Smoother Plane (NOT Interchangeable)

The blades on this plane are 2" wide, 1/8" thick, and ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE with the Low-angle Jack and Bevel-up Jointer.

The sides of this plane are ground flat and are suitable for shooting. This plane has a smaller footprint and is lighter than the one above. 3 1/2 lb. 10"L

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...182,41187&ap=1

25º, 38º, and 50º blades are offered in A2 or O1 for both models.

[Derek Cohen]

One of the best comparison I have read between the LN and LV LA Smoothers is Lyn Manguiameli's ...

http://www.traditionaltools.us/LJM/lasmoother.htm



Keep in mind that Lyn assessed the Mk I LV LAS ... Mk I? Yes, the first model came out without the stop for the mouth adjustment. This is an important feature that permits the settings (such as closed up tight) to be retained when opening the mouth for a rank cut.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[John Coloccia]

If you want to see something even better, check out http://www.marcouplanes.co.nz/index.php/home.

Wow. Almost too pretty to use (almost ). I wonder how much he sells those for.

[Derek Cohen]

The Marcous sell for about $2000. Philip Marcou posts here, so he may share a few titbits about his planes. They are superb!

I have just completed an article on one for a mag. Below is a link to the review I wrote 3 years ago on the S15 BU smoother.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...0Smoother.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Keller NC]

Zhi - Besides the differences that Derek and others have mentioned, there is a big difference in adjusters between the two planes. The LV model has a "Norris" type adjuster below the blade, and that includes a lateral adjustment. The LN adjuster screw is above the blade, and lateral adjustment is accomplished with mallet taps or by loosening the lever cap and adjusting it by hand.

One of the practical differences is that while the LN isn't as easy to adjust on the planing stroke as their bevel-down bretheren, you can still do it, both because of its placement and the fact that it's designed to be advanced with the lever cap in place and moderately tightened. Norris adjusters are not meant to be adjusted with the lever cap tightened for planing - you can easily mess up the threads on the adjuster if you do so.

Whether or not you want to advance/retract the iron on the planing stroke is a matter of preference - it's my preferred method, but others I know just test the depth of cut on a scrap board or by inverting the plane and running a small block of wood over the blade.

[Greg Crawford]

It seems to me that the Veritas prices are lower because they sell direct, not through dealers. Dealer markup on LN planes is pretty hefty. I've got some of both, and I personally like the Veritas feel better than the LN. Other than that, the quality seems to be great on both.

[Brian Kent]

I am planing to buy a smoother, the price between Lee Valley and Lie Nielsen is more than 60% off. Is there any reason that why Lie nielsen is so much more than Veritas?

Thx

I'm seeing a smaller price difference than that. The Lie Nielsen is $265 and the Lee Valley is $219, which is 17% less than the LN.

Brian

[Matt Wilson]

I'm seeing a smaller price difference than that. The Lie Nielsen is $265 and the Lee Valley is $219, which is 17% less than the LN.

Brian

$219 is the price for the LV BUS
$199 is the price for the LV LAS

about 25% less