Thread: Looking for small block plane recommendations

Bridge City HP8

This is the only small LA block plane I can think of that would meet your needs; the likes of the squirrel-tailed Lie Neilson 100 have rounded sides which don’t go so well on shooting boards. I have one and really like it; I mainly use it for thicknessing strips for Kumiko.

Veritas miniature bench plane

Slightly left field, but this might work for you…

Just acquired a Kakum No 1 plane. Mini Plane -Flat -Ebony Body 18mm



– Kakuri Sangyo. It is streets better than my Stanley no 101. The HSS blade polishes to high level sharpness and had no trouble taking end grain shavings from sheoak.
IMG_6171.jpg

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Bridge City HP8

This is the only small LA block plane I can think of that would meet your needs; the likes of the squirrel-tailed Lie Neilson 100 have rounded sides which don’t go so well on shooting boards. I have one and really like it; I mainly use it for thicknessing strips for Kumiko.

Veritas miniature bench plane

Slightly left field, but this might work for you…

The HP-8 looks interesting.

I had looked at Veritas(R) Miniature Block Plane | Carbatec

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Bridge City HP8

I have one and really like it; I mainly use it for thicknessing strips for Kumiko.

…

And that price of US$75 looks quite incredible.

Am I right, CT, that on the shooting board you would use it without the thicknessing shoes?

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

And that price of US$75 looks quite incredible.

Am I right, CT, that on the shooting board you would use it without the thicknessing shoes?

That’s correct, yes.

There is an even cheaper knock-off version I keep seeing on Flea-bay; it doesn’t have the skates or an adjustable mouth but then again it only costs about $65AUD…

Magnalium

flea bays got some margin these days on knock-offs
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005...Cquery_from%3A

For thicknessing one can aways stick a couple of pf timber strips to the base of the plane,.

One thing that concerns me with such a small block plane is the ergonomics of holding one for reasonable periods of time. My aim is to construct small sticks with a veneer face on all sides for inlay banding block construction from scratch. Typically I'm looking at dimensions for each stick (square or diamond) in the 3 to 5 mm thickness range to add face veneers too. Product Details


The Veritas miniature has the recesses in the side of the plane sole which may go some way to ease any strain on the hands where as the Bridge city HP8 with its smooth sides would require considerably more gripping force to control.

I got a new one, not sure the size though:

IMG_E0190.jpg

Originally Posted by MartinCH

flea bays got some margin these days on knock-offs

Thanks for that link; I looked at the feedback and although no one bagged it one buyer did put up some pictures that showed the sole; the mouth is HUGE!

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Thanks for that link; I looked at the feedback and although no one bagged it one buyer did put up some pictures that showed the sole; the mouth is HUGE!

The blade in the photo looked like it was retracted a tad. It didn't look unusually large, for non adjustable mouth plane, on the video.

Note, one could close the mouth, if desired, by added a few layers of Kraft tape to the bed.

Moby I've been very pleased with the Veritas "Apron plane".

For me it does exactly what one is trying to do when reaching for a block plane as opposed to a No 3 or No 4.

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

I got a new one, not sure the size though:

IMG_E0190.jpg

EagerBeaver
Your plane looks like a Luban copy of the Lie-Neilsen #60-1/2, which is a copy of the Stanley #60-1/2
if it is
the plane is
6.25 inches long -- around twice as long as the block plane Moby is looking for
1.75 inches wide
the blade is 1.375 inches wide and 1/8" thick and bedded at 12 degrees -- effective cutting angle 37 degrees
weight around 1.5 lbs

I'll leave it to you to convert the above dimensions to metric

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

One thing that concerns me with such a small block plane is the ergonomics of holding one for reasonable periods of time. My aim is to construct small sticks with a veneer face on all sides for inlay banding block construction from scratch. Typically I'm looking at dimensions for each stick (square or diamond) in the 3 to 5 mm thickness range to add face veneers too. Product Details

Moby
You do know that sort of banding is usually constructed by sawing slices off a much larger board, alternating the grain and colours and gluing the slices back together and then sawing the banding off as strips?

I'll post a video or pictures of how -- if I can find one -- late tomorrow (Canadian time)

That , sounds like Yosegi, 寄木ズク　正卍模様製作　Making of Yosegi - YouTube