Thread: Low angle smooth plane

Hi Lappa,
Lie Nielsen Toolworks Australia. Try 3rd site down on Google. They have a name change. Have gone from Henry Eckert - well sort of. I think Veritas Low Angle Smoother is a fair bit cheaper. LN 164 has a different blade adjustment using a yoke.
Regards,
Ross

Thanks for that. Kept getting "no server" for Henry.

Talk about gouging!!

Lie-Neilson is $265US. Lie-Neilson Toolworks Australia ie Henry Eckert is $490AU.
Even at a exchange rate of 70c it's still $112 dearer in OZ.

Veritas is looking the better option at $387.

Order your tools direct from LNs site. Should work out cheaper.

I bought a Veritas Bevel Up Smoother earlier this year (not to be confused with the small bevel up bench plane). It is a very nice plane and it has the same blade size as my Low Angle Jack, which gives me a 25deg. and 38deg blade to use in either plane.

Regards
Keith

I have the veritas bevel-up smoother. I really like it and find it does a great job on end grain with a low angle blade and works extremely well on australian hardwoods with a 50deg blade. To be honest though I usually use the 50degree to clean up end grain on dovetails as well because I'm lazy and don't seem to have any real issues.

The Lie Nielsen looks nice but quite a bit lighter and smaller. I think the Lie nielsen planes are prettier but went with veritas for the PMV11 steel and commonality in blades between the smoother, Jack and jointer.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Thanks for that. Kept getting "no server" for Henry.

Talk about gouging!!

Lie-Neilson is $265US. Lie-Neilson Toolworks Australia ie Henry Eckert is $490AU.
Even at a exchange rate of 70c it's still $112 dearer in OZ.

is that before or after adding in postage from Maine and GST?

When I was living in Sydney, my experience was that the AUD price from Henry Eckert was on par with US price + shipping + GST.

Originally Posted by Lappa

.....
Talk about gouging!!

Lie-Neilson is $265US. Lie-Neilson Toolworks Australia ie Henry Eckert is $490AU.
Even at a exchange rate of 70c it's still $112 dearer in OZ.
......

Cannot agree with you here, Lappa. I import a lot of tools and fittings and generally get them delivered at half the Oz price, often much cheaper.

Last month I imported four Sievert gas torch fittings for total cost of AU$125.25. Local supplier had them at $120 each.

I would estimate the cost conversion on the Lie Nielsen Smoother as follows:

That costing does not include freight insurance, bank fees, customs agent fees, courier "add-ons", and a host of monor oncosts.



Cheers

Graeme

Not sure what happened to give me the "repeat" of the posting of the table in the previous posting. Sorry.

Lappa, I also have the Lie Nielsen low angle jack plane which is slightly cheaper than the smoother. It is now my prefered smoother - the longer sole compensates for my imperfect technique.

Also have a couple of Luban planes, including a brass bodied No !. They give you about 90% of the Lee Valley or Lie Nielsen quality at around half the price, in my opinion. So far, I am pleased with their products.


Cheers

Graeme

My calculation is

US retail $265
Shipping $75 (USPS) -- I suspect that FedEx or UPS would be more
Total USD $340

Convert to AUD = $455
Plus GST on plane $36

Total in AUD $491

and if I added the 3% credit card foreign currency surcharge, the AUD cost would be well over $500.

Originally Posted by Lappa

Looking at a low angle smooth plane after seeing Fletty's post on his finger joints and problems I've had with end grain.

I agree with others than bringing in from the US isn't all that cheaper at the moment with the lowish exchange rate. At Lee valley the veritas smoother with a PMV11 blade will set you back $229 US. add on top of that $60 freight, and at about 73 cents. Its $395. Plus 3% transaction fee. Its $407. There is no GST if you buy it before July 1st. Other options I see are:

• There is a low angle smoother for sale on this forum. Its probably 80 bux cheaper for a 2nd hand plane with probably an A2 blade.
• I use a #3 myself to clean out finger joints, even though I have a couple of low angle planes. A freshly sharpened blade is the key to success.
• Get a low angle block plane. There are 2 from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and the more expensive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002B56CVI..._t3_B0000223QX. I have the cheaper version. Its competent enough - flat sole out of the box. Just have to sharpen the cutter. There are of course numerous 2nd hand ones.
• A Luban low angle jack. I was thinking about getting one myself. It looks good and fine tools is easy to deal with. Its a long sole which may be a bit tedious for larger boxes.

Sometimes its better to just close your eyes and click the buy button on the one that you really want and be done with it, in the long run.

In terms of buying from overseas, I thought that the UK was the plum pick for Veritas gear at the moment at current exchange rates? E.g. Axminster

Veritas | Axminster Tools & Machinery

Postage from the UK is more competitive than from the US too, ever since US Postal Service worked out that they were losing money on postage charges.....lol

Not just Veritas stuff either. I'm about to buy some turning tools and some Tormek jigs from Axminster and the prices weren't even close. Will cost me $570 shipped here from them vs. $900+ from Australia. I try and support Aussie businesses where I can but thats a pretty huge chunk of money, I can't just kiss that goodbye.