Thread: Vertias BUS v Veritas LAJ v LN#62?

Ok Derek, maybe my problem is that I have the LN BU Jack and not the Veritas. As I have previously stated and as you said earlier as well, I prefer Veritas BU and LN BD. My experience with the LN 7 1/2 was so bad I purchased the Veritas 7 1/2 as well and have never looked back, an expensive lesson. I don't reach for my LN Jack very much for aussie Hardwoods but I do use my Veritas BU smoother without problems and I don't even have the other 2 blades yet.

Having said that though, I have yet to experience any trouble with my LN 5 1/2, or my Veritas 6 for that. At the moment I am making the legs for my new bench from old joists and bearers taken from 50 to 60 year old homes that were being demolished. I'm not sure what type of wood I'm dealing with but I'm sure it's some sort of Gum. The Veritas 7 1/2 with it's throat closed, the 5 and the 6 are what I'm using to dress the wood and so far so good. Every time I've picked up the LN BU I've had mixed success. Obviously it depends on the wood.

Maybe I should consider the LN Jack another lesson and have another look at the Veritas Jack. You can never have enough planes anyhow, can you?

By the way, LN high angle frog 55 degrees is $134.00. A HNT Gordon New Ausssie Jack 55 Degrees $225.00. Spend the extra $90.00 I say.

Socrates

The LN LA Jack is an excellent plane and you should get it to work extremely well on hard, gnarly timber. It does need a very high cutting angle. With its 12 degree bed, add a 50 degree bevel for a 62 degree cutting angle. This will smooth anything! For using it as a jack, read my earliest post for a link to an article I wrote. This is essential if you want to camber its blade.

I also have a LN BD smoother, the #4 1/2 Anniversary (bronze with 50 degree frog). It is an excellent plane - it should satisfy anyone using all but Aussie hardwood. I am loath to hone a backbevel so I use it for softer woods.

Incidentally, most of my timber begins life as salvaged roof trusses. In Perth this is generally Jarrah or Karri.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Ditto Derek, I also have the anniversary smoother, but I'm more likely to reach for the Veritas BUS. I find that bronze body doesn't handle our wood very well.

I also have a lot of old Douglas Fir from our roofs in Sydney and that's generally when I'll use the LN Jack. Did I read somewhere that LN consider the BU Jack to be their Jewel in the Crown?

Wow, sounds like Socrates could be the plane guru for Sydney. Some nice gear you've got in the shed, and Blakehurst is only just down the road from Marrickville......

Originally Posted by Socrates

Ditto Derek, I also have the anniversary smoother, but I'm more likely to reach for the Veritas BUS. I find that bronze body doesn't handle our wood very well.

I also have a lot of old Douglas Fir from our roofs in Sydney and that's generally when I'll use the LN Jack. Did I read somewhere that LN consider the BU Jack to be their Jewel in the Crown?

Actually, I think it was LV that consider the LAJ as their best plane......

Hafgan

Originally Posted by Socrates

I also have a lot of old Douglas Fir from our roofs in Sydney and that's generally when I'll use the LN Jack. Did I read somewhere that LN consider the BU Jack to be their Jewel in the Crown?

Tom Lie-Nielsen is on record as considering the Iron #4½ to be the company's "best" plane.
But how do you define "best"? It all depends on what you're planing and the outcome you're trying to achieve.
My dad has 3 older Stanley planes #4½ #5 #7. The #4½ is the "best" because most of the time it's the right size and mass

I've been using my #9 a fair bit lately and currently think it's the bees knees


ian

Cheers guys, my memory was vague on which plane they consider their best, but as you say "how do you define best?". Despite all the new planes in my stable my smoothers consist of a Stanley and a Pope #4 and a Stanley, Pope and of course the LN Annivesary 4 1/2 along with the LV BUS. Ive put a hock blade on the Stanley #4 and a Paul Williams blade on the Stanley 4 1/2. The Stanley #4 was my Fathers and the others I picked up on ebay. After a little (or a lot) of tuning and sharpening any of these planes are worthwhile users, maybe the LN and LV planes are superior to the old Stanleys but by how much will depend on the user and how much time they are willing to spend on tuning. My 4 1/2 with the academy Saws blade is a superb user. It cost me $75.00 including postage and someone had already cleaned it up for me. The blade cost me another $120.00 but that still remains a bargain for a plane that can all but keep up with the LN 4 1/2 .

Maybe that might be Waldos options, look on ebay and for the same money pick up some old Stanleys in say, 4 1/2, 5 1/2 and a LA block?

Derek, I'll take your advice and I'll try another blade for the LN Jack. I noticed they have a 90 degree blade for the Jack, I'm assuming to be ground at the bevel of my choice. Any suggestions? LV have 3 different bevels 25, 38 and 50. Should I take that as being a heads up?

For instance
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Set-of-4-Aust...QQcmdZViewItem

G'day,

I knew with this thread I'd stir up a hornets nest of differing opinions, but that makes for the likes of me a bit wiser to how others approach situations so

Hi Socrates

I have said on a number of occasions that the cutting angle/angle of attack is a vital component when planing interlinked grain. A sharp blade is also important.

What these two factors mean is that the plane with the higher cutting angle is likely to outperform one with a lower cutting angle. I will add that I do not see much difference between 45 and 50 degrees. A jump from 45 to 55 or 60 degrees will produce a significant difference in performance. As a result, the standard LN #4 1/2 and a well-fettled Stanley equivalent will perform similarly on softer woods or straight grained woods. The Anniversary LN (at 50 degrees) is not that much of an improvement jump over the 45 degree either. These comments disregard the obvious improvements and ease of use of the LN over the Stanley. The LN is tauter, has a thicker blade, etc and, all-in-all, is a better performer when the limits get tested.

A sharp blade helps, as I said. And a blade that stays sharp longer makes this possible. But even a UK-make Stanley blade can keep up on soft wood while it is sharp.

The differences in blades and planes really only come out on difficult grain and harder woods.

What angle for the LA Jack? In my article I go into the reasons why one should only use a 25 degree primary bevel and add the desired secondary angle to that. Don't buy the pre-ground HA bevelled blades if you plan to camber the edge.

Regards from Perth

Derek