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3rd March 2007, 04:26 AM #1
The Lee Valley “Little Victor” reproduction Block Plane
The Lee Valley “Little Victor” reproduction Block Plane
Reviewed by Derek Cohen
The Lee Valley website states This little plane is a close copy of Leonard Bailey's 1877 "Little Victor" #51 block plane, which was once advertised as the "perfect tool, useful in house, shop, bank, office and especially in scroll saw work".
The “Little Victor” is the first reproduction plane made by Lee Valley. More will follow this one.
The plane reviewed here was sent to me by Lee Valley for feedback prior to release. I have essentially included below the comments I made to them. Prior to receiving it, I had only seen pictures of the Bailey “Little Victor” block plane. I was aware of their relative rarity and that collectors are willing to pay several hundred Dollars for one in good condition.
To my eye this looks an exact copy, but I was informed that it was fractionally larger than the original.
The other difference is the colour, burgundy, which was apparently chosen for its elegance and distinctiveness.
Features
The notable features of the Little Victor are
· A body 3-1/8" long by 1-1/4" wide, and weighing just under 5 oz.
· An “investment-cast steel body” with a lapped sole (another first for Lee Valley).
· A 45° bed angle and a fixed mouth.
· The blade is secured by cogwheel screw. It has a 30° bevel and is made from O1 tool steel, measuring 0.085" thick by 1" wide.
· Lee Valley state that both the sole of the plane and the working surface* of the blade are lapped to a flatness tolerance of ±0.0002" or better.
To appreciate the size of this little pocket plane it is here viewed alongside a Stanley #65 Knucklejoint block plane. The Starrett combination square is 4” long.
This is indeed a tiny plane.
Using the Little Victor
I had not previously used a plane as small as this and my first efforts were somewhat clumsy. I found it difficult to sustain registration and the blade cut into my palm. The grip in the catalogue illustration appears to recommend a grip that involved a pincer grip with one hand and the use of the thumb of the other hand. Like so:
This works but is not as stable as what evolved as I experimented. While this plane is high mass for its size, it is still small and light and requires significant even down force to prevent it skipping.
The plane can be used by pushing or pulling.
The grip for the push begins with placement of a ring finger in the rear recess. Then one grips the sides with fore fingers. Finally the thumb is placed across the front recess.
The grip I preferred for the pull is identical but in the reverse position.
It can be seen that my palm is well clear of the blade in these illustrations. However, it strikes me that many will want to use this plane one-handed in a palmer grip, that is, the palm is wrapped low down around the plane. Lee Valley provide this illustration:
This would be what I would do, and what I see as the main use that the plane would be put to. Such as breaking edges (i.e. chamfering). When attempting this the blade cut into my palm. This is the one area that I feel is remiss in the construction – the top edge of the blade was a little sharp (no rough edges – just cleanly squared off). I dealt with this by chamfering them slightly.
This does make a significant difference but I felt that the blade could be slightly shorter as well.
Performance
The performance of the plane was surprisingly good. The blade was very well machined – flat - and, as a result, easy and quick to hone. I ran it freehand over a 1200 diamond stone and then over a leather strop loaded with Veritas green rouge. This was sufficient to shave arm hair. The O1 steel held a good edge.
The blade holding mechanism felt solid and worked well. There was no indication of the blade coming loose. I lay the sole on a sheet of glass, slid in the blade, and then tightened up the cogwheel. This was usually enough to set the depth of cut. Adjustments could be made with gentle taps from a hammer.
Shavings on long (edge) grain were easy (with the above grip). Here are some in Rock Maple.
Some serious full-width shavings can be taken!
Planing end grain was equally successful. Here is Rock Maple ..
.. a clean finish on hard Jarrah:
and on Tasmanian Oak:
More than simply a block plane
It struck me that the small footprint of the plane would be ideal for those occasions when one needed to remove small sections of tearout. Of course this is not the province of a 45-degree angle of attack. However, with the 30-degree bevel, by reversing the blade one gets a 75-degree angle of attack. Of course, the mouth is now gigantic, but this is irrelevant at this cutting angle.
The Little Victor worked very well as a high angle smoother/scraper. In the first picture, the Rock Maple has a section of tearout that I was not able to remove with a standard angle plane. The second picture shows the fine shavings that were taken and the now clean surface.
Here are a few more shavings in HA mode, first on Rock Maple …
…. And also in Jarrah:
Conclusions
Comparison with other small block planes is inevitable. The Little Victor reminds of the Lie Nielson bronze #102/103 insofar as that it is a high-mass-to-size plane. It feels substantial. At its size its closest rivals would be the Stanley #100 and #101, which are also around the 3 ˝” mark. These cannot compete with the Lee Valley’s solid construction, superior materials, and thicker blade.
I would not consider the Little Victor to be a substitute for a “full sized” block plane. It lacks their registration and comfort in the hand. It is not a cheap alternative to one of the recognized users, such as a Stanley/LN #60 ˝ or Veritas Standard and Apron block planes. Nevertheless, this little plane has a niche in the workshop or construction site.
Once an appropriate grip is mastered the Little Victor is quite comfortable and controllable.
The Little Victor is small enough to drop into a pocket – and one may even forget that it is there! Yet its performance is certainly much larger than that. Cute it may be, but it is not a toy. It is capable of big-plane performance on end grain and face grain. I see its biggest value as a “tweaking plane” (as Rob Lee termed it). Keep one just for a quick chamfer, breaking edges, and planing small sections.
Derek Cohen
Perth, March 2007Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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3rd March 2007, 06:41 AM #2
A very interesting review - I especially like the idea of using the plane BU as a tiny high angle scraper for those irritating tearout sections.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Derek.Cheers
Jeremy
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly
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3rd March 2007, 07:46 AM #3
Excellent review, do we have a price or release date as yet?
I would imagine it would have to be packaged in a sufficiently bulky way to prevent it slipping into the pockets of those who desire not to pay for such an item.Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.
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3rd March 2007, 09:50 AM #4
Oh Derek, I'm soo disappointed
I was expecting you to compare it to your son's orange Block plane, not a #65
as usual, an informative and useful review
ian
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3rd March 2007, 09:55 AM #5
Iain
they were on the Lee Valley site last night (click on the Woodworking What's new)
as to packaging, the Lee Valley stores I've been into are more like a showroom than a department store or supermarket.
easily portable items are behind glass.
Items being bought are fetched from the warehouse by one of the really helpful staff
ian
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3rd March 2007, 11:01 AM #6
"I found it difficult to sustain registration and the blade cut into my palm."
This could easily be over come by cutting a piece of 6 or 8mm rubber vaccuum hose and splitting it length wise and fitting it onto the top edge of the blade ,for a more comfortable grip.
Nice little plane though."Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend ,inside a dog it's too dark to read"
Groucho Marx
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3rd March 2007, 11:43 AM #76 or 8mm rubber vaccuum hose
Someone asked about price. I have no idea what it will sell for, or when, in Oz. It is only about to appear on the US and Canadian market in April, where it will be on special for a while. $30 USD I think. Inexpensive enough to make a (satisfying) impulse purchase.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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3rd March 2007, 12:01 PM #8
Very well written review Derek.
MMMMnnnnnnn this little guy just might lure me over to the darkside .Cheers
DJ
ADMIN
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3rd March 2007, 12:21 PM #9
Excellant review. Not quite a sales pitch but good info. The question of $$$ is of course a handy thing to know, but I (based on the presented info) might be willing to purchase the little guy (if the price is right) If they are searching for the price near what was indicated for the original then I'm out of the picture, I would think it would be most handy to have in repair jobs as well and fitting pieces for installs and the like, especially with it being pocket sized.
Thanks for the posting.
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3rd March 2007, 12:30 PM #10
I would think that the apearance would be secondary to the comfort ,the vac hose would be just a quick fix , not meant as a permanent thing
Maybe a nice removable wooden end cap for the blade could be made to slip over it , or even a brass one , shaped and rounded.
The price seems reasonable , might sus one out for my self."Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend ,inside a dog it's too dark to read"
Groucho Marx
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3rd March 2007, 11:14 PM #11
To quotes Lee Valley:
We are offering our "Little Victor" plane at a special introductory price for a 20% savings. The regular price is $37.50. Sale prices expire May 15, 2007.
As of a few minutes ago, the plane is shown as being "In Stock" which, in my personal experience, means they're are on the shelves in the main warehouse.
The introductory price is USD$29.50 (plus shipping)
Sorry, can't help with an Oz release date or price
ian
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4th March 2007, 03:45 PM #12
Thanks Derek - great review and yet another trophy to add to the wish list!
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4th March 2007, 04:35 PM #13
Steel or Iron?
A useful review. Thanks Derek.
What is: An “investment-cast steel body” with a lapped sole (another first for Lee Valley).
I gather it is different from stress relieved ductile cast iron.
Can anyone shed any light on the differences/advantages/reasons for using this material etc?
I Look forward to the explanation.
Thanks
SG
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4th March 2007, 04:53 PM #14What is: An “investment-cast steel body” with a lapped sole (another first for Lee Valley).
"Investment-casting" is a more precise form of casting from a mold. It's the difference between the roughish finish one get from sand casting and the finer finish and detail from lost-wax casting.
Regards from Perth
DerekVisit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.
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4th March 2007, 05:11 PM #15
Mucho Gratias Derek.
Does this steel have the same properties as the ductile cast iron or is it harder and/or more brittle?
I was really wondering why Lee Valley had gone to a different method of casting when they already had one in place for their other planes.
SG
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