Immortan D Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 My next LN order will include one of the above planes, with a 50° frog. I'm in doubt of which one to get, since I like bronze planes better but the #4 1/2 is steel only. So I'd appreciate to receive some feedback from owners of those planes. To provide some background, I already own a bronze #3 with a 45° frog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 No rust possible on the bronze #4 and it is very stable. Having said that the ductile iron on the 4 1/2 is also very stable. I would go for the #4 if I didn't already own one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Wilkins Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 I have and really enjoy a bronze #4. If you have an LN #5 then you can share frogs; likewise the 4 1/2 with a 5 1/2 or 7. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobInAustin Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Mmmm. bronze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Just now, Tony Wilkins said: I have and really enjoy a bronze #4. If you have an LN #5 then you can share frogs; likewise the 4 1/2 with a 5 1/2 or 7. My #5 is the LAJP, so I won't be able to take advantage of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 I have both of those, Daniel, and I use the #4 99% of the time. I have common pitch on the #4 and middle pitch on the 4.5. The 4.5 is an absolute beast to use and it'll flat wear ya out, man. But it's great on figured woods or reversing grain or jungle woods...although I try to keep my planes off of all three of those in the first place whenever possible. So, IMO...#4 first, then 4.5 later if you still think you want it. #4 common pitch is the most used plane in my shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 1 minute ago, Eric. said: I have both of those, Daniel, and I use the #4 99% of the time. I have common pitch on the #4 and middle pitch on the 4.5. The 4.5 is an absolute beast to use and it'll flat wear ya out, man. But it's great on figured woods or reversing grain or jungle woods...although I try to keep my planes off of all three of those in the first place. So, IMO...#4 first, then 4.5 later if you still think you want it. #4 common pitch is the most used plane in my shop. My choice for a 50° frog was based in the fact that I already own a 45° #4, a Stanley (non bedrock - just the cheapo version). The problem with the Stanley when working on hardwoods is chatter, because the blade is not well supported, the chip breaker sucks, etc. On the other hand it works just fine on softwoods. So basically chatter is the problem to solve with the new plane. I may get the #4 45° common pitch and leave the 50° frog for a later time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 You could try replacing the Stanley blade with a nice thick LN blade and see if that helps. Otherwise, yeah, I'd replace the whole plane. Nothing makes a plane more useless than chatter. The reason I put the middle pitch on the 4.5 is because I wanted more mass to power through gnarly grain with a high-angle frog. And I think the logic is sound in that regard. But on the other hand, the blade is wider on the 4.5 so it's just that much more surface area to plane at once. So perhaps it's faulty logic and I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face...it's a hell of a lot of work to use that damn thing. And that's probably why I don't use it very often. Only when "I have to." If I'm faced with the need to surface figured stock or junglewood, these days I turn to the drum sander and ROS and don't think twice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 15 minutes ago, Eric. said: You could try replacing the Stanley blade with a nice thick LN blade and see if that helps. I thought about that many times but I will get chatter no matter what because the frog is the real problem there. It lacks support, I will take a pic later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmaichel Posted February 12, 2016 Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 I went a different route and went with a #3 in iron, only because they were out of Bronze. I like the smaller profile of the #3 and will probably never add a #4 but will consider getting a 4.5 in the future and use my LAJP strictly for shooting. Just food for thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2016 Not much to show in the picture. I placed my #3 side to side with the Stanley. When I set the blade on the LN it doesn't move in any direction, but on the Stanley, there is always some play. I removed the frog and it is flat... I will install the LN #4 blade once I get it, see if there is some improvement, just for the fun of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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