Smoothing Planes


JosephThomas

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Looking at the veritas smoothing planes, and I'm so confused...why are there 3 different options? I've read the descriptions a few times, and even though I can see a few small details are different here and there, I'm not really getting the point. One is called small, but isn't really that much smaller. One is called "low-angle", but they're all low angle.

Looking here at the "BU smoother, small BU smoother, and low-angle smoother":

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=52515&cat=1,41182

Yes, I'm a noob at this, any help appreciated :) Or better yet, if you know links to any in-depth explanations or youtube videos, please link me to those so I can do some of the work of learning on my own...thanks guys.

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I got your pm lol...

I have the bevel up smoother and it is fantastic. Like Carus said, small details distiguish the different models. The bevel up smoother has been perfect for me for all my smoothing needs and I can't see ever needing another smoother.

Here is a great review by Derek Cohen, the guy knows his handtools!

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Lee%20Valley%20Bevel%20Up%20Smoother.html

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

The bevel up smoother also shares the same blades as the low angle jack and the bevel up jointer. So its a better investment if you decide to get anoy of those other planes. So you wouldn't have to buy multiple of every angle.

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I have the Bevel Up and the Low Angle. 

The Bevel Up is a larger smoother and has a 2.25" wide blade set at 38 degree bevel, and weighs a pound more than the low angle. It has the same 12 degree bed as the other two. 

The low angle has a 2" wide blade, and the sides are a perfect 90 to the sole, and can be used to shoot miters. The low angle comes with a 25 degree blade

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It all depends on how-much you want your smoother to ride with the flow of the board, and how wide of a cut you want to make. Some people love the #3 size as it pushes easily and can ride through just about any dip or swell in the board. Most common is the standard #4 as ot is in the middle ground. the #4 1/2 will take a lot off quickly and is great for smoothing panels or being the go to for normal planing work.

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So if I get the BU smoother, that's ideal except that I can't use it as a shooting plane...?  What do you guys use for a shooting plane in that case?

@James Wright Thanks for the reply...to be honest I don't know enough to know what I like... I was looking at getting the LAJ and one of the smoother because, my understanding was that those would be a good 2 to start with (I already have a couple block planes).

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Just now, JosephThomas said:

So if I get the BU smoother, that's ideal except that I can't use it as a shooting plane...?

Correct! It's my go to smoother, I use it for almost everything. Also, the blades are interchangeable with the Bevel Up Jointer, and the Low Angle Jack Plane. 

I only use the Low Angle Smoother when I'm working on end grain.

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James describes well the reason for the different sizes.  It is for versatility not to confuse.  I too have the bevel up smoother and really like it.  I have the LAJ and Jointer as well and all these planes share the same size iron.  This lets me have a 25* iron for shearing, a 38* for general use and a 50* for difficult situations.  With the Norris style adjuster and the set screws it is easy to swap irons as desired with no fussy setup.  I do have a No. 4 sized BD smoother as well but, the 164-1/2 is my go to for smoothing.

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Just now, gee-dub said:

James describes well the reason for the different sizes.  It is for versatility not to confuse.  I too have the bevel up smoother and really like it.  I have the LAJ and Jointer as well and all these planes share the same size iron.  This lets me have a 25* iron for shearing, a 38* for general use and a 50* for difficult situations.  With the Norris style adjuster and the set screws it is easy to swap irons as desired with no fussy setup.  I do have a No. 4 sized BD smoother as well but, the 164-1/2 is my go to for smoothing.

Sounds a lot like what I do. I keep the 50 in the jointer plane for doing edges before glue ups, the 25 in the jack for fast easy stock removal, and the 38 in the smoother.

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6 minutes ago, gee-dub said:

James describes well the reason for the different sizes.  It is for versatility not to confuse.  I too have the bevel up smoother and really like it.  I have the LAJ and Jointer as well and all these planes share the same size iron.  This lets me have a 25* iron for shearing, a 38* for general use and a 50* for difficult situations.  With the Norris style adjuster and the set screws it is easy to swap irons as desired with no fussy setup.  I do have a No. 4 sized BD smoother as well but, the 164-1/2 is my go to for smoothing.

I didn't mean to imply that they intended to confuse...but it's just reality that, being a noob, the small differences don't make sense to me yet. Thanks all for the info!

So do you guys have another dedicated plane for shooting?

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2 minutes ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

Low Angle Smoother for shooting. I boneheadedly ordered the wrong plane, and just wound up keeping it, and ordered the BU 

So, if I bought only the LA smoother for now (so that I could shoot miters as well), what would be the big drawback for the short term? Just the interchangeable blades? If it wasn't clear I'm trying to avoid having to buy a 3rd plane in the short term...

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1 minute ago, JosephThomas said:

So, if I bought only the LA smoother for now (so that I could shoot miters as well), what would be the big drawback for the short term? Just the interchangeable blades? If it wasn't clear I'm trying to avoid having to buy a 3rd plane in the short term...

Are you looking to shoot miters right now?

Honestly, the BU does a much nicer job on surfaces. I don't like 25 degrees for smoothing face grain.

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I really don't think a smoother is an ideal shooting plane, not enough heft. I use the low angle jack. I saw a big lee valley box arrive for my wife the other day so im hoping after fathers day I'll be using the veritas shooting plane. =)

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http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70926&cat=1,230,41182,48945

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1 hour ago, shaneymack said:

 

I got your pm lol...

 

I have the bevel up smoother and it is fantastic. Like Carus said, small details distiguish the different models. The bevel up smoother has been perfect for me for all my smoothing needs and I can't see ever needing another smoother.

 

Here is a great review by Derek Cohen, the guy knows his handtools!

 

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Lee%20Valley%20Bevel%20Up%20Smoother.html

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

The bevel up smoother also shares the same blades as the low angle jack and the bevel up jointer. So its a better investment if you decide to get anoy of those other planes. So you wouldn't have to buy multiple of every angle.

Finally finished reading this, it was a nice summary of the differences between the LAS and BUS (towards the end of the write-up). Thanks.

6 minutes ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

Are you looking to shoot miters right now?

Honestly, the BU does a much nicer job on surfaces. I don't like 25 degrees for smoothing face grain.

Not this afternoon or anything, but I would like to, yes. Seems like the ideal way to fine-tune small joinery for boxes and such, and I'm planning on doing a few smaller projects this summer.

2 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

 

I really don't think a smoother is an ideal shooting plane, not enough heft. I use the low angle jack. I saw a big lee valley box arrive for my wife the other day so im hoping after fathers day I'll be using the veritas shooting plane.

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=70926&cat=1,230,41182,48945

Didn't realize the LAJ was an option for shooting. Noted :)  Looks like a nice plane...a little too specialized for where I'm at right now, but I'll have to remember it for the future....how the heck does your wife keep track of all the new gadgets you want though? 

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27 minutes ago, Tom Cancelleri said:

Sounds a lot like what I do. I keep the 50 in the jointer plane for doing edges before glue ups, the 25 in the jack for fast easy stock removal, and the 38 in the smoother.

Bingo! We are twin sons of different mothers.

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JT, you could get the veritas miter plane.

http://www.leevalley.com/us/garden/page.aspx?p=73208&cat=1,41182,48945&ap=1

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I have used it, its awesome but it's more expensive that the actual shooting plane. I'd get the shooting plane before the mitre plane.

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8 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

I have used it, its awesome but it more expensive that the actual shooting plane. Is get the shooting plane before the mitre plane.

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The shooting plane you link'd is ~$60 (US) more than the miter plane Tom link'd.  Regardless, I can't afford either right now :D

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JT I bought my first real planes back in March and I went with low angle block, No. 4 and Low angle jack. I bought the Stanley Sweatheart versions, liked better than the Woodriver planes I tried and just couldn't afford the Veritas planes. I haven't used them much (need a better bench than the Festool MFT), but in my opinion this is a good starting point and may work for you.

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Just now, Woodenskye said:

JT I bought my first real planes back in March and I went with low angle block, No. 4 and Low angle jack. I bought the Stanley Sweatheart versions, liked better than the Woodriver planes I tried and just couldn't afford the Veritas planes. I haven't used them much (need a better bench than the Festool MFT), but in my opinion this is a good starting point and may work for you.

I always wanted to try one of those new Stanley SW #4s. 

 

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1 hour ago, Woodenskye said:

JT I bought my first real planes back in March and I went with low angle block, No. 4 and Low angle jack. I bought the Stanley Sweatheart versions, liked better than the Woodriver planes I tried and just couldn't afford the Veritas planes. I haven't used them much (need a better bench than the Festool MFT), but in my opinion this is a good starting point and may work for you.

I have the stanley sweetheart block plane and low angle block...they work ok but I think they need a more experienced user to really shine. How do you like them?

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