Immortan D Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 2 minutes ago, Chestnut said: For block planes LN gets the nod over LV in my inexperienced opinion. IMO all block planes from $30 up are OK. I love LN and I enjoy using them, but my el cheapo Stanleys perform just as good. I don't think there is a clear winner in this category. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 4 minutes ago, Immortan D said: IMO all block planes from $30 up are OK. I love LN and I enjoy using them, but my el cheapo Stanleys perform just as good. I don't think there is a clear winner in this category. I have a Record (don't laugh) block plane that I'm sure was no more than $30. A fair bit of work to get it right, but now it works great. It's weakest link is the iron, which has to be sharpened frequently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 22 minutes ago, drzaius said: I have a Record (don't laugh) block plane that I'm sure was no more than $30. A fair bit of work to get it right, but now it works great. It's weakest link is the iron, which has to be sharpened frequently. I have a contractor grade Stanley and the blade is pretty decent at staying sharp. And it does have a lateral adjustment mechanism, which is not as good as the one on the LV planes, but it works. The LN block planes do not have lateral adjustment other than knocking the blade with a hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 I have a couple old Stanleys I inherited from my grandfather. They do a good job of sitting in a drawer and being useless. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 18 hours ago, drzaius said: I sometimes use mine that way, but I like to have an adjustable throat on a block plane, which the rabbiting plane does not. I didn't know this and it does make a big difference to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 18 hours ago, drzaius said: I have a Record (don't laugh) block plane that I'm sure was no more than $30. A fair bit of work to get it right, but now it works great. It's weakest link is the iron, which has to be sharpened frequently. I have a Stanley #120 and a #130 that get more use than any bench plane I own, and I love them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 21 minutes ago, RichardA said: I have a Stanley #130 Me too (as Rick already knows). Love my #130 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 22 hours ago, Eric. said: There's no reason a rabbet block couldn't be used as a regular block, but I can think of a few reasons maybe you wouldn't want to... Comfort...the blade extending to the sides gives you slightly fewer holding options (unless you like getting your fingers all cut up). Also the sides ride up higher and more forward which makes it slightly more awkward to handle and therefore slightly less comfortable. The rabbet block does not have an adjustable mouth. Depending on how you use your plane this may or may not matter to you, but it will be difficult to take very fine tearout-free shavings with the wide open mouth the way it is. I do happen to use my standard block plane to take smoothing-plane fine cuts when fitting or flushing parts - I use my low angle block for heavier cuts - so that would be a problem for me. The rabbet block has nickers so every time you want to use it like a regular block, you'll have to turn those nickers back so you don't scratch the hell out of whatever you're planing. The rabbet block is a low angle plane. If you want to use it on long grain you'll need to buy a second iron and grind a higher bevel angle on it in order to get tearout-free cuts. This of course means you'll have to swap the blade out every time you change tasks. Interestingly I recently read marc's book and he makes the case for just getting the rabbet plane without a block plane, but I find your counter arguments quite convincing. Guess I'll have to buy two tools instead of one... darn it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 I just got my Lee Valley catalog. I see I can get a set with a LA Jack, LA Smoother, and LA Block plane for $530. I may just buy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mds2 Posted October 18, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Well, my goodies came in the mail today! Thank you every one for the opinions and advice, it truly made my decision more difficult. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 38 minutes ago, mds2 said: Well, my goodies came in the mail today! Thank you every one for the opinions and advice, it truly made my decision more difficult. Extra irons! Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 16 minutes ago, JosephThomas said: Extra irons! Nice! That's a lot of irons. Which angles/steels did you go with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mds2 Posted October 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Right when I was getting ready to order I got my Lee Valley catalog in the mail. This set is a new listing from them and comes as a package deal. Includes LA Jack with a 25 degree iron, LA Block with a 25 degree iron, and an LA Smoother with both 25 and 50 degree irons. So in the end I set out to buy two planes and ended up with three. The savings is 15% when you buy the package, so for just a little more scratch I was able to get the smoother with two blades. These are my first new planes, and really, some of the first new tools I've ever owned. I have to say I am very thankful to the owner of the company where I work, and I am very happy with these planes. Edit: O1 steel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted October 18, 2016 Report Share Posted October 18, 2016 Well, my goodies came in the mail today! Thank you every one for the opinions and advice, it truly made my decision more difficult. I have all these planes ! I love them all. Great purchase. Did you get all pm-v11 steel? Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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