LA jack plane veritas vs LN?

[Brent V.]

The three blades with different bevel angle ... do they have the same camber (if you camber)? I would have a different camber on each, which would make it less possible to swap between planes.

With regard to the handles, have you read this article I wrote a while back?  http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews...anes3.html

Hi, Derek.

I had read your article previously, but I did again just now. We seem to agree quite a bit in choice of handles and in posture, as well. I'm 6'1", and my bench surface is about 3 inches or so below my hip bone and right at my wrist when I stand. My bench height is 35". I prefer the upright Veritas tote and the wide knob. I also move my center of gravity lower when I plane and shift my weight as I do.

Your photo of Paul Sellers with his forearm parallel to the surface of the bench illustrates the crowding of the little finger that I was describing. I find that handle uncomfortable mainly for that reason. Thankfully, I don't suffer from arthritis, but the larger pushing surface is certainly part of why I find the Veritas handle more comfortable.

My blades have the 25*, 38*, and 50* bevels that LV offers. I don't really camber them, rather, I push a little harder at each edge when I sharpen them to give just a hint of relief so they don't dig in. I have a scrub plane I use when I really want to take off a lot of material, and for more traditional jack plane use, I have a few Stanleys with wider mouths that are more suited to that. My BU Jack performs for me like a longer smoother.

[Brent V.]

I assume you mean the Veritas BU Smoother, the Low-Angle Jack, and the BU Jointer? If so, they don’t follow a number system as does Lie-Nielsen for their bevel-down planes. With their 2-3/8” blades, the Veritas BU Smoother is more comparable in size to the 4-½ and the LA Jack is more comparable to the 5-½.

Yes, Greg, those are the planes I meant. These blades all measure at and are marked as 2 1/4" (they actually measure about 1/32" undersize). I like the interchangeability, as I use the 50* bevels on many of the more difficult grains and woods, but don't want to expend the effort to push a 50* blade if I don't have to.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi, Derek.
...
My blades have the 25*, 38*, and 50* bevels that LV offers. I don't really camber them, rather, I push a little harder at each edge when I sharpen them to give just a hint of relief so they don't dig in. I have a scrub plane I use when I really want to take off a lot of material, and for more traditional jack plane use, I have a few Stanleys with wider mouths that are more suited to that. My BU Jack performs for me like a longer smoother.

I do wish that Lee Valley stopped selling that range of bevel angles, and instead sold only one with a 25 degree bevel.

It's a decade now since I wrote the article on cambering BU bench plane blades:  http://www.inthewoodshop.com/WoodworkTec...lades.html

Basically, BU planes require a greater degree of camber than BD planes owing to their geometry. Further, attempting to camber a high angle blade is an exercise in futility as there is too much steel to remove. Even a 38-degree blade has too much steel to remove (when you realise that you have to camber more). Reliveing the edges of the blades is not an answer. This will still leave tracks.

The solution is rather simple: only work with blades with a 25 degree bevel. Add a secondary bevel (eg 50 degrees) and do this with a camber at the same time. You need a honing guide for this to maintain the angles. There is not much steel to remove when cambering 25 degrees. Easy Peasy.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Edit for a p.s.

I keep different blades: 25 degree straight for shooting, 25 degree cambered for traversing, 50 degree fine cambered for smoothing, 50 degree medium cambered for jointing.

I do not find a 50 degree bevel (62 degree cutting angle) is difficult to push, mainly because these planes excel at fine shavings, not heavy shavings.