Lie Nielsen No 4 and No 5 Iron interchangeable?
#8
Quick, potential stupid question: Are the irons and chipbreakers on a Lie Nielsen No. 4 and 5 interchangeable? If I grind one iron with a camber and one without and I can use either in both planes, it seems like the versatility of the two increases dramatically. For instance, I could use the number 5 with a camber as usual to dimension a board then switch the iron to a straight grind and use it to joint the edges of shorter to medium-length boards or even as a long smoother. Or I could put the cambered blade in the number 4 to use it similar to a short scrub plane. Is there some reason this shouldn't be done that I can't see?

This would also work across three planes if you like bigger planes. The Lie Nielsen 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 all use the same iron.

This is probably old news but it was a bit of a revelation to me. Using multiple irons is always mentioned when talking about the Low Angle Jack planes but almost never when talking about Bevel-Down planes.
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#9
(06-10-2022, 01:21 PM)Danxaz Wrote: Quick, potential stupid question: Are the irons and chipbreakers on a Lie Nielsen No. 4 and 5 interchangeable? If I grind one iron with a camber and one without and I can use either in both planes, it seems like the versatility of the two increases dramatically. For instance, I could use the number 5 with a camber as usual to dimension a board then switch the iron to a straight grind and use it to joint the edges of shorter to medium-length boards or even as a long smoother. Or I could put the cambered blade in the number 4 to use it similar to a short scrub plane. Is there some reason this shouldn't be done that I can't see?

This would also work across three planes if you like bigger planes. The Lie Nielsen 4 1/2, 5 1/2, and 7 all use the same iron.

This is probably old news but it was a bit of a revelation to me. Using multiple irons is always mentioned when talking about the Low Angle Jack planes but almost never when talking about Bevel-Down planes.

On their website they list both a replacement blade and chipbreaker and say they fit both a #4 and #5.  So it seems they are the exact same size.


Mike
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#10
Quick answer: yes.
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#11
Very good.

Thanks!
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#12
To broaden the answer, with Bailey and Bedrock type planes though with some exceptions, the iron and chipbreaker will be the same for any given width, one plane to the next.  Indeed, it's often possible to put the iron/chipbreaker from one brand of plane on another brand, thus leading to the dreaded frankenplanes.  There are limits to this: Stanley transitional (wood body, metal blade retention/adjusting mechanism) planes will often have different chipbreakers because of the geometry of the blade adjustment mechanism, although the irons may interchange (or not...).
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#13
The range of planes offered by Stanley Bailey reflected their machining/casting capabilities more than the specific usage of the planes. So there’s no rule against using your #4 as a scrub plane.  The transitionals were closer to the planes that preceded them, and I’d argue offer more utility.

But using a LN#4 as a scrub plane is like off-roading in a McLaren senna.

My advice is to stay in the box. Set your #4 iron forward knock the corners off the iron and use it for final finishing only. Put a big radius on the #5 and use it for roughing. Get one more longer plane like a 7 or 8.  That’s the plane you want to interchange irons. Curved for use as a try plane, flat for use as a jointer.
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#14
Right, I wouldn’t use the LN4 as a scrub. I was just using it as an example. I have been switching out the iron in the LN5, which I keep homes with a camber, with the iron from the LN4, which I have honed straight with knocked corners. My jointer is a LN8, which is overkill for most of what I do so I’ve been liking using the LN5 with the straight iron to true up edges and flatten boards that aren’t very big. Plus, I’ve been getting a surface that is ready enough for finishing so the LN5 has truly become my “Jack”.
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