Lie-Nielsen Butt Mortise Plane

[mouppe]

I suspect my strong aversion to human powered tools like planes will prevent me from spending another dime with Lie-Nielsen.    

Okay, how about spending some over at Lee Valley & Veritas?   Cabinetmaker's Sharpening Sets

I love Lee Valley/ Veritas as much as anyone and have tons of their stuff but you did manage to select one of their poorer offerings.

Strike 1: The problem is that the waterstones in the picture are only 2" wide- the same as a typical plane blade- which leaves little room for sharpening a wide blade. I am forever flattening these stones because after sharpening a chisel, the stone is hollowed in the middle and when I then go to sharpen a plane blade, it leaves a large camber. The 3" stones are much better as you can move the blade around the stone rather than just sharpening in one small area, and I am gradually replacing the 2" stones with these. The King stones are also far inferior to the Norton stones in my experience.

Strike 2: The plastic tray is unsteady, and you cannot put too much force on the stone for fear of upsetting the tray's balance. It's like a unicycle on a high wire.

Strike 3: The angle guide is superfluous if you buy the honing guide. The honing guide is excellent.

Brice, just one little one block plane...

Richard.

 

[Brice Burrell]

....Brice, just one little one block plane...

Richard.

No way, I already have a block plane that gathers more rust than it sees wood each year.

 

[Corwin]

Okay, how about spending some over at Lee Valley & Veritas?   Cabinetmaker's Sharpening Sets

I love Lee Valley/ Veritas as much as anyone and have tons of their stuff but you did manage to select one of their poorer offerings.

Strike 1: The problem is that the waterstones in the picture are only 2" wide- the same as a typical plane blade- which leaves little room for sharpening a wide blade. I am forever flattening these stones because after sharpening a chisel, the stone is hollowed in the middle and when I then go to sharpen a plane blade, it leaves a large camber. The 3" stones are much better as you can move the blade around the stone rather than just sharpening in one small area, and I am gradually replacing the 2" stones with these. The King stones are also far inferior to the Norton stones in my experience.

Strike 2: The plastic tray is unsteady, and you cannot put too much force on the stone for fear of upsetting the tray's balance. It's like a unicycle on a high wire.

Strike 3: The angle guide is superfluous if you buy the honing guide. The honing guide is excellent.

Brice, just one little one block plane...

Richard.

Well, actually the honing guide is what I would suggest, too.  That is what I plan to get to assist in the scary sharp method.

 

[sherbin18]

I bought the Butt Mortise Plane a while ago. Originally got it to do mortises for hinges and locksets. Since then I started using it to remove the excess from Miller Dowels and plugs for pocket hole screws. It does a great job on those - just set the blade height to the surface of the finished surface.

While the LN blades come well sharpened, you are well rewarded when you put a secondary bevel on them and polish the back with the "ruler trick." The cutting efficiency is REALLY increased.

Watching the LN YouTube sharpening series is well worth it.

... Now I'm trying out my Tongue and Groove Plane.

 

[Eli]

I'm an optimistic fool hand sharpening.

Tormek, the perfect complement to sharp things.  ;D

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Hey Brice,
  Care to give us an update on your experience with the Butt Mortice Plane?  I know it was a while back, but it sounded like you gave it a workout this summer.  Is it your go to tool when mortising strike plates and hinges or do you still prefer a router?  Mostly curious if it saves time for one offs, verses setting up a router and guide for a single door.

Thanks.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Kevin, for hinges I still prefer to setup the MFS, (even if I'm just doing one door) since I can set it up so quickly.  On soft woods it takes nearly the same amount of time to setup and rout vs the mortise plane.  Of course when you get to an oak jamb the plane takes a bit longer. 

I do really like the mortise plane for strike plates, especially for different shapes/sizes of the older plates.  And, when I had to deepen the mortises for new hinges on an old jamb, in place, the plane really shined. 

I think if you don't have a nice adjustable hinge temple that's easy to use, then the mortise plane is a no brainer for one offs.  The plane isn't a tool I use everyday but I'm glad I've got in the arsenal.  Bottom line, it's not a tool that is going to pay for itself right away for most people.  However, it is a superbly made tool that will last more than a lifetime and I think you can be confident you'll get you money's worth over a lifetime.  Besides, Lie-Nielsen tools hold their value very well if you ever decide to sell.   

 

[flair woodworks]

I bought the Butt Mortise Plane a while ago. Originally got it to do mortises for hinges and locksets. Since then I started using it to remove the excess from Miller Dowels and plugs for pocket hole screws. It does a great job on those - just set the blade height to the surface of the finished surface.

Steve,
That's ingenuous.  The Butt Mortise plane is really neat to use, and you've changed it from a "specialty" plane to a "multi-purpose" plane.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Kevin, for hinges I still prefer to setup the MFS, (even if I'm just doing one door) since I can set it up so quickly.  On soft woods it takes nearly the same amount of time to setup and rout vs the mortise plane.  Of course when you get to an oak jamb the plane takes a bit longer.  

Thanks Brice,
 One more question, when setting up the MFS what is your method of lining it up and what size bit do you use?  I seem to spend too much time tweaking the clamping flanges to center the MFS on my mortice.  I tried it once and got frustrated and  just used my chisels, but am wondering if I should just use one flange and a different clamp setup.  I am embarrassed to admit my general setup is my crappy Porter Cable  plastic jig with my Bosch Colt.  I also find my 1400 is a bit bulky for this job.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Kevin, I use this Eagle American bit, 4-In-1 Dado Clean-Out Bit. I add a second bearing because one bearing will fall into the groove in the MFS profile.
[attachthumb=#]

The bit acts like a pattern bit so I can setup the MFS to the exact size of the hinge.  Also, I don't use a center line, I measure to an edge and lineup the MFS that way.  The 1010 kicks butt here. 

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Nice, thanks Brice.  A 1010 is on the list, but down a ways if you know what I mean.

 

[Deke]

Thanks for the video link. I get it now and I think this is something I might want to buy. I have made my own router jigs, bought a Rocker jig that, IMO, is junk, cut hinge mortises by hand with less than optimal results... it makes sense.