Lie Nielsen Low angle adjustable mouth planer

[vteknical]

Well I just bought a Lie Nielsen planer this week to use on a kitchen display.  All I can say is wow!

I tried the Stanley block planer route some years ago for finish trim work sneaking in cuts to no avail.  While at Woodcraft buying Feinmultimaster blades.  I decided to enquire about the planer.  Turns out there was a lot more to hand planing than I could of ever imagined.  What really helped me like using it was the Lie Nielsen was pretty much ready to go out of the box(at least for my needs).  I an now hooked! The sales rep at Woodcraft suggested that I buy two stones and a guide to further polish the edge on the already sharp Lie Nielsen blade. He showed me to compare my out of the box blade(which I thought was sharp)with a honed and polished blade.  Night and day difference!

O.k. the moral of the story:
Good sharp tools=Happy customers!
While at the counter checking out, I came to the realization the Lie Nielsen hand plane was a steal compared to my other purchase that day.  Fein Multimaster blade 59.00..................Lie Nielsen guaranteed for life Hand plane 149.00 

 

[sw1211]

Have you seen this site, they sell after market blades for Fein, quite a bit cheaper than the ones from Fein.  I picked up a couple to try but haven't put them to the test yet.
http://www.multiblades.com/

 

[ericbuggeln]

Steve, please let us know how they are.  I've heard from others over at JLc that they are well worth it and can't bring myself to keep spending $59.00 at Woodcraft.  It would be cool if they were half as expensive and lasted twice as long.

 

[ROb McGilp]

I have several LN planes, Block plane, LA smoother, No 6 foreplane, and a No4 smoother with a high angle frog. They are the best thing since sliced bread and well worth the money. The LA smoother takes cross grain planing to a whole 'nother level, even on the hard woods we have over here.

Regards,

Rob

 

[r cash]

I concur completely . I have the low angle block plane and the low angle jack, chisel plane, scraper plane and a number 4. I haven't used any other planes in  my shop for years.

R. Cash
Furniture Maker/Woodworker

 

[brandon.nickel]

I've got a #4 and the #102.  The #102 is my current favorite precision tool.  It's great.

 

[Deke]

You aren't kidding. That was my first serious plane purchase and it is a real gem. Since then I have added a LN #4 and a Lee Valley low angle jack. Jointer is next. I use my plans AND my Festool stuff all the time. It's neat how the ultra modern and the traditional have their place in the shop.

 

[BIP]

Uh oh, another addict........you won't be able to stop now...

No's 8C, 5 1/2C, 4 1/2C, 9, 62, 73, 112, 85, 40, 73, 60R, 60, 9 1/2, 140, 97

 

[bonesbr549]

Nothing like a LN for sure.  I have the LA Jack (great tool), the old #7, and the ajustible mouth block plane.  I also have the tite-mark layout tool.  I'm hoping someday to have their chisels. 

 

[Mac]

This is really interesting to me, as I'm about to buy my first block plane, and am undecided between a LN and the new Veritas premium. I've never used a plane from either maker so don't know if it's just a personal preference thing or if there are any real differences to consider. I assume you guys would all be recommending the LN..?  ???

Mac

 

[bonesbr549]

This is really interesting to me, as I'm about to buy my first block plane, and am undecided between a LN and the new Veritas premium. I've never used a plane from either maker so don't know if it's just a personal preference thing or if there are any real differences to consider. I assume you guys would all be recommending the LN..?   ???

Mac

  Go over to knots at finewoodworking.com and post this question and you will kick up a firestorm.  They are both excellent planes with strong followings.  I my self had my first LN experience years ago when my crappy 6" jointer was doing lousy work.  I had a cedar chest to do for my niece's wedding and had fought that delta POS for years.  I bought the LN scrubb to knock the rough boards down, the #7 to flatten (its a beaut), and the LAJ for the difficult grain stuff and finally the small block plane for the tiny needs.  Oh, I forgot about the tite-mark for the dovetails.  I did the entire project by hand it was awsome.  For me once I had the LN, I just did not need to look at another brand.  Others feel the same about the veritas planes.  I could also reccommend a couple of dvd's that helped me tremendously.  Rob Cosmons Rough to ready and David Charlseworths plane sharpening.  Good luck and like I said, I don't think you will be disapointed by either. 

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1320

 

[Mac]

Thanks Bones, it's nice to find someone who's got a genuinely balanced view, even though you've clearly had good experiences with the LN.  I'll check out the DVDs, too...I need all the help I can get, at this stage in my self education!

 

[rwdawson]

Mac,

Bones has made several excellent points.  The only thing I would add in the way of a comment is that Lie-Nielsen products tend to replicate the Stanley line of planes, with a very high level of quality and some significant improvements, while Veritas often take different approaches in the design.  My own preference is for the LN products, but I do respect LV as well.  I know people that own both brands and like them a lot.

As for DVDs, both Rob Cosman and David Charlesworth are excellent.  David moves at a very deliberate pace, which for some Americans might seem tedious.  However, after 20 or 30 minutes, you realize he has covered a lot of material in a lot of detail.  Well worth owning.

If you have any interest in hand tools, and their use, check out Christopher Schwarz.  In addition to some DVDs, he publishes one of the best magazines around, Woodworking Magazine.  His web site is top notch.  http://blog.woodworking-magazine.com/blog/  Chris is one of the best writers around, covers a lot of interesting material, and has me reaching for my dictionary on a regular basis.  He had a series of blogs dealing with tear-out and how to handle it that should be required reading for every woodworker.  He also has links to interesting blogs, and David Charlesworth makes the occasional entry.

My daily routine is coffee, read email, Festool Owner Group forum, Woodworking Magazine forum, necessary ablutions, then face the world.  Somewhere in there I find time to pet the dog and say hello to the wife, usually in that order.

I hope this helps,

Richard

 

[Neill]

This is really interesting to me, as I'm about to buy my first block plane, and am undecided between a LN and the new Veritas premium. I've never used a plane from either maker so don't know if it's just a personal preference thing or if there are any real differences to consider. I assume you guys would all be recommending the LN..?   ???

Mac

Mac,

I am sure that they are both excellent planes.  For my money, you cannot beat Lie-Nielsen for quality throughout their extensive lineup of planes, chisels and accessories.

Neill

 

[dirtydeeds]

when i decided to bite the bullet on a low angle block, it came down to only two choices veritas or lie neilson

i saw little difference in quality and the headline prices of both makes were much the same

what swung it for me was the width of the veritas blade, you can shoot an external door with it, if you have no power

plus, by pure luck i found a retailer who had the veritas at an old price  ;D

 

[bonesbr549]

Thanks Bones, it's nice to find someone who's got a genuinely balanced view, even though you've clearly had good experiences with the LN.  I'll check out the DVDs, too...I need all the help I can get, at this stage in my self education!

No problem.  For me tools are individual choices. All I can do is offer a personal perspective.  I don't try to talke down a particular brand unless I've had personal experience i.e. the comment about the 6" jointer.  If you are like me, my worst fear was the sharpening.  Thats why I stayed away from hand tools for so long.  I did not have a lot to put into sharpening (spent it on the chisels and planes) so I went with the scarry sharp method and it has worked for me very well and is very inexpensive to get going.  I bought a cheap piece of granite from woodcraft that was good and flat and used wet/dry sandpaper with water to do the job.  I'll admit the LN's did not need anything out of the box.  The chisels were not expensive and requried an extensive amout of work to get them flat but once done they've performed rather well.  I'm still looking forward to the LN's some day but for now they will get the job done.  If interested in that method google "scary sharp" and you'll get tons of info.  Take care. 

 

[dirtydeeds]

scary sharp?

i can already dry shave with a blade sharpened a standard tormek 250 grit stone

so, scary sharp aint gonna impress me much after the tormek

unless its the 4000 grit tormek stone 

OR  a 10,000 grit japanese water stone

although for new price i cant dissagree that a scary sharp system wont be good value

 

[BIP]

This is really interesting to me, as I'm about to buy my first block plane, and am undecided between a LN and the new Veritas premium. I've never used a plane from either maker so don't know if it's just a personal preference thing or if there are any real differences to consider. I assume you guys would all be recommending the LN..?   ???

Mac

I don't think you could go wrong with either.  I am partial to LN's they have the same ergonomics as they Stanleys/Bedrocks I have had in the past and there is something timeless to me. 

I do like the forward thinking designs/features of the Veritas planes:set screws to center the plane irons, etc.... and don't think I would be disappointed if I spent the dollars on them.  I would buy one, but there are a couple of LN's I really want first.

Mac

 

[Deke]

Can I ask a really dumb question? What is LA? I have Lie Nielsen and Lee Valley planes and have seen them referred to as LN and LV. Is LA Lee Valley?

 

[fidelfs]

LA Low Angle
BU Bevel Up