Believe the Hype...

I love veritas planes, how much is it over in the uk?

-- Paul Lemiski, Ontario Canada, Custom Wooden Rocking chairs and tables http://www.canadianwoodworks.com

I also own several Veritas planes including this one. I’ve always been extremely happy with their products and have absolutely never been disappointed. I’m also currious what they cost in the UK.

I’ve never had to flatten a back on any of the blades I’ve received. I’ve always been able to just polish them a bit on an ultra fine stone then leather strop. Don’t think I’ve ever spent more than about 5 minutes touching up a Veritas blade before putting it to work.

-- There's no such thing as mistakes, just design changes.

Hi guys, thanks for your comments.
To answer the burning question, it cost £136 with free delivery. From British Hardwoods Online.
In reply to velo-tom I only had to “polish” the blade really, just to get it super sharp. It is the best blade out of the box that I have seen on a plane.

Now I need to save up for one of its bigger brothers, maybe the bevel up smoother….
I wonder has anyone used the edge trimming plane that Veritas do, it seems like a good idea?

-- Ollie, UK.

I don’t have the edge trimming plane but I do have the low angle, bevel up jack plane. It’s the best plane, in my opinion, if you use a shooting board. Like all of their planes, you can almost use it right out of the box.

Veritas is about 10-15% lower in price than Lie-Nielsen here in the US also, and every bit as good, again, in my opinion.

-- Failure is the road to success if you learn to learn from your mistakes - Vince, Greenville, SC

I have one of the new Veritas low angle block planes. The one that looks like it was born of a ‘63 Corvette. It’s a sweetheart. Great adjustment mechanism and a good beefy blade.

-- Measure twice, cut once, buy extra stock.

Nice when a tool or anything, for that matter, lives up to your expectations and justifies the hype, ain’t it !! I bet you will like planing with it so much, you’ll plane all your wood into shavings with any projects to post:-)) I remember the first time I tried out the Stout batery portaband saw when running conduit, it was so much fun to cut with that saw, I was afreid I’d cut al my conduit up and not get any run to pull the wire through.

-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence Wake Up America!! Please read; http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/01/26-0

Ollie, I have the Veritas bevel up smoother, and it is just as wonderful as the block plane (which I also have). I don’t use planes a lot, but these two are great tools. I think you can tell a lot about wood working tools by the mfg descriptions and how much they tell you about their process and features – Veritas is an open book on their planes, and they are not hype.

You might want to consider adding their optional grips http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=48942&cat=1,41182 for the LA block plane. They attach and detach in seconds though you’ll rarely want to. <g>

If you read their articles, the grips came about when Veritas tasked its engineers with building a LA #3 and the prototype was essentially the block w/grips. It’s sweet!!

-- Jim in Alaska

I have to agree with Jim. The grips are a great addition to the LA block plane. I don’t think I’ve ever removed them once they were installed.

-- There's no such thing as mistakes, just design changes.

Thanks for the review it was enlightening I live not to far from the Lee Valley main store, another reason to go in and …..... :-)

-- www.markscreativeturnings.ca

I have the grips too, and I like them a lot. However, they take a bit more than a few seconds for me to remove—I wish I could just install and remove the rear handle in seconds whenever I feel like the situation calls for it, but it’s not that easy. I have to remove the blade and lever cap to get to the screws that hold the handle in place.

Thanks for the review, this was what in the end persuaded me to order the Veritas LA block plane, looking forward to test mine :)

-- Jani, a Neanderthal woodworker in Sweden.

I have the same place. I got the little wood knob for the front so that I can easily increase pressure there and improves control. sweet little plane.

Congrats on your new plane enjoy

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/