| Review by cajunpen | posted 221 days ago | 474 views | 0 times favorited | 9 comments |  |
- Veritas Bevel-Up Smoother Plane
- Brand: Veritas | Category: Hand Planes
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This is a review that I posted a few months ago, but I thought that as long as we were going to have a “Review” section on the Forum that it should be here.
The Veritas Bevel-Up Smoother Plane has added a whole new level to my woodworking projects. This is my first new plane and it is now my favorite. Right out of the box it was cutting wood as smooth as glass. I have since sharpened it and honed it and the cuts are even smoother. I hardly use sandpaper for my smaller projects now, I just make a few light passes on my project before assembly and it’s ready to apply the finish (of course after the dreaded glue clean up). I can’t recommend this plane any higher than the 5 stars or I would have.
Before breaking down and purchasing the Veritas plane I wondered how anyone could justify spending that much on a hand tool. After using it a few times I understand and have decided that all future planes will be high end planes – they are just better quality, at least in my opinion.
Below is some of the technical stuff provided by Lee Valley. I did not see any sense in retyping their words.
We have combined the generous width and weight of a dedicated smoother with the versatile inner workings of a low-angle bevel-up plane. The 12° bed angle, coupled with the 38° blade bevel, yields an effective cutting angle of 50°, what is commonly known as a York pitch. This is an ideal starting angle for minimizing tear-out when working difficult wood. It is easy to create a higher micro-bevel angle for very difficult grains.
The ductile cast iron body is fully stress-relieved, and has a 12° bed angle similar to a low-angle block plane. Accurately machined, the sole is flat. The adjustable mouth can be closed to a narrow slit for fine shavings with minimum tear-out or opened for heavier cuts. A stop-screw in the throat adjusts to whatever mouth opening you find ideal for chip breaking and chip clearance. This lets you open the mouth fully for blade removal (for honing) and replacement, yet quickly restores your exact mouth setting. The large wooden front knob and rear handle provide both comfort and excellent control. The adjustment mechanism, with its combined feed and lateral adjustment knob, makes blade setting easy and accurate. Set screws prevent the blade from shifting, but allow full lateral adjustment.
It weighs in at just under 5 lb, with an exceptionally low center of gravity. We have dubbed this plane a 164-1/2 H. It is an excellent choice for even the most demanding reversing grains, where even higher bevel angles (for creating Type II chips) are required to eliminate tear-out. The coffin-shaped body has a sole length of 10” and a width of 3-1/8”.
Includes a lapped 38° blade, 2-1/4” wide, 3/16” (0.187”) thick, made of your choice of A2 or O1 tool steel hardened to Rc60-62. Blade is the same size as our other bevel-up planes, allowing blades of various bevel angles to be interchanged between planes. See the price lines below for further blade options.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
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9 comments so far
GaryK
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8410 posts in 438 days
posted 221 days ago
Great review Bill. I have been thinking about one.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Grumpy
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4905 posts in 300 days
posted 221 days ago
Nice tool Bill, thanks for the insight.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
rikkor
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7177 posts in 324 days
posted 221 days ago
Like you, I rethought everything after buying a high-end block plane. Thanks for the review, I think this guy just made my “must-have” list.
-- Maplewood, MN
gizmodyne
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1476 posts in 539 days
posted 221 days ago
Interesting. Thanks for the review.
So the purpose of the smoothing plane is prep for finish?
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
Betsy
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1760 posts in 345 days
posted 220 days ago
Bill – I’m considering which plane to get for my hand tools class coming up in May. I’m not sure what the difference is between this plane and this one http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=46294&cat=1,41182,41187&ap=1 – aside from the obvious looks. What is the advantage of one over the other? Do you know?
-- Betsy - GO BUCKS!
Alin Dobra
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316 posts in 337 days
posted 215 days ago
Cajunpen,
One of the things I was saying in postings on old handplanes is that a new Veritas plane puts to shame most old handplanes, even if restored carefully. My first Veritas handplane (the #7) cured me of old plane restoration and helped me focus my attention to woodworking. It seems that you are roughly of the same opinion.
Alin
-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida
jcees
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448 posts in 248 days
posted 204 days ago
Betsy, the one you give the link for is a standard 45 degree bed angle while the one reviewed is a low bed angle version meant primarily for tricky woods. Both are fine tools.
always,
J.C.
-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein
Scott Bryan
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8557 posts in 271 days
posted 203 days ago
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the review. I have been looking to improve my plane selection, currently I have a #5 and a #8, that were my father’s. Until I started seeing some of these posts they largely sat in my shop unused and unappreciated. Now I am beginning to see the value in using planes like these. This and a scrub plane are on my wish list.
Thanks, not only for the review, but for enlightening me as well.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
OttawaP
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37 posts in 176 days
posted 171 days ago
One big advantage of the LV bevel up planes is that you can interchange the three blades they offer in the three bevel up planes they offer. I own the amazing LV bu jackplane with all three blades. My next purchase may be the smoothing plane (-minus the blade). With the three blades you pretty have all woods and grains taken care.
-- Paul