# Veritas Combination Plane Comparison



## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*Introduction*

First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank fellow LumberJock Dave Polaschek for inviting me to his shop making this direct comparison possible for us. I do not own the Veritas plane, so I wouldn't have been able to compare them without his generosity letting me play with his new toy!

Second, I'm going to throw out the disclaimer that this was by no means a 100% exhaustive test. We did not do things like study edge retention, sharpening, and haven't done any prolonged use/testing of the Veritas plane. It was largely just a comparison of the two on a visual, mechanical, and basic general use level. We only had the one standard Veritas iron, and spent about 4 hours messing around with the two planes. We didn't try every single operation, or every single iron, so take that for what it's worth.

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*Table of Contents*


*Introduction*
General Comparison
Irons Comparison
Rods and Fence Comparison
Thoughts on Use
My Conclusions
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave


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## knockknock (Jun 13, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Introduction*
> 
> First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank fellow LumberJock Dave Polaschek for inviting me to his shop making this direct comparison possible for us. I do not own the Veritas plane, so I wouldn't have been able to compare them without his generosity letting me play with his new toy!
> 
> ...


Thanks for doing this comparison. I have been waiting for one.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Introduction*
> 
> First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank fellow LumberJock Dave Polaschek for inviting me to his shop making this direct comparison possible for us. I do not own the Veritas plane, so I wouldn't have been able to compare them without his generosity letting me play with his new toy!
> 
> ...





> Thanks for doing this comparison. I have been waiting for one.
> 
> - knockknock


Not a problem, it was fun getting to compare the two, and I was likewise curious myself


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Introduction*
> 
> First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank fellow LumberJock Dave Polaschek for inviting me to his shop making this direct comparison possible for us. I do not own the Veritas plane, so I wouldn't have been able to compare them without his generosity letting me play with his new toy!
> 
> ...


Thank you Mos!


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Mosquito said:


> *Introduction*
> 
> First off, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank fellow LumberJock Dave Polaschek for inviting me to his shop making this direct comparison possible for us. I do not own the Veritas plane, so I wouldn't have been able to compare them without his generosity letting me play with his new toy!
> 
> ...


Thanks.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*General Comparison*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
*General Comparison*
Irons Comparison
Rods and Fence Comparison
Thoughts on Use
My Conclusions
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave

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*General Comparison:*

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_Veritas, Type 6 Stanley, Type 15 Stanley_​
The Veritas combination plane is more on par with the older style Stanley castings (Type 6 and earlier, where the knob is on the main casting). The size is much more similar to that than the Type 7 and later castings.

The weights also reflected that as well. The Veritas was 60.75oz (~3.8lbs), the Type 7 was 68.55oz(~4.28lbs), and the Type 15 was way off the deep end at 82.1oz (~5.13lbs). There was a significantly noticeable difference, as one would imagine from a nearly 1/3 increase in weight.

I found thetote on the Veritas to be a lot more comfortable than I was expecting. I liked it since the shape was better, to my feel, than the other totes from Veritas. It's different than on the shooting plane (only Veritas plane I own), as well as the skew rabbit plane (only other Veritas Dave had). It feels a little thicker than the other tote, and a little larger than the #45. Something that took some getting used to at first was a lack of anything to rest my pointer finger against, which is how I typically hold a #45. It didn't take long to get used to, though, as I didn't notice it when I was actually using the tool.

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_Veritas skates top, Stanley Type 15 bottom_​
The skates on the Veritas have a wider contact point than the #45 does. I think this helped a little bit with the stability of the plane. It felt less wobbly in use than the #45. It is possible that the stability is also a result of less weight than the #45 too, but that's difficult to prove with the time and resources we had.

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_Veritas sliding skate blade guide knob_​
Something that I found quite handy when setting up the plane was the knob in the center of the sliding skate on the Veritas. Veritas calls it the blade guide knob, and it pushes against the side of the blade, keeping it in place against the main casting. If you've used a #45 you've probably gotten used to making sure the plane blade was pushed over while tightening it down. That's essentially what this knob is for, and it works well. It also helps to position the sliding skate exactly where you want it too, we found.

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_Veritas small blade guide knob_​
Veritas also covered the scenario where you have a smaller iron and may not have the sliding skate installed. There's a small brass knob that screws in just behind the blade, and will similarly hold it against the main skate. Something we found was that the Stanley 1/8 and 3/16 irons didn't work for this, since the blades weren't wide enough for the knob to reach it. The Veritas irons are wider and have a step down to the narrow widths, so it works for their irons.

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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *General Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Great info, thank you!


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*Iron Comparison*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
General Comparison
*Irons Comparison*
Rods and Fence Comparison
Thoughts on Use
My Conclusions
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave

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*Iron Comparison:*

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_Veritas iron left, Stanley iron right_​
The irons are the same thickness, but the #45 irons are a little longer. This particular #45 iron is about 1/8" shorter than what a wew/old stock #45 iron would have been, but they still work (see note below, though). The notches in them are the same, or at least close enough to the same to work in either of the two planes.

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_Veritas iron in Stanley plane_​
The Veritas iron works fine in the Stanley plane. The notch works with the depth adjustment mechanism and it's not too thick to fit in the casting. The only thing is that the Veritas irons shorter length means you're close to the end of how far you can adjust the iron in the #45. once it's been sharpened down far enough, you could eke out a little more life of the cutter by not using the notch for adjustment but instead just having the depth adjuster push on the end of the iron. Regardless, the point is they work, and it should take a while before you'd wear through that much iron anyway.

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_Stanley iron in Veritas plane_​
Since the Veritas irons work in the Stanley plane, we'd assume the reverse is true too, right? Well it is, though with a slight caveat. They fit and work with the plane; however if the Stanley iron is, or is close to, full length it gets really close to running out of threads on the depth adjustment knurled nut. It fits and works fine, but I would prefer to have more than just a couple threads engaged on the depth adjustment nut myself.

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_Veritas depth adjustment nut with Stanley iron_​
It's tough to get a picture of it well, but here you can sort of see how far out the depth adjustment nut is, and how far down the threaded rod is.

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_Stanley irons in Veritas iron box_​
Being that the Stanley irons are longer, you won't be able to buy the Veritas boxes to house your Stanley irons, unless they've all been sharpened enough to be shorter.

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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Iron Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Thank you Mos.


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## AGolden (Mar 22, 2020)

Mosquito said:


> *Iron Comparison*
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> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


This is amazing, I just recently took a chance buying an old 45 and this is all the information I could ever need!


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Iron Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Thanks AGolden! I have been a long time #45 user/collector/obsessionist myself, and was genuinely curious about these, and thankfully Dave was gracious enough to welcome me in to his shop for an afternoon to do this comparison. It was a lot of fun.

And welcome to LJ! There's a whole thread about Stanley #45 and other combination planes here, if you need even more info (that you probably didn't know you needed lol)


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*Rods and Fence Comparison*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
General Comparison
Irons Comparison
*Rods and Fence Comparison*
Thoughts on Use
My Conclusions
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave

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*Fence Rod Comparison:*

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_Long rods, Stanley left, Veritas right_​
I did not measure the diameters, but they are clearly different. They're about the same length for both the long and short rods (Stanley rods are about ¼" longer). The Veritas rods have a very slight taper on the end, and it isn't polished like the rest of it. This helps locate and get the fence or sliding skate on, but I found it to still have the same problems with the skate/fence not sliding well, and binding. The #45 has the same problem from time to time, but a little wax seems to fix that for me.

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_Veritas's picture of their skew rabbit plane_​
I don't have a picture of it, but they are the same diameter as the rods and spacing on the skew rabbet plane, so the fence fits on it. The difference, however, is that the skew rabbet plane rods screw into the casting of the plane, so you'd be able to use the skew rabbet rods in the combination plane, but not the other way around. Also, the fence locking mechanism on the skew rabbet (or small plow) is different, and I kind of like it more.

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_Veritas rod in Stanley fence _​
In case you're a "picture or it didn't happen" type: See I told you that's not going to work…

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_Stanely fence, Veritas plane_​
"Ok, but if I enlarged the holes on the Veritas plane to use Stanley rods, then I could use the Stanley fence, right?". Nope, you'd also have to move the location of the rods as well, sorry.

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_Stanley in Veritas box_​
With the rods spaced closer together on the Stanley plane, we knew it wouldn't sit in the box like the Veritas does. As it turns out, the Stanley plane is also slightly longer as well, and wouldn't fit in the Veritas box if the iron boxes were also in it.

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That about does it for the visual/mechanical comparison, the only thing left was to make some shavings with them both…


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Rods and Fence Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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That is a slick case!


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *Rods and Fence Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


One thing I just noticed recently about the fence is that you can remove it and flip it in order to have a deeper or shallower reach. You just have to wind the micro adjuster all the way out, the fence comes off it's short rods, flip it over, and wind it back in.

Here it is flipped from its normal orientation. I'm using the combination plane on a 3/8" thick board on a sticking board on my bench. With the fence normal, I would need a sticking board 2" thick in order to index off that. With it flipped, a 3/4" sticking board gives me plenty of edge.










The only reason I put it back in its normal orientation is that it can slide under the skates that way, which is required to fit the combination plane in its storage box.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Rods and Fence Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Oh nice discovery Dave. That could definitely come in handy. It would replace the two holes in the Stanley #45 fence casting, to accomplish roughly the same thing, from the looks/sounds of it


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *Rods and Fence Comparison*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'm not sure how it took me so long to realize that, but once I did, it turns out to be useful very often. I could just replace the piece of wood with a shorter (vertically) piece, but it's easy enough to flip it for now.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*Thoughts on Use*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
General Comparison
Irons Comparison
Rods and Fence Comparison
*Thoughts on Use*
My Conclusions
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave

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*Thoughts on Use*

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So… Realizing that this is going to be completely subjective and strictly my opinion based on my limited use of the Veritas plane, both Dave and I used both the Veritas and the Stanley (Type 15) back to back in a few different scenarios.

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*Grooving*
The first thing we tried was just a simple groove along the face of a board, much like one would do for a drawer or box bottom. We used the ¼" irons for both, since that's the only one we had for the Veritas at the time. We used the sliding skate on both, though with ¼" it's technically optional. Both planes got the job done effectively, and I wouldn't necessarily say that either one of them did a demonstrably better job than the other.

One difference that I noticed was that the Veritas plane felt more stable to me. With the Stanley #45 it felt like it had more of a tendency wobble side to side, causing the plane to not always be perpendicular to the work piece. I didn't notice the wobble as much when I was using it, but the Veritas definitely felt more effortless in operation. I've also had many hours of practice with the #45 as well, so I didn't have any problems with it. I did notice it a lot more, and almost immediately, when Dave first used both. I'm sure he'd get the feel for the #45 after using it for more time, but it seemed like for a first time use scenario the Veritas was easier to handle.

I think the stability difference, at least with the ¼" iron, may be down to the width of the skates where they contact the bottom of the groove, and the tolerance of the skate walls fitting to the iron better. With the wider skates on the Veritas, it probably had a little more of a positive feel for when it was and wasn't square to the work. The other thing was that blade alignment knob on the sliding skate pushes the sliding skate right to the edge of the iron every time. Something that's more difficult with the Stanley since you have to eyeball it and do it by feel.

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*Center Beading*

The next operation was to center bead. Since we didn't have a Veritas beading iron, we used a ¼" Stanley beading iron on both planes. Again, the blade alignment knob in the sliding skate made the set up a lot easier on the Veritas, since it more or less did it for you. Again there was no demonstrable difference in either planes ability to put a bead in the center of the board.

Neither plane really did a whole lot better than the other when the fence was at the far end of its long rods. You still have to be careful not to rock the fence while planning with both of them. Even the Stanley camrest doesn't fully solve the problem, as you have to keep remembering to adjust it frequently. If anything, I'd saw the previously mentioned stability of the Veritas plane probably lets it edge out an ever so slight lead here.

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*Dado*

The last thing we did before packing up was to cut a dado. Again we used the ¼" irons for both planes. We set up to do the edge of the face, similar to when we cut the grooves; just going cross grain this time.

Setting up the knickers on the #45 is easy, you take out a screw, turn the spurs, and put the screw back in. The Veritas is a little more involved, and lets you fine tune things as you need to. There's a screw that holds the spur, and another set screw that can adjust the distance from the body or skate, to get it perfectly lined up with the edge of the skate. The knickers on the Veritas are shaped much more like the slitting iron on a #45 but only beveled on one side.

It was a little tricky to get the Veritas knickers set just right. The common problem with a screw holding something down is that tightening down the screw caused it to move a little bit when one side grabbed and the other hadn't yet. Not a huge deal, but noted none the less.

It was strange, however, when we actually used the knickers on the Veritas. We were only using a pine board for the demonstration, and the first time or two that I pulled the plane backwards across the board, one of the knickers had the tip curl over. "Was that like that before we set the knicker and we didn't notice? I'm not sure", so we flattened it out, reset the knickers, and tried again. The plane worked, and it scored the wood, but afterwards we noticed the other knicker now had the same problem. This may have been poor heat treating due to the small edge, or it could be an issue with the shape and size of the tip (being pointed), we're not sure. I would probably sharpen these to eventually be rounded, and look more like a fingernail than pointed, as that may hold up better with use.

That issue aside, before the tips curled, the Veritas plane's knickers worked much more smoothly than the Stanley's. The issue with the knickers on the Stanley is that they've got 2 settings; Engaged and disengaged. There's no depth adjustment beyond just filing and sharpening one of the 3 spurs shorter. In the pine, the heavy depth of the knickers on the #45 was noticeable, and some parts along the edge had some tearing where the wood didn't cut cleanly on the back stroke. The Veritas was much more like a marking knife line, and worked well.

After that both planes cut the dado fine, and behaved much like the grooving operation.

It may also be of note, that Veritas didn't really get much accomplished to solve the mouth jamming up with shavings, especially with thin or narrow shavings.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Nice write up…..how would the Veritas do when doing Match plane cuts?


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Didn't have a chance to try it out on the Veritas, but from the other trials we did I don't think it would be any different than with the #45. In my exerpiences T&G with the #45 works, but I think i'd rather have a more dedicated plane for that if I were going to be doing it frequently


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


I had heard others complain about the nickers. Would shop made replacements improve them?


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Thank you Mos.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...





> I had heard others complain about the nickers. Would shop made replacements improve them?
> 
> - WayneC


I think so, and they wouldn't be terribly hard to make either. I'd be really surprised if this issue sticks around though. I would hope that Lee Valley would address the issue going forward, if it's a widespread one…


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...





> I had heard others complain about the nickers. Would shop made replacements improve them?


I think it'll be easy enough to improve the nickers without making full replacements if Veritas / Lee Valley don't do something. The very tips of them folded over, and filing them flat seemed to address the problem - got thicker metal now, and they didn't fold over again once I'd done that.

That said, I retracted them later in the day to cut a few grooves with the grain, but unless they just weren't hardened correctly, I'm sure I'll eventually manage to sharpen / shape them so they work well. And if not, they look pretty darned easy to replace if I must.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *Thoughts on Use*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...





> Didn t have a chance to try it out on the Veritas, but from the other trials we did I don t think it would be any different than with the #45. In my exerpiences T&G with the #45 works, but I think i d rather have a more dedicated plane for that if I were going to be doing it frequently


After more than a year of use, and a handful of T&Gs cut with the Veritas, it works, but it's far from ideal. I get just enough wobble, even with the more stable Veritas, that the tongue ends up with slightly non-parallel sides and slightly sloped shoulders, so the joint isn't as secure as I'd like. Plus, the same depth stop setting left me with slightly different depths for the tongue and groove (due to a difference in cutter depth, I think).

I don't think I would recommend the tongue cutters to someone buying a Veritas Combination Plane. Using a regular cutter twice to cut the tongues will work, won't be significantly more frustrating, and will also not have the problems with the same depth stop setting producing different results with the two different cutters. Yes, it means making two passes down the board, and one of them will have grain going the wrong direction, but it'll be easier to set up and repeat.

As for the nickers, I mostly don't use them. If I'm cutting cross grain with the combination plane, I use a marking knife and a straightedge to score the grain, rather than fiddling with the nicker and then having the tip of it fold over on me. I'm pretty convinced the ones I got have a failed heat-treat, but I haven't bothered to contact Veritas tech support about it. I could heat treat them myself (they're little, and I've got a MAPP gas torch) if I cared, but it's easier to just ignore them entirely, especially since it takes a special tool (an Allen wrench, but still) to adjust them.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*My Conclusions*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
General Comparison
Irons Comparison
Rods and Fence Comparison
Thoughts on Use
*My Conclusions*
Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave

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*My Conclusions*

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I'm going to restate this as it seems to have been missed by a few people in the beginning:

Second, I'm going to throw out the disclaimer that this was by no means a 100% exhaustive test. We did not do things like study edge retention, sharpening, and haven't done any prolonged use/testing of the Veritas plane. It was largely just a comparison of the two on a visual, mechanical, and basic general use level. We only had the one standard Veritas iron, and spent about 4 hours messing around with the two planes. We didn't try every single operation, or every single iron, so take that for what it's worth.

Alright, now the opinion part of things… What are my thoughts on the new Veritas Combination Plane? In short, I like it and I wouldn't mind owning one.

The longer version follows.

All of the adjustment knobs (I believe there are 17 solid brass knobs on this thing), for the most part were a lot less fiddly than the #45. That's not to say that you don't sneak up on the right cutting depth by loosening the iron, moving the depth adjuster, tightening the iron, try again and get no shaving, then repeat, and repeat, and repeat…That's just sort of how the process goes in general.

What I mean is things like the micro adjustment on the fence. It's smooth, and I think it works better. With the Veritas there are two knurled knobs on both of the rods that hold the wooden fence on instead of just the one on the Stanley. The micro adjustment knob is then captured by some retention clips on both sides of the fence, so the knob doesn't move, only threads into and out of the wooden fence portion. This mechanism was smoother than the double-threaded screw that the Stanley uses. It also felt more secure when tightened back down as well, due to the thumb screw on both rods rather than just the front one.

There was almost no backlash on the depth adjustment for the Veritas, as one would expect from a brand new tool. I'm used to the #45 and how much backlash there is (movement in the adjuster before that actually translates into cutter movement), so kept over-shooting my spot on the Veritas. This is much like with 100+ year old Stanley bench planes vs a Lie Nielsen bench plane depth adjustment wheel too. It happens with age, so I would assume after 100 years the Veritas would likely have the same problem 

I also feel the lever cap with a screw for holding the iron in place is also nicer on the Veritas than the wing nut and clamp on the #45. It seems to be a little easier to use, and gets a good hold on the iron.

I wasn't sure I was going to like the tote and not being able to extend my pointer finger like I do with the #45, but I got used to that quickly, and I never felt like I needed that for the extra feel and control. It seemed to just work with far less subconscious input.

I never found myself wishing I had a knob on the fence either. I never use the one on the #45, and didn't miss it on the Veritas either.

Now, the price… Yeah, the Veritas caries a hefty price tag. At the moment, the plane is $400 USD ($399), and you only get one iron (1/4" groove). All in, including plane, all the irons, and the box and I think you're looking at somewhere between $1,000 and $1,100, which is an awful lot of money. If you're thrifty, diligent, and lucky you can get into a #45 for *FAR* less than $1,000. A pristine example of a #45, though, will find you closer in the $200-$400 neighborhood with a full set of irons and box.

Yes, it's a lot of money but I do think it's worth the asking price, at least to me. Everything is a little tighter, adjusts a little smoother, and I found it to be comfortable and easy to use.

If you have a Stanley #45 and you're happy with it, keep it. I'm not 100% sure I would say it's worth upgrading if you've already got a #45 that you've figured out and gotten good at using.

If you've got no combination plane, and you want one but are on the fence between trying to find an old #45 or the new Veritas, I don't think you'd go wrong with either. There are tradeoffs both ways, naturally. In my mind, the advantages of the #45 are that you can get into one including irons for less money than the Veritas which only comes with one iron. If you're into vintage hand tools, the #45 will also satisfy that itch too ;-). The advantages of the Veritas are that it's ready to go as soon as you get it. You don't have to worry about buying a plane off eBay and hoping the seller represented it correctly, or that all the pieces are there and working. You won't have to clean any rust off of it before you put it to use, and everything adjusts smoothly and accurately. The blade alignment knob and small blade support knobs are both nice additions to what the #45 was as well, and though they seem minor, I would gladly pay more for a #45 to have them.

If you want something that just works no hassle and don't mind dropping some pennies, then the Veritas is definitely the way to go. If you want, or have, to save some of those pennies then you'll probably be happy with a #45 in your arsenal. They both work, and they both work well, but I'd have to admit that I do think the Veritas works a little better when all things are considered. It's hard to beat the set up/adjustment times, accuracy in those adjustments, and ease of use that come with the Veritas.

Will I be buying one? Not right now, but I haven't ruled out buying one down the road. It is a very nice plane.

If you've made it this far, holy crap I'm sorry!


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Right now, with a fixed income, I am staying with a Stanley #45. have it tuned up, and I think I have it figured out.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Thank you for your review efforts, Mos! Nice work!


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
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> *Table of Contents*
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I would say it's on par with what I would expect minus the knicker issue. That I wouldn't have expected from them but they're usually pretty good about fixing problems.

thanks for this mr evangelist.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...


Thanks for writing that up, Mos. Glad to meet you and get to provide the Veritas for you to compare and get to watch the process and play with your 45s.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
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> ...





> If you've made it this far, holy crap I'm sorry!
> - Mosquito


Haha, awesome write up, thanks for the detail.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...





> Right now, with a fixed income, I am staying with a Stanley #45. have it tuned up, and I think I have it figured out.
> 
> - bandit571


I would agree with that stance. To me, a decently tuned #45 does just fine, and I don't think I'd rush out to replace a functioning #45 in most circumstances.



> I would say it s on par with what I would expect minus the knicker issue. That I wouldn t have expected from them but they re usually pretty good about fixing problems.
> 
> thanks for this mr evangelist.
> 
> - TheFridge


I agree, which is why I hope it's an anomaly in part of the process rather than the normal. And if this is a widespread issue, I would trust that they would fix it soon in future shipments.



> Thank you for your review efforts, Mos! Nice work!
> 
> - Smitty_Cabinetshop





> Thanks for writing that up, Mos. Glad to meet you and get to provide the Veritas for you to compare and get to watch the process and play with your 45s.
> 
> - Dave Polaschek





> > If you've made it this far, holy crap I'm sorry!
> > - Mosquito
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks guys! It was fun to get to try it out and compare.


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## ArgosyBob (Sep 11, 2017)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


I was excited to see a new combination plane being offered, but when I saw the details of it on the Lee Valley website, I kinda lost interest. It looks a lot like my Record 050C (which I really like) and it lacks some of the functionality of the Stanley 45/Record 405. I'm going to pass on this plane, though I may buy a few of the cutters. I use my Record 050C and 405 a lot. I even bought an extra Stanley 45 to dedicate to the special bases, but even so, I have a heck of a lot less money in those 3 planes than it would take to add this new one to the arsenal. Still, it does look well made.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Thanks for the review. Given the investment I have in legacy combination planes, I probably could not justify a purchase. But it sounds nice.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...





> To me, a decently tuned #45 does just fine, and I don't think I'd rush out to replace a functioning #45 in most circumstances.
> 
> - Mosquito


I don't mean for this to sound snarky, but under what kind of circumstances should someone rush to replace a functioning #45 with the Veritas combination plane? That's a big chunk of change to plop down. I really do think it appeals primarily to the 'only buy new' market segment. And make no mistake, that's a very important group of folks because it fuels manufacturers like Veritas and L-N. That said, ArgosyBob's post is a good reflection of where I'm at as well. No surprise to anyone, right?


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Excellent. Thank you Mos.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


I think Tony just returned the favor on the notification spam lol



> > To me, a decently tuned #45 does just fine, and I don t think I d rush out to replace a functioning #45 in most circumstances.
> >
> > - Mosquito
> 
> ...


No surprise, and I don't think anyone would expect me to dump all my #45s either lol (Though if I sold them all I could get a couple of the Veritas sets…)

In my mind, I could see someone who's already got the Veritas Small combination plane and all of its irons and a Stanley #45 dumping the #45 and getting the Veritas as it uses the same irons, and is a smaller/lighter package, and for consistency (yes, I admit that sometimes it bugs me that my table saw is a Walker-Turner, my Band-saw is a Delta, and my drillpress is a Craftsman…). I also think that if travel was of the utmost importance to someone, say they have a traveling tool chest and frequently use it, perhaps this may be a better option to help save on some weight. It's not a lot, but every little bit helps, right? Other than that, I don't know of many reasons to sell a complete and working #45 to replace it, unless you'd rather not deal with the slightly more fiddly set up of the Stanley. Certainly agree that it's a nice offering from the new crowd.

I think it's a lot easier of a sell to someone like Dave, who's looking to buy and doesn't currently own a #45 (or equivalent), but still comes down to a less time more money vs more time less money. I'll be keeping my #45, but maybe some year if one shows up in the factory seconds Cyber Monday sale and I've got no other ideas for Christmas…. who knows ;-)


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


^ Very thoughtful answer, Mos. And a good one, too. Thanks very much, those are all valid selling points.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


I am keeping ideas rolling around for retrofitting something like that blade alignment knob though. That was probably the single most significant improvement that I saw on it. It was nice and made set up easier


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


I did return the favor, although the gratitude for all the write-ups and sharing of knowledge was the intent.


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## WayneC (Mar 8, 2007)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...





> I am keeping ideas rolling around for retrofitting something like that blade alignment knob though. That was probably the single most significant improvement that I saw on it. It was nice and made set up easier
> 
> - Mosquito


Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Some mentioned free shipping was ending today. Not a combination plane, but I ordered the medium router plane. Been on my list for a while.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...





> I think it's a lot easier of a sell to someone like Dave, who's looking to buy and doesn't currently own a #45 (or equivalent), but still comes down to a less time more money vs more time less money.


Yeah. I'd been "sorta looking" for a 45 for a while, but hadn't found an especially nice one that wasn't priced pretty high. And when I played with the Veritas one down at Handworks, they had me sold. But then I was pretty much exactly who they made this for, so if they hadn't sold me, that would be cause for worry.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


You may be getting a bit more traffic….I posted a few blurbs about this review….one is even calling me a Liar! Jumped all over me, in fact…..and all I did was repeat what was said here….

Neanderthal Haven be the place…over on SMC….


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


The type of person you ran into on SMC is the exact reason I'm not on SMC…


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## revrok (May 1, 2014)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


I won't be spending the money, for all the reasons mentioned, but Veritas' innovation is a blessing to all. I own a pair of their saws and though I am making my next back saw, I very much appreciate my saws!


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Mos, there was talk over there about that blade alignment feature you were impressed with. Seems there was a short-lived variant in the #55 line that actually had such a thing. No pictures accompanied the talk, sadly, but it appears Stanley adopted such a thing for at least one 'type' of multiplane.

I found that interesting, as you had mentioned it as being a plus for the Veritas.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Yeah, I saw that mentioned too, but haven't yet located such an example, but still looking. I don't believe either of my #55's have what they describe


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## Just_Iain (Apr 5, 2017)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Thank You Mos and Dave. A very balanced review.


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

Mosquito said:


> *My Conclusions*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Thanks Iain, it was fun to do too


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

*Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave*

*Table of Contents*


Introduction
General Comparison
Irons Comparison
Rods and Fence Comparison
Thoughts on Use
My Conclusions
*Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave*

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*Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave*

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Dave, who graciously lent the time and Veritas plane for this, posted a comment as a follow up after having and using the plane since this write up was completed. I thought it would be a good thing to add on to the blog series, for better visibility, as so often reviews of things are only ever as deep as initial impressions.



> *Dave Polaschek*
> 
> After more than a year of use, and a handful of T&Gs cut with the Veritas, it works, but it's far from ideal. I get just enough wobble, even with the more stable Veritas, that the tongue ends up with slightly non-parallel sides and slightly sloped shoulders, so the joint isn't as secure as I'd like. Plus, the same depth stop setting left me with slightly different depths for the tongue and groove (due to a difference in cutter depth, I think).
> 
> ...


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## AnthonyReed (Sep 20, 2011)

Mosquito said:


> *Living with the Plane - A Perspective from Dave*
> 
> *Table of Contents*
> 
> ...


Thank you Dave and Mos!


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