Official Luthiers Forum!

I've got most of the miniature Veritas planes from Lee Valley courtesy of my wife who thought they would be a cute gift. To my surprise I have found them to be functional and quite useful. Their latest is a low-angle block plane. Works nicely out of the box but will do better after a tune up.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

"finger planes" are what most violin/viola makers use to carve tops...

Agreed!'
It is amazing how useful these little planes are.

i have a mini block plane in the mail now. glad to hear you like it!

do you have the mini router, do you like it?

_________________
http://www.wideskyguitars.com
https://www.instagram.com/wide_sky_guitars/

I have one of their detail palm planes that I use for carving braces and really like it a lot. It's about the same size as a 10 mm ibex finger plane on the business end, but the palm extension makes it much easier on my arthritic fingers. Highly recommend it.

I've got the mini router and it works well too.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

...would a router plane work for cutting truss rod channels in maple or mahogany...? i have never seen one before, looks like a useful tool

Might take a while but I'm sure it could be done, you would need to use a chisel or something to define the edges. If I was going to do the slot by hand I would probably chisel most of the waste out and use the router to clean up the bottom.

I cut truss rod channels on the table saw and use the little router to clean up the bottom of the slot and get it to the exact depth.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

A plow plane is the tool to use to cut truss rod channels by hand. Lee Valley has some nice ones but they are a bit spendy.

i'll look for a plow plane on eBay....from what i have seen, lee valley is way overpriced, or what i like to call....a ripoff

I beg to differ, I think Veritas tools are priced just right. I have never yet been disappointed with any of their products, and I have bought a fair few.

The company operates a huge R&D dept, and is totally committed to quality and innovation.

"Rip-offs" only happen when somebody knowingly sells crap tools, in which case it doesn't much matter what the price is ...

+1. Good tools are not cheap and the tools I've gotten from Lee Valley have been good quality.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

+2 on Lee Valley quality. I have been buying tools and supplies from them since Leonard Lee first started. I have rarely been dissapointed.

i'm sure the quality is fine....but i ain't buying a $320 block plane, or a hundred dollar chisel, any time soon!

Their regular block planes are less than $150. I don't know of any other new planes of comparable quality for less money.

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

It's a good thing that Lee Valley has a range of alternate choices that are high quality and much cheaper than $320 for a block plane or $100 for a chisel. If you really want to get spendy, check out the Bridge City Tool planes or some of the handmade ones out there.

Lee valey/veritas rocks my boat! I see it like this: 60 eur for a honing guide is not cheap, but for my limited capacity with sharpening it's more than worth it. Same thing with the low angle jack plane - not cheap, but I can't get the same kind of control and versatility from any other of my planes! Ymmv, of course.

Cheers,
Miguel.

_________________
member of the guild of professional dilettantes

http://www.holteyplanes.com/ I hear that they're awesome (sorry for the hijack).

Kevin Looker

_________________
I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Now why did you have to go and do that?

_________________
Finally escaped The Peoples' Republik of Massachusetts; I can smell the freedom in the air!

Karl Holtey builds by far the best planes the world has ever seen, and remarkably, builds them in the remote Scottish village wherein I spent my formative years.

His craftsmanship is absolutely staggering ...(as are his prices , but understandably so).

handmade, i can totally understand! forging metal well takes a lot of skill and sweat, and if i was selling hand forged tools you can bet i'd be charging a pretty penny

I've got to add another +1 to the Veritas planes. While they're not cheap, they are really great values for what you receive. I use one of their apron planes as well as a low angle jack and a low angle block plane with the add-on handles (to make a small low angle smoother), and they're all absolutely top notch. I've used a vintage Stanley #62 for years, and I've loved it--my favorite plane. But the Veritas version absolutely blows it away. The Norris style adjuster, combined with the really great throat adjustment, the blade centering screws and the thick iron make all the difference in the world.

I'm a cheapskate, but I'm willing to drop the bucks where they count. A great handplane is one of those places. +1 to Veritas.

Dave

You can buy the identical plane, except for the polished nickel-iron of the "Premium", for $185.

The Standard LA block plane for $139.

The Stanley LA is $43.50 and the new ones are barely adequate.

I'm using the older Stanley and soon enough I'll be happy to drop down the $185.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I really like Veritas planes, but both the $185 and the $139 models are a bit big and heavy for what I want to do with a block plane.

Get the $85 LV Apron plane. Narrow and light, Fits my hand great -it is my favorite and my most used plane.

-jd

I am a regular at Lee Valley but have not sprung for the high end planes, my 50 year old Stanley 60 1/2 does a great job. I have a couple of these http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=50232&cat=1,230,41182 miniature Block planes, one is modified with a radius on the sole for brace shaving. The irons hold an edge real well and the price was quite reasonable. I also have the chisel plane but have not found much use for it.

Fred

_________________
Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/FE-Tellier-Guitars/163451547003866