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Thread: Which block plane ? LV Low Angle or LV DX60

  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by David Weaver View Post
    (snip) I think LV is probably machining large areas because that's what people want to see, sort of as jewelry. I am sure they didn't overlook the functionality of the plane on the first go-around....

    That is just my opinion, though.
    Hi David -

    You're close. The areas are machined to remove material that could interfere with proper seating of the blade (I'll get to that in a moment). Cast metal does strange things when it cools - any features you put into a casting cool differently from surrounding areas. Management of where material is drawn from when the metal shrinks when cooling, affects stability and porosity of the final casting. In some cases - metal can be in a specific location just to establish a desired center of gravity. And, machining is not always to to establish contact surfaces - it could be for the purpose of ensuring a known clearance...

    As for blade bed.... well .... as I've written many times before (and it's often overlooked) we look for a blade/plane contact locus along the mouth of the plane, and a single area at the adjuster. We control the blade/bed contact areas precisely by design. Trying to do it by establishing two planes that contact each other fully is fraught with problems. In addition, loading the blade (or blade/cap iron combo) with the lever cap further ensures that we get the contact geometry we want.


    Cheers -

    Rob

  2. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Lee View Post
    Hi David -

    You're close. The areas are machined to remove material that could interfere with proper seating of the blade (I'll get to that in a moment). Cast metal does strange things when it cools - any features you put into a casting cool differently from surrounding areas. Management of where material is drawn from when the metal shrinks when cooling, affects stability and porosity of the final casting. In some cases - metal can be in a specific location just to establish a desired center of gravity. And, machining is not always to to establish contact surfaces - it could be for the purpose of ensuring a known clearance...

    As for blade bed.... well .... as I've written many times before (and it's often overlooked) we look for a blade/plane contact locus along the mouth of the plane, and a single area at the adjuster. We control the blade/bed contact areas precisely by design. Trying to do it by establishing two planes that contact each other fully is fraught with problems. In addition, loading the blade (or blade/cap iron combo) with the lever cap further ensures that we get the contact geometry we want.


    Cheers -

    Rob
    Aye, I guess what i'm getting at is why the material is there in the first place, and not just cast low enough away from the iron if it is wanted for a center of gravity.

    There are probably quite a lot of people who would love to see a solid jeweled bed all the way from the mouth to the rear of the plane.

    I recall now that you said something similar for the LA bench planes, that they are designed such that the contact is exactly where you want it to be.

    Coincidentally, I ran into this with my first infill due to two reasons
    1) laziness - just remove some of the material between the mouth and the contact point of the iron
    2) lack of skill. Maybe everyone has such a lack of skill when it comes to the tolerances it would take to float the bed of an infill perfectly along the iron (and nobody can see what happens even to the thick irons when the lever cap is clamped to them).

    Well, I guess a third, two, since I don't have the skill to make adjusters, I have to be careful that I control the points the iron contacts to that the plane adjusts predictably. If it's not even on those three points, or if there is interference, then tap the front of the plane, and what was an equal depth cut laterally is now not that.

    And, plus...when those points of contact are controlled, you can get by with not a whole lot of pressure from the lever cap in terms of not having to feel like you need to really screw the lever cap down hard to keep things stable, which is nice.

    Thanks for popping in and answering the question.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fayetteville, GA
    Posts
    437
    I had both at one time but keep the DX60. It fits my hand better and it's beautiful. I like the little set screw that keep the adjuster from lifting out of the body when I remove the blade.

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Dayton Ohio
    Posts
    910

    Another consideration....

    One thing not yet mentioned is that the LV DX60 (nickle/iron) and LN planes in bronze do not rust (except the blades).

    Also, it is handy to have more than one blade with different angles.

    What I like most about my LV DX60 is how fast and easy it is to make adjustments. On some other planes the adjustment has more slack and requires longer to adjust, leading me to not adjust them as much.

    Eric

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