Poll for Bevel Up and Bevel Down Preference

[David Weaver]

Please answer this only if you've had a chance to use both types of planes a fair amount, like on a project or two each.

Consider the question is for bench planes, like in the process of dimensioning or smoothing wood, and not for shooting at least at this point.

(if you're european, you can vote as an american, I differentiated between BU and BD to remove the "patriotic" effect).

[David Weaver]

I'm sure people will accidentally vote wrong here because the answers are similar.

If you're european, I guess your answer would be similar to North American because the woods are similar.

I would assume folks from australia would prefer bevel up because so far the wood seems to favor it, but that's just a guess, thus concluding they'd like BU better, they're excluded from this poll.

[James Taglienti]

Bevel down all the way. Mind i dont have a la smoother just a jack and a bunch of blocks and rabbet planes. I dont like the low bed angle + high bevel angle i think the edge isnt as keen for as long. If there was a standard bed angle (20 degrees) bevel up smoother i would like that i think. Regardless, i have a lot more time on bevel down bench planes and they perform better than my skill level.

[Sanjeev Agarwal]

I have tried a lot to use Bevel Up Planes but I am sorry I cannot get myself to like them. The lack of changing blade depth on the fly while planing and lack of a lateral adjustment really annoy me. I find Bevel Down Planes so much better.

[glenn bradley]

They both have their place so I did not vote (don't want to foul the poll). I reach for my BU planes first generally but, a cutter with a close chip breaker does better for some jobs. I ignorantly assumed most folks had a mix and used them as preferred . . . oops.

[Rick Fisher]

I have both..

In using them .. its tough .. I have a Bevel up smoothing plane which is fantastic... and a Bevel down #5 LN which is also fantastic..

So I voted bevel down because they are more attractive to me .. lol

Funny.. when I think bevel up, I think Lee Valley .. When I think bevel down .. I think Lie Nielsen. Probably no good reason for it but that's what pop's in my head.

[Chris Griggs]

Bevel down is my preference, but it's not a landslide victory. For me its not about the adjustments (the LV BU planes are pretty easy to adjust on the fly, LNs BUs less so). Mostly its about feel which in all fairness likely comes down to the fact the I'm far more used to BD planes. Much of the feel difference comes from center of gravity and the low COG of the BU planes definitely feels different if you are used to BD. I do quite like the low COG in some situations, but overall am just more comfortable with the balance of a BD planes.

Also when thinking about the things I like better about my BU planes than BD (e.g. simple blade holding mechanism, sliding adjustable mouth) I realized that those things are not necessarily found on BU planes only. The new Stanleys for example have a sliding toe.

So anyway, in addition to liking the feel of BD planes better in terms of COG and also 3-fingered grip, I also prefer the fixed angle of attack determined by the frog in BD planes, vs the more variable angle of attack determined by BU planes. That's really the key universal difference between BU and BD planes - how the angle of attack is determined. For me, BD planes simplify sharpening in terms of worrying about angles and also in terms of cambering blades too.

Overall, they just fit with the way I work, sharpen, and think a bit better.

[Kees Heiden]

For me it's simple. I don't have new planes, so everything is bevel down.

[David Weaver]

They both have their place so I did not vote (don't want to foul the poll). I reach for my BU planes first generally but, a cutter with a close chip breaker does better for some jobs. I ignorantly assumed most folks had a mix and used them as preferred . . . oops.

I think a lot of people do. I guess this is a question more along the lines of if you could only pick one, which would you have?

As time goes on, I use a bevel down plane more often (be it japanese, a US origin woody, a bench plane or an infill plane) and my sole remaining LA plane gets used pretty much just for endgrain (LV LA jack).

Most people will probably change the way they do things several years after they start, especially if they don't work for money (and speed isn't an issue). I used to love low angle planes and scrapers, but as of now, I haven't scraped any of my last three projects at all, and sold of my two big scraper planes long ago. A sharp bench plane could do anything I do now with end grain, though the quick sharpening of the LA jack makes it nice for end grain work, something most people probably sharpen for more often.

[Chris Griggs]

A sharp bench plane could do anything I do now with end grain, though the quick sharpening of the LA jack makes it nice for end grain work, something most people probably sharpen for more often.

I too prefer BU planes for end grain, but its funny, my preference for using a BU plane on end grain had little to nothing to do with low angle of attack, and everything to do with the fact that I typically trim end grain on a shooting board and BU planes are just so much easier to hold on their side. I've been considering just leaving my LA jack setup with a 45 degree angle of attack (33 degree bevel) to make it more capable for most my long grain and still just fine for shooting (yes I realize I can just switch out blades, but I'm lazy...really, really lazy). I've never felt that a low angle offers that much advantage on end grain, at least not for the woods I work.

[Ron Kellison]

I'm a Dual Citizen. Still like bevel up!

Ron

[David Weaver]

I too prefer BU planes for end grain, but its funny, my preference for using a BU plane on end grain had little to nothing to do with low angle of attack, and everything to do with the fact that I typically trim end grain on a shooting board and BU planes are just so much easier to hold on their side. I've been considering just leaving my LA jack setup with a 45 degree angle of attack (33 degree bevel) to make it more capable for most my long grain and still just fine for shooting (yes I realize I can just switch out blades, but I'm lazy...really, really lazy). I've never felt that a low angle offers that much advantage on end grain, at least not for the woods I work.

Mine's not exceptionally low, either, somewhere in the range of 45 degrees. I don't know what the biggest advantage of a very low effective angle is, but probably just that you can take off a bit more end grain at a time. I'm never going for that off of a saw cut, I never leave that much to the mark. I like the way the iron holds up around 30 couple degrees a lot better, too. Seems to strike a nice balance between comfortable to use and no premature nicking, etc.

[David Weaver]

If my hunch is right, the less frequent readers of this side forum will now come in with higher preference #s for the BU planes, as I'd guess the chance of getting folks who use planes primarily to go over a freshly machine planed board should go up.

Going to dimensioning entirely by hand is about where I dropped off the use of my LA planes.

Another interesting iteration would be what people choose when they don't use machines. The sample size wouldn't be large enough, though, and I suspect beginners will like the BU planes a lot better because they are a simpler machine, still affordable in LV's trim, and they work well.

[David Weaver]

early results to measure against later

Experienced american users, 68.5% prefer BD as of noon 6/4
Of all american users, 64.xx % prefer BD as of noon 6/4

The total share of option 6, the most chosen, has slipped over the last couple of hours giving up its percentage almost entirely to BU users in other categories.

[Rick Fisher]

Well.. it could be that Bevel up will be like the metric system.. .. Some folks are more resistant to change than others..