My Lonely LN BU Jack

[steven c newman]

I have a Vintage #5 as a cambered planeSDC14366.jpg And a couple #6s as Fore/Try planesSDC14368.jpg and IF I get around to making a shooting board, that #6c would be on it, There is also the usual smoothers around. Even bevel a table edge with a few planesSDC14272.jpgSDC14273.jpg The #4 to start the end grain bevels, and the block plane to smooth it off. The long grain sides were beveled with the longer plane. I do have three BU planes.....all block planes. The newest of which is just under 60 years young....

[Adam Cruea]

Agree with Zach and others about getting a vintage #5 for the roughing. I think it was Derek Cohen who wrote an article about the geometry of cambering a bevel up blade, which requires you to remove a ton of steel. Doesn't look like fun. #5's are plentiful and cheap. It doesn't even need to be super flat. Just needs a very sharp blade and a frog that will support the blade solidly. If you want to supercharge it, get a Hock replacement blade and cap iron for the #5. It will soon become one of your favorite planes.

Steve

I didn't get a Hock, but I did get a replacement LV A2 iron and cap. This turned one of my #5's from a "meh, decent" to my "go-to" plane for almost everything. Rough work? #5 with a wide mouth and that iron sticking out like a sore thumb. Pre-finishing work? #5 with the iron barely peeking out and the mouth shut like a spy's. Some finish work on smaller pieces? #5, same way as pre-finish.

Don't get me wrong, I still *love* my #8 smooth-bottom I bought from Supertool. There's nothing like ramming that 10 pound monster down a board and hearing the wood shaved gently off and never feeling that thing slow down in tough grain. Same with my two #7's. But by far, my #5 gets the most work of all my planes. It really is a jack-of-all-trades type of plane just because of the size.

Oh, and getting an old #5 Bailey or Stanley is pretty dirt cheap. I think I got my rust-bucket on Fleabay for around $30, and that seems to be a fairly usual going price.

[steven c newman]

I have looked at those Bevel up jacks, decided they were nothing more than overgrown Block Planes, and moved on. Maybe I should try this one to shoot small miters?SDC14005.jpg

[Jonas Baker]

I wouldn't use a toothed plane for heavy stock removal. No reason for it. And I'm still not sold on using a bevel up plane for rough work. I know the modern planes are much better, quality wise, than the old ones, but I still can't get ever a perceived fragility that stems from seeing so many 62s with busted castings and chipped mouths. If I were you, I'd probably keep the BU as a shooting plane and find a vintage jack (Stanley-esque or woodie, doesn't matter) for my rough work. Or sell the BU, still buy the vintage jack, and use the 7 for shooting.

I have a Lie Nielsen 62 and I use it with a toothed iron for heavy stock removal as well as shooting with the hotdog attachment. I enjoy using the toothed iron, as I am able to remove a lot of wood with little effort, and not have to worry about getting tear out. Of course a heavily cambered iron in a jack plane works very well also. I am moving more and more to using wooden planes (jointer and jack), and I just don't get as much satisfaction out of using iron planes, but the #62 is one I keep for it's technically proficient design.

I compared shooting on a Lie-Nielsen 51, #9, and a 62 with the hotdog attachment, and they all worked well (of course a #6 or 5 1/2 will work well too in terms of getting the job done), but they were also all comfortable in use when shooting. I find the #62 works very well for shooting, and is very comfortable with the hotdog attachment. I get sore hands when using a bevel down plane when shooting, and I also can't get as good as a grip which can lead to the plane getting off of it's sides and not shooting at proper perpendicular angle to the board when you are shooting thicker wood that may be more difficult to shoot, like thicker pieces for instance.

So for me, the low angle jack is not used as a jack of all trades, but it comes in handy for a lot of tasks even still.

Jonas

[Zach Dillinger]

I have a Lie Nielsen 62 and I use it with a toothed iron for heavy stock removal as well as shooting with the hotdog attachment. I enjoy using the toothed iron, as I am able to remove a lot of wood with little effort, and not have to worry about getting tear out. Of course a heavily cambered iron in a jack plane works very well also. I am moving more and more to using wooden planes (jointer and jack), and I just don't get as much satisfaction out of using iron planes, but the #62 is one I keep for it's technically proficient design.

I compared shooting on a Lie-Nielsen 51, #9, and a 62 with the hotdog attachment, and they all worked well (of course a #6 or 5 1/2 will work well too in terms of getting the job done), but they were also all comfortable in use when shooting. I find the #62 works very well for shooting, and is very comfortable with the hotdog attachment. I get sore hands when using a bevel down plane when shooting, and I also can't get as good as a grip which can lead to the plane getting off of it's sides and not shooting at proper perpendicular angle to the board when you are shooting thicker wood that may be more difficult to shoot, like thicker pieces for instance.

So for me, the low angle jack is not used as a jack of all trades, but it comes in handy for a lot of tasks even still.

Jonas

A toothing iron will work ok for heavy stock removal. I just don't think it does a better job than a vintage jack, certainly not enough to justify buying a new toothing iron when a vintage jack could be had for significantly less than the iron itself. I much prefer peeling a big ol' 1/16" shaving or so with my wooden jack plane to the toothing iron / 62. On stock removal, tearout isn't a concern unless you are really gouging up the grain (shouldn't happen with smart stock selection and proper sharpening / planing technique) or you are doing a finished surface with the plane (not likely with a toothing iron, unless its the inside of a case, in which case tearout is meaningless). Different strokes and all that. I'm glad you found something that works for you. And no doubt the plane is handy.

[Jim Koepke]

A toothing iron will work ok for heavy stock removal. I just don't think it does a better job than a vintage jack, certainly not enough to justify buying a new toothing iron when a vintage jack could be had for significantly less than the iron itself.

Why buy a toothing iron when pitted blades are a dime a dozen and do the same thing?

jtk

[Zach Dillinger]

That there is a million dollar idea! Take the old pitted blades and sell 'em as specialty toothed blades for heavy planing. Brilliant!

[Mark Roderick]

To prove that there are many roads to the same end, I do use my low-angle jack plane for stock removal and love it. To flatten a table top, for example, I use two planes, my low-angle jack with a toothed blade, then my jointer with a regular blade, both by LN. The advantage of the toothed blade is that there is much less chance of disastrous tearout than using a scrub plane. So you get the rough surface with the toothed blade and follow it up with the wonderful long jointer. Goes very swiftly and smoothly.

I guess I should add that I also use the low-angle jack as a shooting plane and other general-purpose tasks.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I use my LN low-angle jack for rough work too - bought a second blade and ground a heavy camber on it for working across or diagonally to the grain. I've managed to wear all the finish off the handles which are now this weird gray color, but it does the job for me.