Another small plane . . .

[Mike Cogswell]

Recently Chris Griggs started a thread about Why really small planes can be nice in furniture work.

Thanks to Chris, I wound up getting a Little Vic which is indeed a handy little plane. But, being a firm believer in wretched excess and new toys, I followed up later with another small plane: a Lie-Nielsen Violin Plane. While the Vic is a bevel down plane with a conventional bed angle, the little Violin plane is a bevel up design. It is basically a miniature version of a normal low angle bevel up plane. The operative word here is miniature. Like the Vic this plane easily goes where an apron plane or other small block plane wouldn't come close to fitting.

Out of the box it took only a moderate effort to polish the back of the blade and finely hone the bevel so the plane's little 7/8" blade slices easily. Just to put it in perspective, I have included some pictures showing the Violin and Vic together with a small plane (LN 102) and a normal size adjustable mouth block as well as the Vic and Violin in front of a #4. As you can see from the pics, this really is a tiny plane, but beautifully made and with all the functionality you'd find in a much larger version.

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[Chris Griggs]

You got both! Hilarious! That little LN really is a beauty. Thanks for posting. Do you find that you like one plane over the other for different tasks/situations? I would think that the LN would be nicer for little one-handed trimming tasks, where as the Vic might be nicer for things like smoothing small areas where the control from two hands in helpful (which is generally how I use it).

Have you found this to be the case?

I think we need a shot of the violin plane sitting next to your beloved bronze shoulder plane. That will be a a match made in heaven. Maybe if you store them together on the same shelf they'll reproduce and make you a sweet little wedged rabbeting version of the violin makers block plane...that would be awesome.

[Ryan Baker]

Thanks for the pics, Mike. That little LN has been on my [very] short list for a while.

[Mike Cogswell]

I would think that the LN would be nicer for little one-handed trimming tasks, where as the Vic might be nicer for things like smoothing small areas where the control from two hands in helpful (which is generally how I use it).

Have you found this to be the case?

Yes, the Vic is certainly easier for a two-handed grip while the violin plane is much more comfortable single handed. I'm actually getting pretty fond of the violin plane, it's nice to have a low angle plane that fits into a small space.

[Chris Griggs]

Glad to know your enjoying and finding both useful Mike!