Kinda confused as to what the difference is. Be gentle...I'm new to planes. How are these two planes different and which is preferred?
[OP]
Contributor
Veritas Bevel Up Smoother Or Low Angle Smooth Plane?
Kinda confused as to what the difference is. Be gentle...I'm new to planes. How are these two planes different and which is preferred?
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One has milled sides that are 90 deg to the bed, and one just has sides that are left as they were cast. The low angle smoother can be used on a shooting board on its side while the bevel up one cannot. The bevel up smoother has a 1/4" wider blade.
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Bevel up smoother is also quite a bit heavier and better as a pure smoother.Originally Posted by Jeffrey Martel
Member
The one without the smooth sides takes the same blades as the other bevel up planes. so in that way, it is more useful, and versatile.
Paul
Member
For someone new to handplaning, I would recommend the LA smooth. The BU smoother, with its 38* blade, is given this description on the Lee Valley website:
A nice complement to our low-angle jack plane, our state-of-the-art smoothing plane is the tool to use for the final finish on surfaces, especially woods of difficult grain patterns.
The LA smooth is much lighter, more suitable for general planing and smoothing tasks.
Simon
Contributor
Size wise, the LA smoother is more like a Stanley #4 whereas the Bevel Up Smoother is more like a #4-1/2.
Both bevel up of course, just that the LAS is more useful as described in earlier posts. I have 25, 38, 50 and toothed blades for it and I find it pretty comfortable to use. Unless you are going to be smoothing plenty of very large boards, then this is the one to get initially. I say that because eventually you'll want the heavier, broader version for certain tasks but I would then suggest looking at the new Veritas custom planes, specifically the 4-1/2.
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
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How is it better? The only difference is that it's wider. That's the only difference I can see for smoothing purposes.
Contributor
I find the heavier weight rather than the wider width an advantage for smoothing. Also as mentioned before this plane uses the same blade as the low angle jack and the jointer. I have all three and some extra irons at different angles which gives a lot of options. Again, it is a personal preference. If I recall correctly Derek Cohen has a very good review on his website. You may benefit from reading his perspective.
Last edited by Frank Martin; 03-15-2015 at 7:06 AM.
Contributor
Ditto what Frank just said. I like the 2 1/4" blade because it fits the jack, jointer, and shooter. I have probably 10 or more blades- some are duplicates- in 25, 38, 45 degree and toothed. If one were low on cash, however, they could have just the four and a bevel up smoother, jack, and jointer ,or even a shooter, and just move the desired blade from plane to plane. I keep multiples just so I can do one sharpening session and have a sharp blade for the whole project. I own the smoother, shooter, jack, and jointer.
If you are VERY low on cash and don't think you are ever going to afford or need a bevel-up jack and jointer, then the advantage of the low angle smoother is the flat sides for using as a shooter. Also if you do not prefer a heavier plane, or if you do smaller work, you may prefer this one.
Both are great tools.
Contributor
Don't want to confuse you, but if you are new to planes and use both power and hand tools, you may actually be better to start with the low angle jack plane. It will do many tasks very well along with a block plane.
Member
I'd say that a significant factor in this sort of call may be how you want to set your irons up (camber/no camber/bevel angle), and whether you are happy to change them when needed - or instead want to be able to leave your planes set up. There's probably different ways of hitting the bases though.
I ran into the same buying decision a few years ago, and went for the (wider) BU Smoother as a dedicated smoothing plane as I also had a BU low angle jack to set up with a straight cutting edge for shooting. This in turn was made possible by having a long serving Clifton no. 5 set up with some camber on the iron for more general use. One side of the sole casting on the Clifton is quite a bit out of square, and judging by feedback from elsewhere this may not be unique - so they are not necessarily the best choice for shooting.
If you need a more versatile or narrower plane instead for smoothing and other stuff then the the Low Angle Smoother may be suggested. One potential problem though with buying it (with the straight sides) to gain this versatility is that if you do want to sharpen it with camber and/or with a steeper bevel for smoothing then neither is ideal for shooting. Which might suggest a need for an inconvenient changing and re-setting of irons between jobs.
It can get into overkill, but if having bought the wider BU smoother you feel you could use a small plane for smoothing as well the Veritas low or std. angle block plane (which is quite large and hefty for a block plane) can also be set up with a slightly cambered blade for smoothing - there's even an accessory handle set available. The Veritas apron plane (being small) is in some ways a nice choice for a knock about block plane for smaller trimming jobs.
Against that if you don't mind changing out irons then it probably becomes possibly to get by very well with maybe just a BU Low Angle Jack/as Malcolm a Low Angle Smoother and a Low Angle Block plane.
The primary difference between the two Veritas smoothing planes is the blade width, and the machined sides on the narrower plane which make shooting an option. It seems likely that the heavier and wider plane is not set up that way because it would be less stable on edge - it's basically a dedicated smoothing plane. It's not had enormous use yet, but I do like the feel of the (big) BU smoother...
Last edited by ian maybury; 03-15-2015 at 6:28 PM.
Member
Fair enough. I bought the narrower version because I wanted it for shooting as well. I could see where the extra mass would be useful. All of my other planes are old Stanleys, and so far this is my only smoother. Thanks for the clarification. And as far as the cambering on the iron goes, I only really relieved the edges while keeping ~90% of the iron straight, so it still shoots fine. And I also have a 50deg blade that I use quite frequently as well for smoothing.
Last edited by Jeffrey Martel; 03-15-2015 at 5:19 PM.
Member
It's always down to the specifics Jeffrey….
On blade bevel angles/just in case. One perspective is Derek's view that it's possible a good idea to use a 25 deg iron for everything, and to rely on honing the micro bevel when more pitch is required. I've gone that route, but ended up needing to re-angle several high angled irons i had already bought to do so. So far so good, but i'd have saved myself an awful lot of tedious work if i'd thought of it soon enough/the distance had permitted exchanging what i had for 25deg irons.
Different though if you're not cambering across the width of the blade...
Last edited by ian maybury; 03-15-2015 at 6:37 PM.
Member
If you're not comfortable grinding blades to different angles,
stick with the Bailey design with a chip breaker.
They're versatile, less expensive and more flexible.
You can get most of your planing done with a well set up #4.
The LV #4 is VERY good, as an all around plane.
If you are comfortable getting a blade genuinely sharp,
and can get more than one cutting angle ground,
the LN #62 is an amazing plane.
It's good for shooting edges and ends, too.
In brief - if you're just starting out, a #4.
If you're a little further down the road
and have a #4 already - add a LN 62.
Contributor
Good advice this.
"If you have all your fingers, you can convert to Metric"
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