[OP]
Member
Hey guys,
So I decided to take a plunge and buy a new low angle jack plane. Im torn between the LN and the LV. LN has a nicer aesthetic and I personally think it looks nicer but the LV has multiple angle blades. Is there any other differences between the two? I know that LN uses baileys design while LV uses norris. But I'm not really sure what that means.
Contributor
The differences:Originally Posted by Peter Choi
The LN isn't actually a Bailey design. The Bailey adjuster is on almost all of the Stanley and many other's bench planes. The LN #62 is adjusted by a nut on a threaded rod with the nut working directly on the blade without a lever in between. Lateral adjustment is done by hand or with taps from a small mallet/hammer.
The LV Norris adjuster combines depth and lateral adjustment in one control.
There are multiple blades also available for the LN. Besides, a different angle is something that can be done to a standard angle blade with a secondary bevel.
The common praise on the LV family of planes is the different planes that use the same 2-1/4" blade. If you are going to buy the whole set; smoother, jack and jointer, this may make a good argument for the LV.
One accessory that tipped my choice to the LN #62 is the hot dog. This is especially comfortable when using a shooting board. Derek Cohen has an excellent post on making his own for his LV jack plane.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
LN can supply you with additional irons. IIRC, they have a 50* listed [which gives you an included angle of 62*], but I also remember seeing somewhere on the site that you can order irons from them in any angle you like. OR, take a little bit of time and grind down your own.
Beyond that - you won't make a mistake either way. I have a couple LV planes, but the big majority is LN.
JIm K types faster than I do - sorry for the overlap.
When I started woodworking, I didn't know squat. I have progressed in 30 years - now I do know squat.
Moderator
The Veritas also has lateral set screws on either side of the blade that keep the blade squared during removal and insertion, so resetting after sharpening is marginally easier in it. I lost mine though
As for multiple blade grinds, they're all the same blade, just with a different grind. In fact, after having bought a couple at different angles, I reground all my veritas blades to 25 and just honed a different micro on some like my smoother. GRINDING a primary commits you a little harder to something you may not find suits you (those higher angles are harder to push, and aren't the only path to cleaner cuts in figured wood).
I have the Veritas LA jointer. And I do share the toothed blade between the two planes. I like that feature.
The nice thing about the LN LA jack, I have to say, is the fact that you can get a hot-dog handle for it. Both planes can be used in for shooting. I use my Veritas as a shooter. The grip is awkward though; I end up gripping around the blade assembly which doesn't feel right and makes me nervous of moving it. Lie Nielsen has addressed this with the hot dog.
Contributor
Buy your irons @ 25° and then hone a secondary bevel at any angle you want. Derek Cohen's site has a good article on the subject, which is how I learned about it. You will probably also want a toothing blade. As has been said, the LV blades can come in PM-V11 and will fit the shooter, big smoother, the jack, and the #7 sized jointer. The jointer takes a very useful fence. If any of that commonality appeals to you then you will want to go LV for sure. Otherwise go with your heart.
Member
If I were in your position, I would add the low angle jack rabbet from Lee Valley, sorry to add to the confusion. I own the LN 62 and love it. I also own Lee Valley planes and I can not say enough good things about their design, manufacture and performance, exceptional.
If you have an opportunity to touch both planes, and have a few swipes with them, you should base your decision on that experience, they are both fantastic tools. I threw in the jack rabbet because it adds a little extra functionality (not critical) and you can add a variable angle fence recently released by Lee Valley... like I said, not crrtical, I am just brain washing myself into thinking I need one.
Pedro
Contributor
Or I started typing a lot earlier.JIm K types faster than I do -
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Member
One thing to consider is bench height. In my experience, the lv planes (which I have a preference for) seem to work better and more comfortable if your bench height is such that you are pushing with your elbow quite low. In other words, the closer you can get your forearm to parallel when pushing the plane, the better. So a slightly higher bench helps.
the LN is easier to use if your arm is at more of an angle, so a lower bench helps. This is largely due to the angle of the handles.
YMMV, of course.
Last edited by paul cottingham; 04-24-2015 at 1:48 AM.
Paul
Both are fine tools. I too made a hot dog for my LV LAJ.
hotDogTote 3.jpghot dog slot-finish 009.jpgSB-Guide-Rail 003.jpg
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Contributor
Both are excellent planes. I went with LV because of the availabilty of a number of different planes with the same blade, and because with all else being equal, they were a bit cheaper as well. I now probably have 10 or 12 irons for the bevel ups, and I have a smoother, jack, jointer, and a shooting plane that all take the same blade. By the way, if you get the toothed blade you will love it for figured woods. Oh, and the PMV11 is also a very good steel if you want to split hairs... literally! :-)
Member
On the grind/bevel angle of irons for the LV. Quite a few argue that it's most straightforward to go with the 25 deg all the time, and to rely on adding a microbevel when steeper angles are required when needing to add some camber as well - it's very hard work to do so over a full thickness bevel.
It seems to work very well, but unfortunately i had bought some irons with steeper bevels before i heard of the option from Derek C's site - with the result that (since i'm nowhere near an LV outlet) i ended up needing to regrind them. Which was hard work...
Last edited by ian maybury; 04-23-2015 at 7:35 PM.
Contributor
I have the LN, use it a lot and is like it.
I find A2 blades to need a bevel of 34-35 degrees to hold up really well so a low angle plane for me is not lower than my standard pitch plane.
I use it for shooting and put a heavily cambered blade in it for rough stock removal.
Member
I like Veritas offerings more in general, but the big thing for me against Lie Nielsen is they only offer blades in A2 steel as Brian mentioned. I don't like A2 at all, so even if I wanted to go with a Lie Neilsen plane I'd have to find/or make a replacement iron for it.
I love my LAJ though. It's my most used plane by far.
Contributor
Marc, I think they offer o1 as well...At least I have a replacement blade in 01.
A2 is not my favorite either.
Bumbling forward into the unknown.
I run PM-V11 at 25 degrees with good success.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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