Mini-Tool Review Veritas Low-Angle Bevel Up Jack plane

[Gofor]

I said I wouldn't, but then I did. Went looking for that Narex Chisel deal at Lee Valley and ran out of $$ before I got 'em. Happy Birthday to me!! Came away with this:


As you can see, I added a couple irons so it could be all that it could be, and besides, they will also fit the wooden plane I made.

Purchasing: Done online, no problems, and delivered well packaged on the date promised.

Quality: Very impressed. All parts are closely machined and close toleranced. Sole flat, sides square, and irons sharp, but I did hone them with 2000 grit and green buffing compound.



Comparability: Comes in a little larger than a Bailey #5 (more like 5 1/2), in width, length and weight. Handle is more up-right and a bit deeper. Mouth is about the same from the back of sole, but further back from the toe. Casting is heavier. Other than that, it is two different technologies as far as iron advancement, mouth adjustment, lateral control. Iron angle of attack is controlled by the bevel, so is easily modified. Size comparisons:


And shown here with a Bailey #5 and a Bailey #6


Versatility: With the three different irons, [Bevels of 25 (comes standard with plane), 38 and 50 degrees) it attacks the wood at 37, 50, and 62 degrees respectively. The angle of attack can be modified by changing the bevel. I tried all three on face grain (gnarly knotted white oak and black walnut), edge grain (white oak, walnut, purple heart, and cocobola) and end grain with shooting board (white oak, pine, walnut and cocobola).

Definitely makes a difference. The 25 bevel is easy to use, but readily results in tear out on face smoothing. Bad tear-out on the white oak face, but not as bad as the Baileys on the edge grain. Slid through the black walnut and purple heart edges like butter. Did superbly on all end grain except the cocbola (ended up having to re-sharpen the blade as it put minor knicks in the iron). The 38 bevel (basically York pitch as used) did well in all except the white oak face, where again I had tear-out. Seemed to be easier to push than the Bailey, but that may have been due to the added mass. The 50 bevel was a complete surprise. More umph needed on the face smoothing, but it had minimal tear-out that I cannot say was the plane's fault. I need to get more experienced at the proper mouth setting as well as depth for the difficult woods. On the edge and the end grain, it performed flawlessly, and was the best to use on the cocobola (left no tear-out on the intermittent grain). Pushes easily and actually cuts curls on smooth grain. Some examples:

Edge grain on cocobola. left is 50 bevel right is 25 bevel:


White oak with the 38 bevel:

Purple heart with 25 bevel:

and a managerie of white oak, pine and walnut end grains with the 25 on a shooting board:

Ease of adjustment: This is the easiest plane to adjust that I own. The mouth adjustment is made by loosening the front knob, but also has an adjustable stop so that you can prevent hitting the iron edge and micro-adjust the gap. SWEET!. Lateral adjustment is made by swinging the depth adjustment knob, but can be controlled by set screws in the sides to keep an iron square to the sole if not ground perfectly.

Summary: Very well crafted tool that worked great right out-of-the-box. It is different than the Stanley/Bailey in the tote, but I did not find that a problem. In fact, I think it made me more conscious of pushing straight rather than downward, which I found benefited me when I used the Stanley's. It is more versatile with pitch modification and easier in mouth adjustment.

Caveats: I am not a Galoot. I do have and use hand planes, but this plane now gives me a target of performance to shoot for when re-tuning my others. I tried not to let the fact that this is my newest and most expensive (by far for this ol' miser) hand tool affect my judgment, but cannot say that those factors did not influence my evaluation.

Oh Yeah, this is also my birthday gloat.

Go

More pics in my gallery under the "tools" album.

[Sealeveler]

Sweet looking gloat there.Thanks for the review.
Tony

[froglips]

Wonderful review! I really enjoyed reading it.

Nice comparison of bevel angles.

Did anything influence your decision over say a Lie-Nielsen or other premium planes?

Jim

[eyekode]

Sigh... you are not helping my budget!

[LeeNC]

The LV BUJ was my first hand plane. I love mine. It spent some time this weekend getting to final dimensions, smoothing and on the shooting board mitering the ends of some small pieces for a jewelry box tray. The plane is so versatile and easy to adjust that it was no problem to use one plane to do all of that. I was working on both soft maple and Brazilian mahogany with out any problems.

Lee

[Train Guy]

Nice set!

[cpowell]

Go - Nice review.

I recently picked up a LV BU smoother with all 3 blades and just grinned the first time I used it. I like it a lot and I bet the BUJ is even more versatile.

Happy Birthday!!


Chuck

[McRabbet]

Drool, slobber, smack, I'm jealous, but thanks for a great review. I can't say enough good things about Lee Valley Tools (especially Veritas planes) -- they are top shelf all the way.

[BSHuff]

I recently got one too, and I love it. The only 'complaint' I have had over all with it, is the front knob design does not fit my holding style. Would like a little taller front knob. My little finger feels cramped/doesn't seem like it has a place 'to go' when using it. Other than that minor little beef I really like it a LOT. I use it for a lot more than I thought I would. Is now my primary 'big' plane. Used to use a bailey #3 & #5. But I do find myself using it more for some tasks I used to use my block plane for.

[Gofor]

Wonderful review! I really enjoyed reading it.

Nice comparison of bevel angles.

Did anything influence your decision over say a Lie-Nielsen or other premium planes?

Jim

I have been wanting to see what a good quality plane felt like to use for quite a while. Problems I ran into when building a hope chest for my niece also had me wanting to try a higher pitch. Then, about 2 weeks ago out of nowhere, I received a Lee-Valley Introductory catalog in the mail. I flipped to the page on bench planes, and the opposite page had the low-angle ones (I had disregarded the idea of "low angle" due to the tear-out problems I had been having.) On that page were some pictorial descriptions showing the different bevel angles and the resulting pitch. The versatility hooked me.

I enjoy making tuning tools to work like designed, and really like using well designed tools. The Lie-Nielsen's look to be outstanding, are made in the USA, and the irons would fit my other Bailey's. But I would have had to buy the plane and at least one more frog. Budget-wise I just couldn't stretch that far. With this one I got everything I was looking for, plus the added low-angle bonus, and some nice innovations to boot within my budget.

So, I guess the answer is versatility and innovative design were the first reason, and price was a real close second. If the prices had been more comparable, I would probably be sitting here still thinking about it and have no new toy!.

Go

PS. Jim, Thank you for editing the post title. Its much better spelled out.

PPS. Regarding A2 blades. I use the scary sharp method, and find that it works well even on the harder steel. I does take more time to sharpen out nicks, etc, but not unduly so. I had no problem honing a razor sharp edge, so those contemplating them need not worry about having to buy an expensive sharpening set-up. I would think twice if I had to flatten the back or work out deep tool marks in it, but these irons came finely finished.

[Gofor]

I must add to my previous post in my response to Jim, as I now have some added info that I did not have before:

Jim: The primary reason I did not consider the Lie-Nielson low angle jack plane is because I did not know they made one!! I guess that may have been evident in the first response.

I looked at their site and was looking for bench planes. Today, I realized that they have the low-angle planes, but list them as "block planes", and one needs to look at the block plane page to find them. Their reason is that the bevel up design technically makes them a block plane. May be technically correct, but probably cost them a sale.

In afterward comparison: The Lie-Nielson is the size of a standard #5 jack plane, uses 2" irons, and the irons are a bit thinner. Other than that, it has all the features of the Lee-valley except for the side set screws (which I find nice but not necessary so far).

However, the cost of the Lie-Nielson being close, it being "made in the USA", irons interchangeable with my Bailey's and their known quality means that I would have given it a lot of deep consideration, and probably would have bought it instead.

I am happy that I have what I have, and have no remorse. It worked great flattening, squaring and dimensioning and smoothing a 2 x 4 x 24" twisted, warped, bowed piece of red oak I had, and I did it with one plane in much less time than I could with my previous ones. I like the heavier weight, as the increased mass made it easier to push through the wood (One of the reasons I frequently use my #6 when size allows, as it is my favorite Bailey plane). I also like the wider iron, especially for working the edges of 2 x lumber (another reason I like the #6). The iron was still sharp after all the work, and needed no honing during it.

However, even if it means I seem like an ignorant dolt, I wanted to post this so others that want a more traditionally sized plane, or a #4 etc, would know where to look for a more knowledgable comparison than I gave it. Those that are considering a low angle smoother, jack or jointer plane may want to also review the Lie-Nielsen "Block Plane" page, not the "Bench Plane" page.

Go

[02blues]

Congratulations! So nice to work with a sweet tool. I have one of these with a tooth blade. Fantastic for figured wood and end grain. I have only 3 veritas tools and they are a joy to use. The other that I love is my Veritas curved spoke shave. Hits the spot when you need it.