Popular Woodworking 2003-06 № 134, страница 54

CHOOSING A SMOOTHING PLANE

There are lots of brands of smoothing planes available, especially if you start adding in all the vintage flea-market specimens available.

I do have some old smoothing planes, but for budding hand-tool users, I usually recommend they buy a new, premium smoothing plane. Restoring a plane is a separate skill unto itself, and smoothers are tricky enough to tune anyway. Here are some of the smoothing planes I use in my shop, and their advantages and disadvantages.

VERITAS LOW-ANGLE SMOOTHING PLANE

Low-angle smoothing planes are odd birds. Sometimes they are the only plane that will get the job done. Their advantages are that they have no chipbreaker to adjust, they work well on end grain (and miters) and you can adjust the throat as tight as you please - these tools have an adjustable throat like a block plane. The Veritas version is simple, well-made and costs only $139.

One bonus is you can adjust the angle of attack simply by grinding a steeper bevel on the iron.That's because the bevel faces up in these planes. Grind the iron's bevel at 35° and you have a 47° smoother. Grind the iron at 90° and you have a scraper plane.

Lee Valley Tools: 800-871-8158 or leevalley.com

RAY ILES A5 INFILL SMOOTHING PLANE

I recently finished building an infill plane from Shepherd Tool Co. and produced an excellent tool. If you don't want to build your own infill, I highly recommend the Ray lies A5 ($650). It's a reproduction of the legendary Norris A5. lies has made several improvements to the Norris design, including the excellent blade adjustment mechanism.

The iron is bedded at 47¹/2°, making it a bit better than the standard Stanley 45° angle for tricky grain. The Ray lies plane looks and performs beautifully. I recommend you check it out.

The Museum of Woodworking Tools: 212-228-9884 or toolsforworkingwood.com.

LIE-NIELSEN #4 WITH A HIGH-ANGLE FROG AND A LIE-NIELSEN #3

These Bailey-style planes are heavy, expertly made and easy to tune to a high level for beginners. I used to use the #3 ($245-$275) for about 80 percent of my smoothing. Butsince Lie-Nielsen has come outwith

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a #4 plane with a 50° blade angle ($250-$300), I now turn to that for problem-grain boards, too.

The nice thing about Bailey-style planes is you can adjust the size of the

throat so the w

planes can be ft ^^^ ffg W

used for rough and fine work. I am partial to the way you adjust the irons in this style of plane. The Bailey-style adjuster and separate lateral-adjustment controls are precise and hearty systems. These are world-class tools that you'll be glad you own for the rest of your years.

Lie-Nielsen Toolworks: 800-327-2520 or lie-nielsen.com

CLARK & WILLIAMS 2¹/4" COFFIN SMOOTHER

Time for some honesty. I never liked wooden-bodied planes much until I tried those made by Steve Knight and Clark & Williams. Vintage wooden planes can be more difficult to tune than metal ones, in my opinion. These two plane makers have truly revived the artof wooden planes in this country. I'm partial to the Clark & Williams plane ($265, pictured) because of its particular ergonomics. The plane has no chipbreaker and a .005" throat. With the iron installed for a light cut, you can barely even see the throat. This is my plane of last resort. When I encounter grain that no other tool can tackle, the Clark & Williams with its 55° blade and tight throat has yet to let me down. Of course, because of the tight throat, it's good only for smoothing. These are beautifully made tools finished to a high degree. Other sizes are available.

Clark & Williams planes are available from The Museum of Woodworking Tools: 212-228-9884 or toolsforworkingwood.com. Knight's planes: Knight Toolworks: 503-421-6146 or knight-toolworks.com. PW

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Popular Woodworking June 2003