Lie Nielsen hand planes
They are expensive, premium, and super high quality, but so worth it...
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Lie Nielsen makes some of the best hand planes available. Timeless designs, highly crafted from the best materials such as ductile iron, silicon bronze, high carbon steels, and cherry wood. They quickly take a sharp edge, hold it for a long time, are easy to adjust, and are a joy to use. I've been using these planes for a few years and highly recommend them.
The domain of hand planes start with cheaper models found on the shelves of home centers and department stores and progress to artisian, hand made one at a time planes that sometimes cost north of $1000US. Lie Nielsen's line of planes actually fall somewhere in the middle. The folks at Lie Nielsen not only make fantastic products, but they are a pleasure to work with. Now, I have never had to return anything to them, but they have been very helpful in choosing the right tool and providing a feeling that they really do appreciate helping their customers. For example, when getting the number 4 smoother, a batch of bronze castings came in from the foundry that weren't within spec. Because of the delay caused by this, they offered (and we accepted ;) a free upgrade to a corrugated base. You probably don't need a corrugated base on such a small plane, but it was cool they did that. Hand planes are simple tools. You can get old or cheaper ones, and with a little elbow grease sometimes get them to work well. It can be frustrating at times though when an afternoon is lost lapping a sole flat. Lie Nielsen planes work great right out of the box - a good value in my book. All Lie Nielsen tools have a high amount of quality machining. On hand planes, soles are ground flat with sides ground 90 degrees to the sole. All mating surfaces are nicely machined. Blade material is A-2 tool steel hardened to rockwell 60-62, cryogenically treated and double tempered. The blades quickly take a mirror finish and hold it for quite a long time. The old adage wrings true with these tools, and this time with a positive slant - you really do get what you pay for. Lie Nielsen sells it's planes through Amazon. Where possible those links are provided in this article. Any clicks to purchase tools via links here are greatly appreciated. |
For any hand plane to work well, a sturdy, easy to use bench is a requirement - its just as important as the planes - maybe more so. It's one of those cart before the horse kind of things - you just need both to make it happen. Hand planes and workbenches go together - the Shigshop roubo style bench and vises are designed around using hand tools - specifically hand planes. If a bench works well for hand planes, it'll more than likely be fine for tools such as chisels, saws, drills, etc. After working on lesser benches, this becomes apparent - I'm sure some of you know what I mean.
The jack plane - no. 62
This was my first Lie Nielsen and I still use it more than any other. A jack plane is after all, the jack of all planes. It's useful on edges, faces, and sometimes on end grain, but for that, a low angle block plane is better. If you only can have one plane, this is a good candidate. This plane is kept in a handy spot and I keep it sharp.
The sole is 14" long, while the blade is 2" wide x .175" thick, bedded at 12°.
The model 62 is a low angle, bevel up plane with an adjustable mouth - very versatile indeed. This style of plane is simpler than a standard bench plane as there is no chipbreaker or frog (blade/chipbreaker carrying assembly). Having the bevel face up allows this simplicity as it performs shaving and chip breaking duties at the same time. Being able to adjust the mouth via a sliding plate adds to the simple, utilitarian nature of this tool. The adjustable mouth slide is very smooth, requiring only a quarter turn of the knob to loosen - over tightening that knob is not necessary and should be avoided.
The sole is 14" long, while the blade is 2" wide x .175" thick, bedded at 12°.
The model 62 is a low angle, bevel up plane with an adjustable mouth - very versatile indeed. This style of plane is simpler than a standard bench plane as there is no chipbreaker or frog (blade/chipbreaker carrying assembly). Having the bevel face up allows this simplicity as it performs shaving and chip breaking duties at the same time. Being able to adjust the mouth via a sliding plate adds to the simple, utilitarian nature of this tool. The adjustable mouth slide is very smooth, requiring only a quarter turn of the knob to loosen - over tightening that knob is not necessary and should be avoided.
The all purpose adjustable mouth jack plane.
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Blade depth is adjusted by loosening the bronze thumb screw and turning the steel knob in back of the blade. The blade is pushed or tapped to the left or right to adjust tilt.
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To adjust the mouth, the knob is turned, which loosens a screw and an angled slot on the bronze lever under the knob causes the mouth plate to slide toward or away from the blade.
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Block planes - no. 60 1/2 and 60 1/2 R
The second plane came as a birthday gift - an adjustable mouth low angle block plane (model 60-1/2). Chamfers, detailed cleanup, and end grain are the usual tasks associated with this plane. It also comes in handy cleaning up a large radius edge - such as those found on boat panels.
The 60-1/2 has a similar design as the 62 jack, but is smaller and without the tote (rear handle) as it's designed for single handed use. A nice round palm support is integrated into the cap iron.
On these planes, the sole is 6-1/4" long. The 60-1/2 has a blade that is 1-3/8" wide, while on the 60-1/2R, its 1-3/4" (the full width of the sole). The blades are .125" thick - on these smaller planes, that is more than sufficient.
The cousin to the 60-1/2 is the 60-1/2 R rabbet block plane. It shares many of the same features and parts of the 60-1/2, with these differences:
the blade extends the full width of the sole; nickers on the sides can be set to score crossgrain to prevent tear out; and there is no adjustable mouth. I use this plane to clean up tenons and rabbets.
The 60-1/2 has a similar design as the 62 jack, but is smaller and without the tote (rear handle) as it's designed for single handed use. A nice round palm support is integrated into the cap iron.
On these planes, the sole is 6-1/4" long. The 60-1/2 has a blade that is 1-3/8" wide, while on the 60-1/2R, its 1-3/4" (the full width of the sole). The blades are .125" thick - on these smaller planes, that is more than sufficient.
The cousin to the 60-1/2 is the 60-1/2 R rabbet block plane. It shares many of the same features and parts of the 60-1/2, with these differences:
the blade extends the full width of the sole; nickers on the sides can be set to score crossgrain to prevent tear out; and there is no adjustable mouth. I use this plane to clean up tenons and rabbets.
The 60-1/2R in front of the 60-1/2.
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Can you see the model number cast in the rear of the sole top?
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In this pic, the main differences between the 2 are apparent.
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You can see how new my rabbet plane is. You tend to keep tools like these in good condition.
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The 60-1/2 has an adjustable mouth, which is set to be pretty small in this pic...
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...and big in this one. Note how there are no gaps where the adjustable plate slides in the sole.
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Lie Nielsen tools are built from finely crafted parts. Each one of these parts has tight tolerances and made from choice materials.
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That set screw with the big knob on the cap iron spins like a top. And the depth adjuster has nice knurls with no sharp edges.
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The smoother - no. 4
The next plane came as another birthday present about a year or so later - a number 4 bronze smoother. On many projects, this plane is used as one of the final prep steps before finish, or depending on the project prior to final assembly. It's much nicer than getting out the palm sander and provides a better finish with no dust clogging open grain.
This plane has a 9-1/2" long sole with a 2" wide blade. Because of structural support supplied by the frog and chipbreaker, these blades are .125" thick - plenty for sure.
Number 4-1/2 is a slightly larger version, which is 10-3/8" long with a 2-3/8" wide blade (.140" thick) - that plane only comes with a ductile iron body though. A good reason for the 4-1/2 is to have planes with similar size blades. For instance, the model 7 used the same size blade making it interchangeable with the 4-1/2. I liked the bronze body though and opted for that - interchangeable blades has not been an issue for me - and while working, I have never encountered the need (yet ;).
These tools feel great in your hand. It's not just the materials and tolerances. Lie Nielsen takes the extra step to soften them up a bit by rounding and chamfering exposed edges, followed by a thorough quality inspection. Seriously, how many bad Lie Nielsen reviews have you read? Veritas makes nice planes too. Some features are unique to their tools such as how they do the set screw tilt adjustments on bevel up planes. When deciding to get hand planes, for me, the big decision was which direction to take - LN or V - I doubt either would be bad. It boiled down to going with the old, proven, yet updated designs by LN, so far, no regrets.
This plane has a 9-1/2" long sole with a 2" wide blade. Because of structural support supplied by the frog and chipbreaker, these blades are .125" thick - plenty for sure.
Number 4-1/2 is a slightly larger version, which is 10-3/8" long with a 2-3/8" wide blade (.140" thick) - that plane only comes with a ductile iron body though. A good reason for the 4-1/2 is to have planes with similar size blades. For instance, the model 7 used the same size blade making it interchangeable with the 4-1/2. I liked the bronze body though and opted for that - interchangeable blades has not been an issue for me - and while working, I have never encountered the need (yet ;).
These tools feel great in your hand. It's not just the materials and tolerances. Lie Nielsen takes the extra step to soften them up a bit by rounding and chamfering exposed edges, followed by a thorough quality inspection. Seriously, how many bad Lie Nielsen reviews have you read? Veritas makes nice planes too. Some features are unique to their tools such as how they do the set screw tilt adjustments on bevel up planes. When deciding to get hand planes, for me, the big decision was which direction to take - LN or V - I doubt either would be bad. It boiled down to going with the old, proven, yet updated designs by LN, so far, no regrets.
The bronze number 4 with standard 45 degree frog. How would you like to use one of these. It's special - everytime!
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Nice thick high carbon blades with a well designed thick chipper. You can also get different angled frogs - might be required for some highly figured wood, but a honed, sharp blade has always been good enough for me.
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Corrugations on a smoother? Can't hurt, huh?
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Attention to detail is readily apparent.
On the standard bench planes, chipbreakers are made of high carbon tool steel and are 1/8" thick. To avoid shavings lodging between the chipbreaker and blade, a .015" lip ground at a 1 degree angle under the bevel reveals no gap between the leading edge of the chipbreaker and the blade. Very solid. On cheaper planes it's not uncommon for chips to lodge between the blade and chip breaker - not so on these.
All of the bench planes also have bronze cam lever caps and screws, lateral adjusters (tilt), and spinwheel depth adjusters. Frog to sole surfaces are finely machined and allow mouth adjustments via 2 set screws and an adjuster screw - easily done without removing any other pieces.
On the standard bench planes, chipbreakers are made of high carbon tool steel and are 1/8" thick. To avoid shavings lodging between the chipbreaker and blade, a .015" lip ground at a 1 degree angle under the bevel reveals no gap between the leading edge of the chipbreaker and the blade. Very solid. On cheaper planes it's not uncommon for chips to lodge between the blade and chip breaker - not so on these.
All of the bench planes also have bronze cam lever caps and screws, lateral adjusters (tilt), and spinwheel depth adjusters. Frog to sole surfaces are finely machined and allow mouth adjustments via 2 set screws and an adjuster screw - easily done without removing any other pieces.
Being a solid silicon bronze body, there is no paint on the top of the sole, as is the case with the ductile iron body planes.
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Papa plane - the no. 7 jointer
This is one impressive plane. Final jointing of an edge or flattening a panel is where this big bad boy does its job. Show one to your friends and watch their eyes pop!
The sole length is the one big important feature. At 22" long with a 2-3/8" wide blade (.140" thick) , it ensures your panel becomes a flat plane and your board edge is straight - can't do that with a short plane. The size of the plane also gives it good heft. Momentum is your friend using it and actually makes the task at hand much easier. As in all of my other planes except for the number 4 smoother, the body is made from ductile iron - making it very strong and tough indeed. Lie-Nielsen was the first company to start making hand planes from ductile iron. I remember reading they tested some by dropping them from 15' onto a concrete floor with hardly any damage, where the grey iron used in lesser planes would break.
The sole length is the one big important feature. At 22" long with a 2-3/8" wide blade (.140" thick) , it ensures your panel becomes a flat plane and your board edge is straight - can't do that with a short plane. The size of the plane also gives it good heft. Momentum is your friend using it and actually makes the task at hand much easier. As in all of my other planes except for the number 4 smoother, the body is made from ductile iron - making it very strong and tough indeed. Lie-Nielsen was the first company to start making hand planes from ductile iron. I remember reading they tested some by dropping them from 15' onto a concrete floor with hardly any damage, where the grey iron used in lesser planes would break.
The 22" long number 7.
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This family shot of my Lie Nielsen planes gives a perspective of the size range. I think this about does it for me as far as hand plane requirements.
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It didn't fit in this picture ;)
So, what do they really do?
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Why, they shave of course...
