I recently returned my brother's #5 Stanley that had been on loan to me (for 35 years! :o ), which left an empty spot in my tool cupboard. Now I've wanted to try out a LA jack plane for quite a while, but found it hard to justify getting one when I already have more planes than I really need, but with an empty spot to fill, well, here was opportunity banging at the door. :U
But retirement means I have to be a lot tighter with my tool budget, so I decided to try out a Quangsheng version of the 62, on the strength of mostly favourable reviews. One thing I have to say for it, the tote looks far more like a tote than any of my Veritas planes arrived with: LAJ1.jpg
Looks are deceiving, though. The radius at the bottom front of the tote is too tight, & pinches even my smallish pinky, and the grip is too fat for comfort, at 26mm thick. But it is a beautiful bit of wood (Bubinga?) and worth keeping, so out came the rasps & scrapers and a bit of extra shaping got it pretty close.
I do not like the standard 'high' knobs that came into vogue about 100 years ago, so that has to go. A quick look showed the shaft has an M6 thread at the top & an M5 at the bottom where it screws into the adjustable sole piece, so I dug out a spare low knob I had, & set to work modifying it to fit the LAJ. There is a bit of poor manufacturing with the existing knob - there are no lugs on the metal baseplate of the knob to prevent it from unscrewing the top brass nut (as on the original Stanley 62). So if you over-tighten the knob (which I managed to do almost immediately!), instead of the bit in the sole unscrewing, the knob comes loose, leaving the metal shaft & brass base firmly attached! A drop of Loctite on the retaining nut when assembling the knob would probably solve the problem, but I decided to make some holes in the new baseplate I made, through which a couple of pins can be driven into the knob, as added insurance: LAJ4.jpg
I haven't pinned it yet, 'cos as soon as I can find a wee chunk of Bubinga to match the tote, this Rosewood knob is going back in the 'spares' box. Here are the two knobs side by side, so you can see the difference: LAJ2.jpg
So why am I so pig-headed about a stupid old knob? It's because for me, a flat-topped low knob is far more comfortable to use. If you've ever had a long planing session with a high knob, holding it with your hand wrapped around the knob the way most people do, you will probably have experienced the the blisters on your little finger caused by constant rubbing against the side web of the sole. Using a flat-topped knob is much more comfy. I simply bear down on the top with the palm of my hand on the power stroke: LAJ5.jpg
Then transfer most of the pressure to the right hand as the stroke is completed. On the return, I cup my fingers around the 'mushroom' to lift the front very slightly: LAJ6.jpg
Easy-peasy, & no blisters!
Anyway, the verdict on my modifications is that they have improved the comfort a lot, though I need to have another go at the tote to get it right. The blade seems quite tough, it took an excellent edge, and the plane made good shavings straight off: LAJ7.jpg
I have some reservations about some of the components, like the dinky M5 thread in the sole plate, and a pretty dinky lever cap screw, too, but the plane had a solid feel in use. I'll report further when it's had some serious use... :;
Cheers,
But retirement means I have to be a lot tighter with my tool budget, so I decided to try out a Quangsheng version of the 62, on the strength of mostly favourable reviews. One thing I have to say for it, the tote looks far more like a tote than any of my Veritas planes arrived with: LAJ1.jpg
Looks are deceiving, though. The radius at the bottom front of the tote is too tight, & pinches even my smallish pinky, and the grip is too fat for comfort, at 26mm thick. But it is a beautiful bit of wood (Bubinga?) and worth keeping, so out came the rasps & scrapers and a bit of extra shaping got it pretty close.
I do not like the standard 'high' knobs that came into vogue about 100 years ago, so that has to go. A quick look showed the shaft has an M6 thread at the top & an M5 at the bottom where it screws into the adjustable sole piece, so I dug out a spare low knob I had, & set to work modifying it to fit the LAJ. There is a bit of poor manufacturing with the existing knob - there are no lugs on the metal baseplate of the knob to prevent it from unscrewing the top brass nut (as on the original Stanley 62). So if you over-tighten the knob (which I managed to do almost immediately!), instead of the bit in the sole unscrewing, the knob comes loose, leaving the metal shaft & brass base firmly attached! A drop of Loctite on the retaining nut when assembling the knob would probably solve the problem, but I decided to make some holes in the new baseplate I made, through which a couple of pins can be driven into the knob, as added insurance: LAJ4.jpg
I haven't pinned it yet, 'cos as soon as I can find a wee chunk of Bubinga to match the tote, this Rosewood knob is going back in the 'spares' box. Here are the two knobs side by side, so you can see the difference: LAJ2.jpg
So why am I so pig-headed about a stupid old knob? It's because for me, a flat-topped low knob is far more comfortable to use. If you've ever had a long planing session with a high knob, holding it with your hand wrapped around the knob the way most people do, you will probably have experienced the the blisters on your little finger caused by constant rubbing against the side web of the sole. Using a flat-topped knob is much more comfy. I simply bear down on the top with the palm of my hand on the power stroke: LAJ5.jpg
Then transfer most of the pressure to the right hand as the stroke is completed. On the return, I cup my fingers around the 'mushroom' to lift the front very slightly: LAJ6.jpg
Easy-peasy, & no blisters!
Anyway, the verdict on my modifications is that they have improved the comfort a lot, though I need to have another go at the tote to get it right. The blade seems quite tough, it took an excellent edge, and the plane made good shavings straight off: LAJ7.jpg
I have some reservations about some of the components, like the dinky M5 thread in the sole plate, and a pretty dinky lever cap screw, too, but the plane had a solid feel in use. I'll report further when it's had some serious use... :;
Cheers,
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