I want a Scrub plane. The toothed blade in the #62 works really well for, say, a glued up panel; but for serious twist or bow, it’s a bit slow. I’d like to save money, and own no wooden planes; I’m curious about them. But I want a tool that I’ll remain happy with and never need to upgrade. Opinions? I could also look for an old Stanly #40 or 40 1/2 on Ebay, I guess…
Charlie
I tell you, we are here to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different. –K Vonnegut
Replies
Charlie..
sat on the bench, the L-N 40 1/2 looks deceptivly sweet and innocent.. small, kinda light, roughly half the width of the 4 1/2.. it's a bit of a girlie tool... right..??
Umm..... right up until you let it at the board... talk about Jeckyl and Hyde... this thing makes Taz look tame... it's the only plane I have that has me reaching for the safety glasses before I pick the plane up... to date I haven't seen it so much as sneeze at wild grain, much less struggle with it, and all I've done is set the blade depth; it's never seen any of my water stones...
Expensive.. well... kinda.. but if Ebay's any guide, it's cheaper than a Stanley 40
Attractive.. definately
Effective.. better believe it.. this plane's retired my 12" thicknesser.. and that wasn't cos the thicknesser couldn't cut the mustard... If I'd to replace my tools tomorrow, this plane'd be inside my top 3... no brainer...
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
When I was talking with the person demonstrating for LN yesterday, he said he just changes the blade to a toothed one, not the whole plane. Since it doesn't take a long time to install and adjust, this makes sense if someone is on a tight budget.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
I take it this is a toothing blade in the 62...?? I'd go along with that; it's the ideal set up to replace a real course jack... but it won't hold a candle to the 40 1/2 for sheer speed.. This thing doesn't pretend to be subtle, that's not what it's about. It's all about cutting some shape into a board, hitting the really high spots, taking out the worst of the saw marks. In the short time I've had it, it's already paid for itself twice over in time saved, leaving a surface that's ideal for a course jack to prep. Shaping time's come down from hours to minutes, and not too many of them...Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Gotta agree with Mike on this; the toothed blade works well--I ahve one--but it's slow although it's amazing how well it avoids trearout. Deneb, the LN rep at WW shows, showed me the same thing, and I bought the #62 with that in mind. I'm glad I did, but I still find that I want a scrub plane. CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Deneb is the one I was referring to. It definitely depends on how rough or how far from flat the stock is. If it's way off, the scrub will get it there a lot faster. Is that his sister in the booth with him? She seems to know a bit about them, too.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Thanks Mike...I just remember BossCrunk extolling the virtues os wooden planes and that one was one that uses if I recall. It's about half the cost, so I was just wondering. I think I'll get the 40 1/2, but still want to hear what folks say. Seems like a lot of folks--i.e. Rob Millard--use home made ones.CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Charlie,
When it comes to a low cost fast/effective alternative, I don't believe anything can beat an old wood smoother (coffin type) with the heavy blade....slices like a hot knife through butter. I picked up mine for about $10 each. Clearly, it's the blade that makes an incredible difference.
Until I found a 40 1/2, I used an old #5 with the frog set all the way back and a curved blade. Worked OK. A proper scrub plane works as described above, but a slightly modified jack plane makes a fair substitute. There are still times when I use it instead of the scrub.
Michael R
Charlie,
Obviously the L-N is always a good choice. However, ECE makes very good planes. Alot of the handtool only folks at WoodCentral.com recommend the ECE scrub plane. It is less money, and the imprecise nature of a scrub plane is a good chance to learn how to adjust a wedge set plane. The inexpensive smoother from ECE was my first wedge set wooden plane. I enjoy using them. Now, I have several woodies from Steve Knight. I say go with the ECE.
Cheers
Kyle
ECE and LN make very good planes. But, a scrub plane is not a precision tool. Just about anybody's version will do. Like the last poster suggested, putting a radius on an old heavy-bladed smoother will do as well as anything else. Get what you want now, because you likely will not have a good excuse to upgrade it later.
Regards,
Dan
Charlie
L-N 40 1/2. I like Mike's comment about safety glasses using this scrubber. Wood shavings fly off the stcok.
_________________________________
Michael in San Jose
"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell
CharlieD
I to perpare rough stock my two most used planes or Steve Knight srub and jack. I find for me the wood planes are more comfortable to use. I also own both LN and LV planes but find I use the wooden plane the most. Do they work any better of course not just more comfortable to me.
Scott T.
Lee Valley(Veritas) is comming out with a scrub plane in the next few months.You might want to wait and check it out.Not a whole lot of difference in quality from LN, but usually a good difference in price.
Brent
Wow.. that's interesting. How'd you come by this info? Is there a way I can get a peak at the thing?CharlieI tell you, we are here to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different. --K Vonnegut
Hi Charlie,
I saw it in a message from Rob Lee on the Sawmill Creek Woodworking forum. I beleive he said it would be available in May .The price hasn't been finalized yet but it should start with an 8 or 9 according to him. There is a pic and a drawing in that thread. I'm sorry, but I don't know how to put a link to it here but I'm sure someone out here can direct you to the site.
Take care,
Brent
Hope this works.................
Drawing here : https://www.leevalley.com/home/temprl/scrub.jpgSmall Photo here: https://www.leevalley.com/home/temprl/scr2.jpg
Try these links
Brent
I wouldn't wait for Lee Valley to introduce its scrub plane before buying one. I own the ECE but of course the LN is bound to be an excellent tool (as the Lee Valley will be). The thing is, as others have said, a scrub plane is not a precision tool. The things that generally distinguish good planes from bad planes - the flatness of the sole, the machining of the mouth, the squareness of the sole to the sides, etc. - don't matter nearly as much with a scrub. This is an overstatement, but it's sort of like distinguishing a good hatchet from a bad hatchet. The important part of the scrub plane is the radiused plane iron which hogs off the wood. No much subtlety there.
Just my two cents here, but there are some considerations: the thickness of the blade & the clearance of the mouth for the chips that definitely do fly out of the opening. My impression is the LN mimics the Stanley, but it does have a thicker blade, which must reduce the chatter? Its a clean mean hogging-machine, that is very satisfying to operate. It does require some precision, or else you'll waste time & wood. The Rob Cosman video shows some additional uses for this kind of plane. A picture, or a thousand frames, tell a vivid story. Cheers
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