Hello! Everyone,
Sorry to start another plane thread. There are so many out there already.
I am very new in instrument making and have about 6 month of wood working experience so far. So I am definitely not an expert.
After I received and play with it for a week...
Here is what I think about the LV LA jack plane.
What I like about it:
The weight is substantial. It definitely makes it easier for me to thickness the plates and shooting the edges.
Last weekend, I did my first shooting on a set of book match tops (western red ceder). This is the first time ever for me after I watched so many video about shooting. I used the plan on a shooting board, following the technique I learned from Todd's video. It took me about less then five minutes to create an almost perfect joint. It is impressive to me. Both the plane and Todd's method from the video. Shooting was a scary thought for a new builder like me, but after I tried, it is not that scary any more. It was fun.
Like many have already mentioned, the side wing is pretty high, which also help for shooting. The lateral adjustment is nice for a new user like me. But I can also see why more experienced user don't really need it. The ~5" toe is also very helpful to register the plane to the working piece.
What I don't like about it:
It is only cosmetic issues. The wooden knob and tote are not finished nicely. In fact, the tote and knob on the plane I received have quite a lot of scratches and dents on them. Lee Valley was happy to send me replacement, so there is no issue about it. What I was very surprised was, there are total five tool marks on the inside body. I attached a couple pictures here. The LV representative told me that those marks are on every plane.
I just couldn't believe that because every picture of this plane I have seen has no mark on it.
I have another plane from LN. LN planes are certainly finished better and much nicer looking. But one has to decide for him/herself, whether look is more important or the function is more important. I have to remind myself a lot that my goal is not to collect nice looking tools, but build instruments that sound nice and look nice.....
For those who also has LV LA jack plane, do your plane have these marks? Thank you for reading, and sorry for the long post. I felt that I didn't really post something that is more valuable than what others have said...