Official Luthiers Forum!

The plane I use the the most is a humble Stanley 60-1/2 I bought new in the 80's - not exactly the golden age of hand tools.

It serves me well and the Veritas powder metallurgy blade I added last year was a nice upgrade.

Anyhow, the adjusters are a little sloppy and it doesn't feel great in the hand. For a tool that I use this much I'm considering an upgrade. Anyone use the Lie Nielsen or Veritas?

I'm intrigued by this Veritas with the Norris style adjuster and sexy shape.

I've also pondered making one of these - it's only time & money

Experiences, thoughts, opinions?

Thanks

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

My favorite block plane is a Lie Nielsen low angle #102. If I replaced it I would probably get the adjustable mouth version although I haven't had any problems with the 102 mouth being to wide.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/small-block-planes

I also have one of the LN Violin Makers planes and it also works very well. Of course, its just basically a miniature block plane.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/block-planes/violin-makers-plane?node=4072

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I almost never use my block planes. I shaped my sides with a #3 Stanley hand plane followed by a flat finger plane to get it close. I love my finger planes.

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Hutch

Get the heck off the couch and go build a guitar!!!!

my 60- 1/2 is my favorite also!

Mike

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Mike Collins

I use an LN 60 1/2 and a 102 block planes, love them both.
I find tapping to adjust the blade (small brass hammer) much more sensitive than using a lateral adjuster.
Tried a Veritas but returned it, just didn't like it in my hand, or the adjustment.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I have a cheap but well tuned Stanley block plane. I've tried to 'upgrade' it a couple of times but I keep going back to it.

I also use a Stanley 60 1/2. I don't use a block plane all that much though. I wonder if I had a nicer one if I would use it more; I suspect not. That said, I have tried an LN block plane and it was nicer than mine. For me, not enough nicer to buy one though.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I've been using my LN violin makers plane for a long time. I absolutely love the little thing.

I've used the veritas planes you linked, I like them and they look cool, but for my hands they were a bit "smooth" if that makes sense. Bit difficult for me to maintain a positive grip, but I've got super long spider fingers so ymmv.

Infill planes are great too, very heavy compared to regular style block planes but still very good.

My Lie Nielsen violin makers plane is my most used hand plane - kept sharp does so much. I used it on everything from guitars,



to surfboards stringers...


to Brace radiusing




I have an adjustable mouth Lee Valley/ Veritas low angle block plane. Absolute precision of adjustments - set screws on either side of the blade, adjustable mouth, Norris Style blade adjustment makes depth and square easy to set. It can take the thinnest of shavings from back strips or when fine tuning brace dimensions.









It has it all - except its just a little too big for me to use comfortably as a hand-held block plane. With the accessory tail/handle I use it as a small smoother, and the square sides allow to to easy shoot the taper of end wedges. I wish they made it just a little smaller.

The Lie Nielsen #102 has long been on my list. A nearly perfect size.


(Hope you don't mind all the photos)

Thanks for all the replies.

I do have the L-N Violin makers plane. I do like it but I like a little more heft for general purpose clean up.

Thanks again & keep the replies coming.

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

My favorite block plane is an unmarked Sargent\ Craftsman block plane similar to this one:
www.ebay.com/itm/Early-Sargent-Made-Cra ... rk:14:pf:0

It seems to fit my hand better than the Stanley block planes I have. I do use some of the small Stanley block planes (101, 103) and some wood bodied no names. I also have a couple of Stanley low angle "school boy " block planes (#118) with stamped steel bodies, which although simple and crude, work pretty well. Like most of my handplanes the block planes I have are flea market finds purchased for a few dollars. I've used the Lie Nielsen block plane, and although very nice out of the box, don't find it significantly better than the Stanley equivalent.

I have both the LN and the Veritas block planes and like the LN better. Think it's a matter of fitting my hand better. The Veritas is a bit wider, taller and heavier than the LN, with the higher part being where the palm of my hand rests. The LN I can use one handed easier and the weight makes a difference. They are both nice planes and you should be happy with either one.

LN low angle block adjustable. and vlnmakers La plane

The LN #102 is the one I borrow the most, if that counts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Veritas block here


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I've got the Veritas, and I find myself reaching for it first in most jobs.

I find the Veritas low angle to be too wide and too heavy
Veritas apron plane is much better, but my favorite by a large margin is the LN violin makers plane.

Lie Nielsen low angle #102 and Model Maker's plane...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

If you like heft, for a little while I used an older chariot plane for alot of cleanup work. Worked fantastically well and was adjusted by a small hammer very easily. Heavy as a boat anchor for it's size.

I have a Lie Nielsen 60-1/2, I reground the blade angle to 45 degrees and use it to plane Curly Maple fingerboards (Strats/Teles) and thats about it, the 102 and the Violin Makers are in constant use. My apprentice keeps grabbing the 102

Lie-Nielsen's version of the Stanley #100 - the squirrel-tailed Modelmaker's Plane (I'll differentiate Stanley models and LN models as does LN...'#' for Stanley and 'No.' for LN) - is my favorite, due to the way it fits my admittedly smallish hands. While I sometimes miss the screw feed adjustment of the Violinmaker's Plane when using the No. 100, the squirrel tail stabilizes the small plane to a much greater degree than might be anticipated. That said, a Violinmaker's Plane lives in my apron for all the little trimming jobs done away from the bench...it was purchased with the proceeds from my first purely solo repair, and is a lovely little tool.

In terms of most used, the LN Low Angle Adjustable Block Plane - an upgraded Stanley #60-1/2 design - fits the description. Most components for build or repair projects will see at least a few strokes of this plane off the saw or thickness sander, and for bench hook use, the LN No. 60-1/2 is just about perfect when trimming using a bench hook to hold the work.

If I was operating on a thinner budget, I believe I might avail myself of the services of the old tools vendors here and on other hand tool oriented sites to find a nice vintage Stanley #60-1/2...they are readily available, and even with a modern replacement alloy blade for work in abrasive woods, will still be about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of the Lie-Nielsen or Veritas standard sized block planes.

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

My favorite is an old Stanley 220, they don't make that model anymore. Bought it used around 1980. Only mod is a Hock blade.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

I have both the 102 and the 60 1/2 and find I reach for the 102 more often. The slightly lighter weight makes it nice to move around at different angles for different tasks, but the footprint is still large enough to plane a surface like a headstock flat.

Lots of great feedback!

I hadn't thought about the 102 but it seems pretty popular. I wish there was a brick & mortar store to go check them all out.

Thanks everyone!

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

Another LN102 user here. My LV 60-1/2 is used mainly with a mini shooting board for small parts.