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I am working on my first guitar from scratch. I have access to a thicknessing sander planer, but I want a good all around planer for jointing primarily, but perhaps would use it for a little thicknessing as well. I have decided on Veritas planers, I can only afford one, which one should it be?

Here are the options that I am aware of.

#5-1/4W Bench Plane
Low-Angle Jack Plane
#6 Fore Plane
#4-1/2 Smoothing Plane
Low-Angle Smooth Plane

This is the page I'm looking at: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/Search.as ... ay=i#start

ANy help would be very much appreciated. By the way, in my first guitar project, I am building an OM with sitka top and amazon rosewood back and sides. I just finished building all of the molds and jigs I think I will need. I am having a blast even just building the mold, can't wait to start the soundboard!. Thanks for you help.

James

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Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

The 5 1/4 or the low angle jack. Those are the 'all rounders' of the bunch. My longest plane is a Stanley 5 1/2 and all my jointing is done with that plane. A No. 6 may be better suited to jointing but it's hardly a good choice for thicknessing.

I just got two Veritas planes, they are excellent quality. I got the Low-angle smooth plane for jointing and thicknessing with an extra toothed blade, seems to be a good plane so far but have not used it that much yet.

I just bought one of the low angle jacks, and it is really nice. Blade ships separately, and it's ready, but a light touch up might be in order, but it's sharp. Mostly I just polished it up. The planes are nicely designed, and I really like the set screw blade guide that keeps the blade centered.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

i got the low angle jack and the low angle block with the addable totes i also got 3 blades for each plane to save me from re grindinag all the time............outstanding tools but for shooting joints i still prefer my fettled stanley 5 1/2

I have the low angle and I really love it. I use it for both thinning and jointing plates. It is however a bit award for smoothing, sometimes, because of the size. If you can afford, get their new low angle smoother too, it works great from what I read. Blades can be interchanged with the jack. If you don't get the smoother too, I advice getting a York pitch blade for difficult grain. Smoother comes with one by default and you can swap.

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Build log

I have the low angle block, smoother and jack .. if I could only have one, it woudl be the smoother .... then the block, then jack .. but alas, I dont have to make that decision, I like them all

I also have reground the blades in them all to 45 degrees ....

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

The Scraping Plane from Veritas is also very usefull for backs and sides. Especially if you don't want/have a sanding machine.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... 1182,48945


Best Regards,



Edzard

Wow, thanks everyone for the input. This site is amazing.

James

_________________
Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

One more thing, someone mentioned that they would first choose the smoother. Will the smoother be adequate for jointing, thinning, and smoothing???

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Always remember you are unique......just like everyone else.

oddly enough .. I get better results with the smoother on the shooting board .... probably because it gets used and sharpened more often ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

My first choice would be my most used plare, the low angle block plane.
Second choice is the meduim shoulder plane -great for cleaning up edges and excellent on it's side for shooting thin plates.
If you are ordering from Lee Valley and use 1/4" nut slots, be sure to order the mini shoulder plane. I just got one and it is a little hard to hold on to, but it is the perfect tool for cleaning up and squaring nut slots.

my LN 5 1/4 just sits on the shelf, unused.

-jd

Any thoughts on why go with bevel up vs. bevel down?

I frequently look at the LV planes and am wracked with indecision, they're all so nice, and there are so many divergent opinions...

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

hi douglas ....for years i used a stanley 5 bench plane which has a 45 degree frog,,,,,,,,which is no good for wild wood......so i used back bevels and got results........but i hate putting back bevels as it just seems a pain and changing and buying a steeper frog seemed a pain as well.......so i got the veritas low angle jack and all three blades and it is just pure versatility i can go from 37 degrees for end grain to 62 degrees in under a minute........so the low angle bevel up planes are perfect for guitar makers....joe

hi todd maybe you can answer this one.......why does a bevel down plane with a 45 degree frog and a back bevel to make it middle pitch leave a far smoother polished surface...than a bevel up plane with the asme cutting angles???????

also i do also think bevel up planes are far better performance wise but the vesitility of the bujp is great
joe

As usual, Todd is 'right on' with this. My experience exactly- I have LV block, apron, and several 60½ planes. The apron plane is a very 'handy' tool.

John

It is actually a very nice plane for working on furniture and my wife has a long list of projects that it would be great for. I just need to finish up a few more guitars before I get back to the furniture; yea just a few more guitars...I actually made some drawings and went to the local wood supplier last week to start on the maple and cherry bed I was supposed to be making -came back with some 8/4 QS hog

I find the 5 1/4 to be a bit big and heavy for working on guitars


-jd