Re: Anyone tried the veritas scraping plane insert?

[PM6564]

I had a look at it on the website - looks a bit flimsy to me. Could be

> wrong though, wouldn't be the first time > >

Got one for my birthday. Put it in a Sargent Jack body. Love it. Buy it.

[Joe C]

Considered buying this. Bought a Stanley #80 instead. Now one of my favorite tools.

Neander-in-training,

JC

[DCH]

"mat" wrote in news:5dVUa.538055$3C2.13894997 @news3.calgary.shaw.ca:

Greetings...

I have a Stanley #80...which works great on hard woods...and not-so-great on soft woods...but I think thats the way they respond to scraping anyways...I have one of David Charlesworths books and he seems to think that the veritas insert is pretty good tool...he did write that the blade would make a snapping sound when it went past the end of the stock..but other than that it worked as well as any other scraper...

hope this helps...

DCH

[dave]

I picked one up since I was having problems finding a 112 at bottom feeder prices and put it on a Sargent body that I had lying around. Works just fine. I'm still looking for that 112 though. Dave in Fairfax

[Conan the Librarian]

Hmmm ... as someone who does roughly 99% neander woodworking, I see nothing wrong with that statement.

As the owner of an old #80, the new LV #80 knockoff, a LN #112, and a dozen or so various thicknesses, sizes and contours of card scrapers, I can honestly say that I only turn to my scrapers when my smoothers experience some problems/tearout (or I am dealing with curves where a plane or spokeshave won't work).

I honestly don't intend this to be nasty, but to use your own words, "if you really believe what you have said above, I have to say that you have never used a properly sharpened" [and set] plane. "I get my best surfaces by using my" smoothers (maybe 95% of the time; the other 5% I turn to a scraper).

As for the original question about the LV scraper insert: Saw it in the catalog, bought it, used it, sold it. It can be made to work (buy the optional heavy blade for best results), but it is prone to chatter. I prefer the #80 or card scrapers for most of my work.

And in general, scrapers do not work well on softwoods.

Chuck Vance

[Frank Mutchler]

I haven't used it but it appears to me that it would be prone to chatter because of the lack of support for the blade down close to the mouth.

[Alan McClure]

I didn't mean to start a teat pulling contest. Everyones experiences with specific tools and processes differ. In my case, I seldom have a project where a surface is big enough to be able to use one of my (I think!) reasonably well tuned and scary sharpened planes. Most of the time I just grab the always handy scraper to smooth out a rough spot. I appologize if I ruffled any feathers, to each his own. ARM

[CW]

[Conan the Librarian]

Yep, that's basically what I found. Combine that with the thin blade, and you get a blade that is flexing all the way through the planing stroke. Buying the thicker blade helps some, but it's still too easy to get ripples on the work surface as the blade catches and releases.

FWIW, I am a *huge* fan of Lee Valley/Veritas and their line of handtools, but this particular design just seems to have a basic flaw.

Chuck Vance

[Conan the Librarian]

If so, you might have chosen a different wording than:

I'm sure you can see how that might be taken as a slight teat-pull. :-)

Agreed. For example, I know folks who have no luck with a low-angled smoother on tricky grain, while I turn to one all the time.

Interesting. I use my smoothers for just about any surface. If I can figure out how to clamp it in place, I'll give it a final pass with a smoother. If the smoother leaves tearout, I'll grab a scraper.

No need for apologies. If it works for you, go for it. I just wanted to present a different perspective, since it seemed that you were making a pretty broad statement (neanders do such and such, and scrapers leave a better surface than planes).

This thread has brought out some interesting observations, as a few folks have said that they follow the plane with a scraper. IME, the surface produced by a plane (assuming no tearout) is superior to a scraped surface, so I aim to to make the last passes with a plane. But by the time the finish goes on, I don't expect there's really much difference in the two.

The main thing I hope to get across in all of this is that there's no need to be afraid to use a plane or scraper for getting a surface ready for finishing.

Chuck Vance

[Conan the Librarian]

Exactly. :-)

Chuck Vance Just say (tmPL) Are you listening, Lee Valley? :-)