A recent addition to our family of low-angle bench planes is our state-of-the-art pure smoothing plane. It is the plane to use for the final finish on surfaces, especially woods of difficult grain patterns. It also complements our low-angle jack plane.
We have combined the generous width and weight of a dedicated smoother with the versatile inner workings of a low-angle bevel-up plane. The 12° bed angle, coupled with the 38° blade bevel, yields an effective cutting angle of 50°, what is commonly known as a York pitch. This is an ideal starting angle for minimizing tear-out when working difficult wood. It is easy to create a higher micro-bevel angle for very difficult grains.
The ductile cast iron body is fully stress-relieved, and has a 12° bed angle similar to a low-angle block plane. Accurately machined, the sole is flat. The adjustable mouth can be closed to a narrow slit for fine shavings with minimum tear-out or opened for heavier cuts. A stop-screw in the throat adjusts to whatever mouth opening you find ideal for chip breaking and chip clearance. This lets you open the mouth fully for blade removal (for honing) and replacement, yet quickly restores your exact mouth setting. The large wooden front knob and rear handle provide both comfort and excellent control. The adjustment mechanism, with its combined feed and lateral adjustment knob, makes blade setting easy and accurate. Set screws prevent the blade from shifting, but allow full lateral adjustment.
It weighs in at just under 5 lb, with an exceptionally low center of gravity. We have dubbed this plane a 164-1/2 H. It is an excellent choice for even the most demanding reversing grains, where even higher bevel angles (for creating Type II chips) are required to eliminate tear-out. The coffin-shaped body has a sole length of 10" and a width of 3-1/8".
Includes a lapped 38° blade, 2-1/4" wide, 3/16" (0.187") thick, made of your choice of A2 or O1 tool steel hardened to Rc60-62. Blade is the same size as our other bevel-up planes, allowing blades of various bevel angles to be interchanged between planes. See the price lines below for further blade options.
Made in Canada. Patented.
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