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Lee Valley Tools‘s latest catalog is filled with lots of interesting stuff that we’re beginning to wade through, including two new plane totes that allow you to convert the Veritas low-angle block plane into a No. 3-sized bevel-up smoothing plane. The totes come in two sizes, large (for adults) and small (for children and adults with small hands). We got the totes here in the office last week, along with a replacement wooden knob for the front of the plane, which replaces the brass front one (the one that resembles a button).
When the totes came out of their boxes, Christopher and Bob were a bit skeptical (no surprise there). The backseat-driver comment was that the totes wouldn’t be as rigid as on a Stanley-style bench plane. So after talking about them a bit, we decided to put them on our Veritas low-angle block plane and give them a test drive.
I was intrigued by the whole idea. I’ve been wanting to learn proper planing technique, but every time I’ve used a plane for more than a few minutes, my hands and fingers get very sore. This is no doubt due in part to lack of adequate hand strength , but it doesn’t help that the handles on most of our tools are entirely too big for my ridiculously small hands (I wear a child’s “large” in gloves).
The attachment of the rear tote was a little fussy on our block plane. The metal bits at the end of the tote had to be filed slightly so they would fit under the screws that secured the tote to the plane (thanks, Chris, for taking care of that). We have one of the earliest Veritas block planes ever made, so that might have been the issue; regardless, the modification took about 60 seconds.
In the end, I was mighty pleased with the results. I was able to easily wrap my fingers around the tote, and I finally felt like I had a strong enough grip to control the tool’s motion properly. And, since the iron was wicked sharp (thanks again, Chris), I was able to smooth some pesky burled walnut in just minutes.
Chris spent about an hour with the tool as well and reported that he also really liked the smaller version of the tote, despite his having larger hands. As a long-time user of planes, the only real complaint he had with the tool is that it was a little lightweight for a bench plane so you had to use a lot of downward force when you started the cut on a board. However, you could really bear down on the tool and the handle stayed completely stable. The other thing Chris really liked is how easy it is to adjust the projection of the iron. The design of the rear knob leaves the adjustment knob entirely open above and below for turning. In fact, it’s easier to adjust than other bevel-up bench planes.
If you go by the numbers, the plane is interesting. It’s a bit narrower than the Veritas Low-Angle Smooth plane, and a little less expensive as well ($150 for the plane, tote and knob vs $177 to $179 for the dedicated smooth plane). We think it’s worth a look for those who need a small plane or have smaller digits.
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