Well, well- look what we have here…a brand new (right handed) skew block plane from Veritas.
Veritas® Skew Block Plane from Lee Valley Tools
Now you’re probably thinking ‘not another skewed plane’ or ‘isn’t it the same as the original Stanley 140 or the Lie Nielsen skew block?’ the answer is ‘yes’- and….well- ‘no’.
First off lets look at some of the similarities in form it shares with the other planes mentioned-
It’s a 6-3/8″ x 1-3/4″ ductile, cast iron body block plane that comes with a 25° cutting iron seated on a 12° bed that’s skewed at a 15° angle. In other words, a low angle block plane with a skewed blade.
In front of that blade it has a movable scoring spur that helps reduce tear-out on cross-grain work. The spur can be raised up above the level of the sole so you can use the plane as a common block plane and the cutter won’t be digging into your work-nice.
Like its cousins, the other skewed planes on the market today, it comes with a fence that will register to the edge of your work piece while cutting rabbets. Pretty standard stuff so far for a skew block plane and these features are pretty well the same across the board with the skewed block planes I’ve seen with slight differences in size, materials and finishes. Oh yeah, I should also mention the obvious- it comes in both a left and a right handed version. (no surprises so far)
The scoring spur not only helps with cross grain tear-out but helps draw the plane into the work while in use.
But now lets look at what the Veritas has that the other skewed block planes don’t and what sets it apart from the competition.
(this is where it gets exciting)
A fully enclosed, adjustable front shoe makes fine to heavy shavings possible.
The new Veritas skew block plane comes with all the features mentioned but unlike the others it has a movable front toe that’s fully enclosed by the contoured body casting allowing the throat to be opened for heavy cuts or closed up tight for the thinnest of shavings. This was always a complaint I’ve heard about the skew blocks of old, the pointed, fragile area of the throat that was exposed while in use. Veritas has eliminated this problem with the contoured body and once again the word innovative comes to mind!
Blade adjustment is effortless thanks to a Norris style adjuster which I found to be extremely responsive. Another unique feature to the skew block plane but not to Veritas hand planes is the small set screws through the side of the plane body. These are designed to control lateral movement while in use but I find them handy while initially adjusting and setting the iron.
I should also mention that Veritas went the extra step and included a small wooden (bubinga) fence already attached to the assembly- not a big deal but a nice feature to include and it saved me from having to make my own.
In use, the plane performed as you’d expect a tool of this quality- comfortable in hand and is actually a little smaller than the competition which made more of an impression to me while using it one-handed, without the fence as a low angle block plane.
So there you have it, another choice wood workers have in the market for an excellent quality plane suited to joinery tasks, planing end grain or other block plane associated work and to top it all off- Lee Valley is offering an introductory price until May 31, 2010…check it out for yourself at Lee Valley Tools
9 Comments
I just knew you’d get these guys! See my comment in your other post.
Congrats!
Charlton,
you must have put a bug in my ear!
Tom, what’s the pro’s and con’s compare the skew rabbet plane? I’ve heard the block is for finer work, the rabbet coarser. Is that your experience?
Dan,
thanks for the comments-
Other than the fact that they both have a skewed blade there isn’t much the same about them. One is a block plane and the other a joinery plane… if you look back at the Detail Rabbet plane post you’ll see some differences mentioned there…
hope that helps.
Hi Tom
Do you have both RH and LH skew blocks and both RH and LH skew rabbet planes? I noticed in your piece on the little detail rabbets you mentioned you tend to clean up rabbets with a shoulder plane. Is that because you get a bit of tear out using only one skew rabbet?
I bought the RH skew block and am hoping I don’t need both. Haven’t had much of a chance to play with it yet.
Cheers
Hey Jim,
thanks for the comments and questions. I do have left and right handed skew blocks- the left handed is from Lie Nielsen and the right is this new Veritas. I only have the right handed skew rabbet. So to answer the question, its not a matter of tear out with the skew rabbet but more about the squareness of the rabbet when complete. The Veritas skew rabbet is a real love -hate for me…I’ve always had a hard time getting used to the feel of it and I think its due to the body casting and the tilted front knob. I have since removed the front knob and find I get better results but its still a bit of a fight…don’t get me wrong-its a very good hand plane but I never seem to be able to cut square rabbets with it so my routine is to establish the width of the rabbet and after a few passes to get the shoulder started, I switch over to a shoulder plane. For me, with this method I get consistent results. In a perfect world I’d be able to use only one plane to make rabbets but hey- its not the end of the world having to use a shoulder plane. Depending on the size of the rabbet/shoulder I either use a medium or large shoulder plane to complete the cut.
Hope that explains it for you.
cheers!
Hey Tom — would this plane be suitable for cleaning up tenon cheeks? I use power tools for all my rough work and then want to clean up with hand tools. Looking for the right combo for tenons: shoulder plane (for shoulder) and rabbet plane (for cheeks)?
If you use a skew rabbet to start a rabbet and shoulder plane to finish it, then what would you use this skew block plane for? Normal block plane duties?
Mmmmm… more hand tools….
So Tom, when you say you don’t get square rabbets when using the Veritas skew rabbet, doe the fence actually wander away from the piece you’re working, i.e. is the plane working itself out of the rabbet?
Cheers,
André
Andre-
thanks for the question..the skew rabbet is a mystery to me- it seems that i’m doomed from the get go with that plane- a real love/hate relationship….so to answer your question its probably not the fault of the plane but the user! 9 times out of 10 its the human behind the tool that jigs things up!