Veritas Wooden Plane Hardware Kit

WOOD magazine rating
Brand:
Lee Valley/Veritas
Model:
05P40.41
Price:
$45

Description

With this kit (and basic woodworking skills) you can build a bevel-down wood-bodied smooth plane with a Norris-style mechanism for easy depth and lateral adjustment.

The kit includes a blade, a Norris-style adjuster with a steel cup to seat it in, plus a knob, tapped insert and cross pin for the lever cap, all made of brass. The lapped blade (available in A2, O1 or PM-V11® steel) is 1/8" thick and 1-5/8" wide with a 25° bevel.

You provide the wood of your choice; any blank

8" x 2-1/4" x 2-1/2" or larger can be used. Detailed instructions are provided. You can customize the size and shape of the completed plane, creating a practical tool that you can use for future woodworking projects.

An excellent project for both beginners and experienced woodworkers.

WOOD magazine review

Kit makes for easier-adjusting wooden planes

Review Summary

I love to make and use wood-body hand planes. Making my own lets me customize it to suit my hands or its intended use. Blade adjustments, though, require delicate tapping on the plane body or wedge that holds the blade in place, and some woodworkers prefer the precise adjustability of a metal-body plane. Lee Valley’s Veritas plane-making kit enables you to make a wooden plane with a Norris-style adjuster (shown below), a feature usually found only on metal-body planes.
With it, you can tweak the blade depth by turning the adjuster wheel, or move the blade side-to-side by pivoting the adjuster. The kit also includes a screw and threaded bushing for the lever cap, so you can easily tighten the cap against the blade. But the 4-1/2"-long blade, when bedded at the recommended 45° angle, requires a wooden body at least 2-1/2" tall to correctly mount the adjuster. This creates a plane that’s a little oversize for the 1-5/8" blade width; that’s more of a small block-plane size. (Lee Valley’s Wally Wilson said 2" kits will be available in the future.) —Tested by John Olson, Design Editor

Detailed Ratings

5.0
out of 5

Performance

5

Features

5

Ease of Use

5

Value

5

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