Veritas No.4 1/2 Custom Smoothing Plane

Product Description

The Veritas #4 1/2 Custom Smoothing Plane. Whilst these planes are truly customisable, we’ve gone for the standard configuration offered by Veritas with a small tweak. This plane has the following set-up……

• Standard Medium Tote 06P2023.
• Wide Front Knob 06P2015.
• PM-V11 Blade 06P1475.
• 50° Custom Angle Frog 06P2270.

Slightly longer and wider than the #4, at 10″ (254mm) x 3″ (76mm), the #4 1/2 uses a 2 3/8″ (60mm) wide blade that lets you take a wider cut to smooth a surface with fewer strokes. Its greater weight (5 lb (2.3kg)) also helps maintain a smoother cut by increasing the plane’s inertia.

The body is made from fully stress-relieved ductile cast iron, and the sole is machined flat and square to the sides and has extra-large side wings for stable shooting. The Norris-style combined feed and lateral adjustment mechanism allows easy and accurate blade setting. Two set screws register the blade in the throat.

The movable toe plate allows quick mouth adjustments – loosening the front knob lets you close the mouth to a narrow slit for fine shavings and minimum tear-out or open it for heavier cuts. A stop screw in the throat retains mouth settings and prevents accidental contact with the blade. The cap iron registers on and attaches to a low-profile blade carrier attached to the blade, which allows you to easily restore the cap iron to the same position after removal for blade sharpening. Two tapped holes in either side allow the mounting of an optional fence, available separately.

The 2 3/8″ (60mm) wide PM-V11 blade has a lapped face and is ground with a bevel that requires only final honing to 30° before use. Hardened to Rc61-63, it has a fine, consistent grain structure that provides significantly greater resistance to damage from both impact and wear than O1 steel, yet the edge can be quickly restored using water stones or other common sharpening methods.

The 50° frog, also known as York Pitch, is slightly higher than the standard 45°. Most old-style smoothers such as Norris had the blade set at 50°, then the likes of Stanley came along at standard across the range became 45°. It is also possible to get a 55° (confusingly called Middle Pitch), but we’ve found that 50° is a sensible compromise to handle most tear-out prone wood with ease.

The knob and tote are made using domestic torrefied maple – wood treated with a heating process that changes the structure of the wood at the cellular level, stabilizing it against the swelling and shrinkage caused by humidity changes.

The wide knob has a relatively flat profile, standing two inches (51mm) tall overall with a 2″ (51mm) diameter. This provides a large bearing surface for your palm, which improves comfort if you need to press down on the toe of the plane. It also gives your fingers more purchase when lifting the plane at the end of a stroke, helpful for long or heavy planes.

The standard Veritas tote is the one currently used on the Veritas line of bevel-up planes. It is a relatively vertical handle, designed to allow a comfortable grip that keeps your forearm closer to parallel with the plane’s sole. This allows you to bring more forward force to bear because it encourages you to push with the heel of your hand rather than the web of your thumb. The medium size is comfortable in most hands between 3 1/8″ (79mm) and 3 7/8″ (98mm) wide at the palm.

Other plane part options including custom frog angles, different sizes of knobs and totes, blades, slow adjusters and a plane fence are all available to order separately.

Patented. Made in Canada.

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