A little ripper from Veretas

[PeteB]

My Veritas Miniature low angle  Block Plan arrived yesterday and it is a little ripper - I wasn't sure just how practicable it was going to be but a few trial strokes on some swiss pear straight out of the box convinced me, with shavings peeling away with little effort. I don't have small hands yet it was a natural fit into the mitt - so to speak - can see plenty of use for this and wasn't at all expensive costing me just $79au. Well worth the price of admission.

Cheers Pete 

PS If you buy one don't throw the little cardboard square out - It is, quoting the instructions "a corrosion inhibiting chip offering continuous corrosion protection for up to two years" 

[James G]

I purchased these miniature planes and they just arrived yesterday. Thank you for the tip on the small cardboard squares!!! I totally missed that little detail and had thrown them out. They now have been safely rescued from the trash. Looking forward to making use of them.

[No Idea]

These little planes are great I use mine every time I’m modelling. I put a small drop of thin oil on that piece of cardboard and so far I have no corrosion on mine. 

[druxey]

Tip: don't rest the plane on its sole, but always on its side. The blade will stay sharper longer.

[bruce d]

1 minute ago, druxey said:

Tip: don't rest the plane on its sole, but always on its side. The blade will stay sharper longer.

Treat Druxey's advice as a rule. It really does make a difference. 

I got the same plane a month ago and and am still smiling. 

[hollowneck]

PeteB,

Now that you have a high-quality plane, you may want to consider investing in a set-up for keeping your blades ultra-sharp. Here is what I use (photo from my Build Log here re: HMS Sphinx): a sharpening guide (for proper blade angle), stone, and rubbing pumice/leather strop. This is also referred to as a "waterless" sharpening approach which woks just fine for the type of wood planing we do in this hobby.

[druxey]

Nice set-up, Ron. Whose sharpening guide is this?

[Jack12477]

Veritas also makes a Honing jig for their miniature planes

 

[hollowneck]

59 minutes ago, druxey said:

Nice set-up, Ron. Whose sharpening guide is this?

The guide is a $15 one, probably Chinese. A little fiddly to set up the blade but it works a treat. The blade angle is spot-on. The secret sauce on my sharpening rig is the two-sided grit "diamond stone" that comes with an ingenious holder(heavy and thick-footed, no-slip rubber base); this also comes from China, I think. No slippage. Less costly than it looks. 

I thought about Veritas ($) but I'm only using this set-up for my Ibex finger planes, no chisels.

Edited December 3, 2022 by hollowneck
correction text

[PeteB]

On 12/4/2022 at 3:42 AM, hollowneck said:

The secret sauce on my sharpening rig is the two-sided grit "diamond stone"

Hi Ron can see one side is 1000 grit - could you let me in on the secret sauce recipe by whispering what grit you have on the reverse? Cheers Pete