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Heavy, precisely made and surprisingly easy to wield.
By Christopher Schwarz
Page: 29
From the August 2005 issue #149
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Woodworkers tend to get obsessed with their smoothing planes. No other plane requires as much tuning and no other plane rewards its user with the same gossamer shavings. I have 10 smoothers (I can quit any time, dear) and so it’s always interesting to observe which one I unconsciously reach for.
In all honesty, it’s not this plane. For most smoothing tasks I favor the Lie-Nielsen No. 4 in bronze, equipped with a high-angle frog.
But whenever I have a tabletop or large cabinet side, the No. 4-1/2 is the plane I grab. And as I put it to work I always wonder why I don’t use it more. It is a jewel.
From the August 2005 issue #149
Buy this issue now
