Veritas’ low angle jack plane is an exceptionally versatile plane. It excels at end-grain work, is great for shooting and it also works well as a smoother. With its optional high angle blade, it is also the answer when working difficult grain, making it a truly well-rounded workhorse.

Veritas designate this plane as a 62-1/2 because of its generous size, heavy weight, low centre of gravity and radically set back mount. It is 381mm long and weighs just under 3kg. Its toe is one third the length of the sole - when placed against a workpiece this profile plus the plane’s heavy weight provides a very efficient pass over your workpiece. This is a bevel-up plane with a 12° bed angle similar to that of a low angle block plane. this 56mm wide blade is 4.76mm thick and is made of A2 tool steel hardened to Rc60-62.

The body is fully stress-relieved, ductile cast iron. It is accurately machined so that the sole is flat and the sides are square to the sole. The sheer mass of the plane combined with the large side wings makes it more stable and more effective than its predecessors. The specially shaped lever cap, together with the machined thumb recess on either side of the body, provides both comfort and excellent control when shooting.

The plane’s adjustable mouth can be closed to a narrow slit for fine shavings with minimum tear out or it can be opened for heavier cuts. All of this can be set quickly and accurately with the front locking knob and the unique mouth adjustment screw.

The optional high angle blade allows this plane to excel when smoothing various wood grains. The blade has been ground with a 38° bevel, yielding an effective cutting angle of 50° (commonly known as a York pitch), a step up from the standard 45° bench plane. This is the ideal starting point for least-push resistance when working difficult wood.

Higher cutting angles require greater force to push the plane but the extra weight compensates for this. For woods with widely varying or reversing grain (eg. bird’s eye maple), the micro bevel should be increased to yield an even higher cutting angle (eg. a 60° cutting angle). This produces what is known as a type II chip (or shaving), one that is created by wood failure right at the cutting edge, eliminating tear-out and enabling working of very difficult grain patterns.

The low bed angle results in a nearly direct line of force transmission through the length of the blade, eliminating blade chatter. Honing instructions for various cutting angles included. Patent pending.