#4 Bedrock Pattern Smoothing Plane
The Luban No. 4 smoothing plane is designed to produce a silky smooth surface ready for polishing. The short sole allows it to follow slight inconsistencies in the surface more than a long plane would. This gives it a better chance of hitting any remaining low spots and creating a flawless, even surface, without significantly altering the thickness of the component.
Given the importance of their role, smoothers are very carefully set up and rarely used for anything else. The cutting iron is kept extremely sharp with an almost imperceptible camber and the mouth is set very fine.
The No.4 is the most popular of all the bench planes, which makes logical sense. If you are going to invest in a shiny new precision ground handplane, the one that you use to produce your finished surfaces tends to be at the top of the list.
Luban Bedrock Pattern Hand Planes, unlike the more common Bailey Pattern, have a full contact area between the body and the frog, hence the name "Bedrock". The frog can also be adjusted to widen or narrow the mouth of the plane without the need to remove the irons.
Simply loosen the two locking screws on either side at the back of the frog, adjust the central screw to set your desired mouth opening, and then nip up the side screws again. This system is easier, faster, much more accurate, and less likely to damage the cutting edge of the iron.
Specifications
- Precision ground, unbreakable CR40 alloy steel casting
- Low-profile cap iron
- Brushed finish stainless steel lever cap
- Bubinga handles
- Conforms to British Standard
- Sole Dimensions 10in x 2⁷⁄₁₆ in (250mm x 62mm)
- ⅛ in (3mm) thick 2in (50.8mm) cutting iron made from T10 carbon steel hardened to RC63
T10 Steel, also known as Tool Steel or High Speed Steel is the designation for an alloy made of Carbon steel and Tungsten (W1 in the United States of America). The alloy contains a higher tenor of Carbon compared to other Carbon Steels (about 1%) and a small fraction of silicon (0.35%).
Please note! Photos are for illustrative purposes only and may not represent the actual product specifications.
