Veritas Custom No 5 1/2 Jack Plane - body only

A new concept in plane design, Veritas custom bench planes can be customized to fit the work you do and the way you do it. To get planing right away, you can choose our standard configurations, such as the jack planes offered here, or the planes can be customized with alternative parts and accessories to suit your needs; you choose the frog angle, the blade material, and even the size and style of the knob and tote, allowing a level of personalization previously limited to handmade planes. Each part of the plane is machined in our shop for accuracy and fit, ensuring that the plane functions as a unified whole no matter which parts you choose. To order a fully custom plane, please contact our customer service department.

Both jack planes’ bodies are fully stress-relieved ductile cast iron. The soles are machined flat and square to the sides and have extra-large side wings for stable shooting. The planes have a Norris-style combined feed and lateral adjustment mechanism for 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. Patented. Made in Canada.

The #5 jack plane is 14" long and 2 1/2" wide, and uses a 2" wide blade. Useful for rough work where flattening or stock removal is the goal, its size also makes it good for smoothing or jointing, depending on the scale of the workpiece. It weighs 5 1/2 lb.

The #5 1/2 is a large jack plane at 15" long and 3" wide. The wider 2 3/8" blade lets you remove more wood with each pass, making rough flattening and dimensioning work more efficient. Its 6 lb 9 oz weight provides more inertia when planing. It can also serve as a jointer for smaller work; lighter than the #7 jointer plane, it is less tiring to use.