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The No. 5-1/4 was often referred to as a junior jack. At 12" long, it fell between the No. 4 smooth plane at 10" long and the No. 5 jack at 14" long. Our No. 5-1/4W varies from the traditional No. 5-1/4 in numerous ways, but the two most significant dimensional differences are that ours has a 2" wide blade (rather than 1-3/4") and the mouth is 4-1/2" back of the nose compared with 3-1/2" for the original. This extra length of sole in front of the blade makes it much easier to cut accurately because the extra-long nose makes it easier to maintain the sole flush to the material at the start of a cut. In fact, the combination of the mouth location and the very sensitive feed adjustment lets this plane serve as a jointer for most cabinet work, just as a No. 5 is used as a jointer. The No. 5-1/4W is an ideal complement to our No. 4-1/2 for bench work. Like our No. 4-1/2, it is made from ductile cast iron and has the same adjustable frog with a combined feed and lateral adjust mechanism that is sturdy, yet sensitive and accurate. The easily adjusted frog is machined to fit snugly in the plane body and, combined with the 1/8" thick A2 tool steel blade, eliminates virtually all blade chatter. Because the frog extends right through to the sole, adjusting the frog to narrow the mouth does not reduce blade support as it does in standard planes of this style.
