A shoulder plane?

[Chris Griggs]

A disease that spread quickly.

Indeed...Dave tried to buy mine off me, but a week later I was purusing Ebay and found the identical slater shoulder plane also for a pretty good price and sent him the link...so now we are shoulder twins. The proportions of some of the old infills shoulder planes are, to me, much nicer than the modern large shoulder planes...YMMV. I'd love to see LN or LV produce a shoulder plane of similar proportion.

[Christopher Clark]

Spent today fitting tenons with my LV medium. It works great and feels comfortable in my hand.
Someday I'll get a real bench!
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[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

For cutting the end grain portions of the joint, I really love a wide chisel.

Chris - you got to share some pictures!

[Mike Henderson]

I've used the LV medium and the Record (which is the same as the LN). The LV is a LOT more comfortable.

But if you want to shave a bit off the tenon itself (rather than the shoulders) a chisel, a rasp, or any plane where the blade comes all the way to the side, like a rabbet plane, is good.

BTW, if you overshave (or just make the tenon too small), a good way to add to the thickness of the tenon is to glue some veneer to the tenon.

Mike

[Ron Bontz]

Jim beat me to the quick. What about these Cliftons? Anyone have one to share thoughts on?

[Anthony Moumar]

I have a HNT Gordon shoulder plane that I really like. It's quite a bit lighter than the metal shoulder planes I've used which might be an advantage or disadvantage. I found it easier to use one handed. It cuts through end grain extremely well considering the 60 degree bed angle. I also find it useful for cleaning up rabbets because it leaves a very clean surface. They are in similar price bracket to the LV and LN shoulder planes. They also look very nice.

[glenn bradley]

Another LV medium user here. I find it very comfortable to use and will pick up a large version if/when the opportunity come along. The movable knob setup, smooth adjusters and set screws on both sizes really work for me. I have seen other posts where folks have gotten a LV medium shoulder and just can't find a way to hold it that is comfortable. Like any hand plane, the comfort and confidence comes from a good match between tool and user. The LV medium shoulder plane happens to fit me very well.

LV-Med-Shoulder-Grip-RH-002.jpg . LV-Med-Shoulder-Grip-RH-001.jpg

[Jim Stewart]

One more vote for the LV. I am sure that the LN plane would be nice. get the medium. you are just cleaning the tenon.

[Chris Griggs]

Chris - you got to share some pictures!

These are the ebay photos.

Mine

My Slater.JPG

and Dave's


Slater infil 2.jpg

Mine has a replacement wedge and a replacement iron which is part why it was such a steal. Dave spent about $80 more on his than I did on mine but his was pretty much ready to go. Mine unfortunately needs a little work. The replacement iron is either very poorly hardened or totally unhardened, and the bed is a little off. Once I found Dave's on ebay I also reshaped the wedge to look like the original wedge on his. I still need to harden the iron, and I may or may not work on truing up the bed, but really these are both pretty minimal things to do (gives me an excuse to finally get setup for heat treating), and even with the issues its a fantastic plane to use...love the feel in the hand.

Like Dave said, these old infills can have some issues, so I wouldn't reccomend them, unless you know enough about planes and are prepared to do some troubleshooting.

If we cut out the infill option my vote is the LN rabbet block for cheeks, and either the LV medium or LN 41 (smallest of the preston style) for most other shoulder plane work. My hunch is that the Kens main goal here is fitting cheeks, so I think the 60 1/2R may be a good bet for him....the LV skew blocks are very nice too, but I think something that is open on both sides ends up being a bit handier in the long run.

[Derek Cohen]

Chris, that is a nice looking infill. But ....

I don't really need anything to fit M&T joints. Mine are perfect off the saw ..

OK, I don't believe that myself.

I prefer a shoulder plane to fine tune shoulders. Generally they just need a fine shaving or less, and this is easier to do with a shoulder plane across the grain, working to a knifed line.

Tenon cheeks are another matter, and I may use whatever is to hand, often a chisel or a rasp, or a router plane if I am way off and need to regain the parallel.

Occasionally I do grab a plane for tenon cheeks. I have the LN rabbet block plane, and this works well. Better is the LV skew block plane. The skew just feels less effort planing across the grain.

With regard shoulder planes, I have the Veritas Small and Medium shoulder planes, which I received from Lee Valley for evaluation. These often get pulled out for more than just shoulders - they are indispensable for tuning rebates as well as some joinery. The Medium has long been a favourite - great all rounder - but the Small has just about taken over. It is the ideal size for most shoulders and is the easiest to use one-handed. In some ways it feels like a small block plane. The Medium and Large shoulder planes are better at planes awkward places owing to the angled knob. It makes a difference.

When I was in Canada a year ago I purchased the Large shoulder plane, as this can really do it all - shoulders and cheeks. Its heft makes lighter work of hardwood end grain. And it has essentially replaced the large 1 1/4" infill shoulder plane which I have had for years - note all you infill users!. The infill is one I restored and it has excellent performance, however the Large Veritas is easier to adjust and more comfortable to hold and use.



Yes, I know - I have altogether far too many planes!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Chris Griggs]

Chris, that is a nice looking infill. But ....

I don't really need anything to fit M&T joints. Mine are perfect off the saw ..

Well I should hope so...mine certainly are...I thought this thread was about what plane to get that will look coolest on the shelf...hence my fondness for the infill

[David Weaver]

I had the LN large shoulder and ended up going the other direction. There literally was nothing that I used it on where a chisel, float or (wooden) rabbet plane isn't more appropriate.

Chris does bad things by sending me links to ebay auctions, and a friend gave me a slater bullnose, so matching it with a shoulder plane (that I'll probably also never use) seemed like a logical choice. I can say for sure that the infill shoulder at 1 1/2" wide has more lateral stability (than the large shoulders) and a much better one-handed feel. It pained me a little bit to let go of the LN 73 because it's so precisely made and such a nice piece of gear, but selling it for something much more inspiring and a little less precise reminds me that I don't need the superfine adjustments because it gets one lost in the weeds of trimming tiny amounts off and wasting time - something that drives me batty mid process.

[Chris Griggs]

Chris does bad things by sending me links to ebay auctions.

Said the pot to the kettle...

[Prashun Patel]

I have the LV medium shoulder. It works perfectly. The adjustment is great. The little rotate-able knob is also a nice-to-have.

I DO, however, wish I opted for the large one. The medium has nice mass, but even more cowbell would be wonderful. I would also appreciate the slightly wider width of the large one's blade.

My reasoning for getting the medium over the large was that the large might be unwieldy. But having used this one for a while now, I don't believe that to be the case; in fact I believe a massier, larger plane is easier to register and keep flat and move controllably than a smaller, lighter one...

[Derek Cohen]

..I thought this thread was about what plane to get that will look coolest on the shelf...

Of course it is Chris!

I had the LN large shoulder and ended up going the other direction. There literally was nothing that I used it on where a chisel, float or (wooden) rabbet plane isn't more appropriate. ..... I don't need the superfine adjustments because it gets one lost in the weeds of trimming tiny amounts off and wasting time - something that drives me batty mid process.

And David, you get the award for the most masochistic woodworker!

Actually, anyone who uses a bullnose plane on a shoulder is a masochist!

Worse still, is anyone who restored a Slater bullnose. Not for the faint hearted: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRes...storation.html

Regards from Perth

Derek