When I started serious hand work many decades ago, I only had a big old Bed Rock #8. It was a little awkward to hold, but after a year or two I no longer even noticed. Now with two full cabinets of magnificent state-of-the-art planes, I still grab that same old #8 for most of my shooting chores. And since I work mostly by hand, I shoot everything...edges, ends, and chamfers.
I would commend the big plane to anyone for almost any shooting. The two critical variables for me are the mass and the sharpness. The LN #8 has become a good second choice in my shop. I've tried little planes when I saw them suggested here on SMC ( It would never have occurred to me to use a small plane for shooting ), but they just don't feel right to me. What feels right to me is that very high inertia working as a low-pass filter to cut down on chatter. A low-angle blade would lower the impedance somewhat, but I still want that high mass.
I guess one down side is that the #8 wants a darned long shooting board bed to run on and this is one place where the LN #9 has an advantage. But wood for shooting fixtures is fairly cheap in the grand scheme of things and I just prefer the advantages that a long "wheel base" has over a short one.


I can see that this suggestion might seem ridiculous to some of you. It's probably a function of what you're trying to accomplish. In making harpsichords one has to joint many 6-foot long strips of 1/8" spruce. For a guitar there's a 2-foot joint of 1/10" spruce! The slightest blip of the jointing plane along its 6+ foot trip down the shooting board will leave a tiny divot and, therefore, a tiny imperfection with unknown long-term consequences. In my work I feel that this same kind of perfection isn't wasted on every day cabinet making.