Replies

1. 
   DCarr10760 | Sep 12, 2005 11:09pm | #1

   Hi Stefan,

   I recently bought the Clifton 420 (3/4-inch cutter).  It is a well-made tool and I recommend it highly.  After a light honing it cuts beautifully.

   However,  after using it for couple of weeks, I think I'd have been better off with a 1-1/4 wide Lie Neilsen, since what I will use it for most is trimming tenons, which are nearly always wider than the 420 can cut in a single pass.

   So, I'll have to save my pennies....

   I guess I'd buy the plane that will do best what you do most, then make do for everything else.

   Best Regards,

   David C

1. 
   Walker1 | Sep 13, 2005 02:47am | #4

       I have the Veritas medium shoulder plane. It,s a great plane. I use it a lot and I wouldn't trade it for the large one. I would use the large one if I had it, but not nearly as much as the medium.

                               Cheers.                         Walker1

2. 
   ring | Sep 13, 2005 01:23am | #2

   Depends of course on the type of work you regularly do.  I have both, and I reach for the 3/4" wide plane more often, but if you are making tenons on tables and such, you will enjoy the larger tool.

   DR

3. 
   CharlieD | Sep 13, 2005 01:39am | #3

   Check out the Veritas shoulder planes; a great buy for a quality tool. Got both the Best Overall and Best Buy in Fine WW's review, kind of rare.

   Charlie

   A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher
   a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts,
   build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders,
   cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure,
   program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
   Specialization is for insects.
   - Robert A. Heinlein
4. 
   lwilliams | Sep 13, 2005 04:50am | #5

   If you're planing tenon shoulders as opposed to tenon cheeks, you'll want a shoulder plane big enough to clear the length of the tenon and still give you room to hold on to it. You'll also come to appreciate having enough size to be able to control the plane as it passes the tenon. From the posts I see, most people don't use a shoulder plane to plane shoulders but rather to dimension tenons. For fitting tenons, I prefer to avoid a low angle plane that can lift the grain and spoil the tenon.

   There are several other applications I use a shoulder plane for. In each case, a bigger plane us usually preferred. Reading the different forums around the Internet usually leaves me chuckling when shoulder planes are discussed. When ever I or the guy I work with in the shop reach for the wonderful Lie-Nielsen shoulder plane the other is likely to say, "That's too big, you know?" You'd think that joke would get old but we still laugh every time.

1. 
   kenwerner | Sep 13, 2005 05:17am | #6

   Love my Veritas medium. That's my .02.Ken Werner

   Hamilton, NY

1. 
   Lyptus | Sep 13, 2005 03:56pm | #7

   I have the Veritas medium shoulder plane too.  I use it for planing shoulders and for the lower part of the tenon.  I use a low-angle block plane for the upper part of the tenon.  This combination works for me.  I cut my tenons on a table saw and therefore need to clean them up and square them up afterwards.  A large shoulder plane would like feel unbalanced when applied to a 3/8" shoulder so I think the medium is fine for my work.