Hello everyone!
I’m in the market for my first shoulder plane. I plan on using it primarily for fitting joints. I am looking for some recommendations from people who have them…
Money isn’t the biggest issue – I’d rather spend more money now, than feel the desire to upgrade later. I think fit and function for me is the highest objective.
Right now I am leaning toward either the Veritas or the Lie-Nielsen. With the Veritas possibly having the edge right now (even though I prefer Lie-Nielsen bench planes).
As for size, I am leaning towards the medium sized shoulder plane. I do have small hands and I thought the large size may not be appropriate for alot of joints…
Your thoughts?
thanks!
Replies
I have been using the medium size Lee Valley sholder plane for several months now and I love it. The adjustments are smooth as silk and one can take the thinnest shaving imaginable. The only small nit is that the set screws that keep the blade aligned seem to loosen over time causing the blade to skew when adjusting it. It is however a 30 second job so re-set and tighten.
Pull out the screws, clean them off with a bit of solvent, the threaded hole too (use a pipe cleaner), and put a drop of medium strength Loctite on the threads, and then adjust them. They'll stay in place but still be adjustable in the future.
John White, Shop Manager, Fine Woodworking Magazine
Thanks John
I tend to buy LN or antique planes, but I have the LV medium shoulder plane and I lime it very much. Fit, finish and ergonomics are very good...
Glaucon
If you don't think too good, then don't think too much...
Yes, I really like the LN block/bench planes - but their shoulder plane looks uncomfortable-- except maybe their small shoulder plane.I wonder if the small shoulder plane might be better anyhow - if i'm only going to have one shoulder plane - since it can fit into places that the medium one can't.....
Frank,
The work that shoulder planes seem to like comes in various sizes. I suppose this is why there are different sizes of shoulder planes. My first plane ws a Veritas bull-nose, which I like very much and use on smaller tenons and rabbets (eg slim picture frames). It is a good first shoulder plane for handtool novices like me.
However, when I got into more handtool work, the bullnose showed its limitations - short front end - in fact short and light overall. The larger Veritas shoulder plane now complements the bullnose and between them they cover my requirements.
Of course, the LN 140 low angle skew block plane, with it's removable sideplate and nicker, can do quite a few shoulder plane type jobs, as well as all those blockplane jobs. If I had to choose between the three, it would be that LN 140 (but all three are better). :-)
Lataxe
Hmm. I hadn't even *considered* the LN 140... to my untrained eye it looks like you wouldnt be able to use it for things like cleaning up dadoes or getting into narrow areas...
might want to look at the clifton....
Frank
Almost all of my planes are LN, including the rabbeting block plane. However, my shoulder plane is the Clifton 410, and it's my favorite. I've used the LV and LN in the past, and I prefer the Clifton for this operation.
Walnutz
I just went through the rigors of my first Shoulder Plane purchase. I actually ended up with two by way of extra good luck on e-bay. I also just tried out the LN and LV planes at a recent woodworking show. In the end I have a Record 310 (now the Clifton 3 in 1 or something like that) which I wouldn't give up if someone gave me any of the LN or LV. I also have a *gasp* Stanley 92 which has a great feel in the hand as well.
For me, both the Record and the Stanley feel less awkward then either the LN or LV. Having used them for everything from trimming tenons to fitting planks in a shipyard I would suggest that you give serious consideration to these two planes. Truth be told I was trying to convince myself that I really liked either the LN or LV but just couldn't seem to do it, go figure.
Good luck in your search,
Jonathan
I agree with JKabak. The Stanley shoulder planes feel less awkward.
Since my shoulder planes are used mostly for shaving tennons to thickness, they must be a minimum of 1" in width. Because of this, I bought the L/N large shoulder plane. While beautiful, sharp, and well-made; it feels overly large and awkward to use for this purpose.
I still reach for my Stanley #93.
Dan
I did a lot of research and ended up with the large Veritas because I wanted the large width to trim tennons. It works well, although my hands are relatively small, and it is not so handy to use with one hand. Later, I later lucked into a good deal on an old Stanley 93 at a MWTCA meeting that was tuned well. I had heard that the new ones took considerable work to get good results, but I took a chance on the old one. Turns out that I reach for the 93 more than the Veritas for quick trimming work. One hand use is very easy while it still has enough heft to work smoothly. I still like the Veritas for larger jobs, but the 93 works remarkably well for many jobs.
I have the medium LV and have tried friend's LN too. You need to decide which one feels best in your hands. Performance not significantly different.
Hi,
Depending upon your size of your initial needs I may suggest the LN large shoulder plane ...No. 73.
Yea it's big and a bit heavy but unless your planing over head the weight is an advantage.
I love it for cleaning edges and fitting mortises. Of course it's a bit wide. I intend on getting the LV medium plane soon. I like the idea that it's not 3/4" so it can be used to clean up smaller dados.
But give the "big iron" No. 73 a spin...you may like it!
BTW I was looking at the LV med. shoulder plane and they offer both O-1 and A-2 steel for the blades the )-1 being about $3 cheaper. Any thoughts?
HTH
Bro. Luke
I was thinking I would get the A-2 steel... It takes longer to sharpen, but the edge would last longer.
You might like to look at Chris Gochnour's review of several shoulder planes from FWW 171
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/FWNPDF/011171042.pdf
--Whit
To All,
I too have been a woodworker for nearly 20 years and have never made much use of planes or scrapers although am now discovering what I've been missing. I have all the power tools in multiples, but only one plane ( if it can even be called a plane, a Swiss Ralli) which I purchased only a few years ago. Now that I'm retired I have much more time to dedicate to the real craft of hand making furniture, cabinets etc. and am discovering the beauty and function of tools that no power tool can match. I'll be attending several woodworking shows this year and plan on making several plane purchases, so all the in put from those of you who are already enlightened are greatly appreciated. So keep all that pure knowledge, you've gained from experience, coming so I can make intelligent choices, because for every one participating in this discussion there are probably hundreds if not thousands who are just dropping in to read and benefiting. Thanks for your time in sharing! So far it sounds like LN, Veritas, Clifton and Record are brands that would be safe to go with and perhaps Stanley. Thanks, Dan
Of the 3 shoulder planes I have, the large LN proved to be worth its weight in gold when it came to the tool teaching me hhow it should be used. Don't let its size put you off, this is a superbly capable tool. The L-N medium is proving to be its equal in ease of use...
On the other hand, my Clifton 3110 proved to be much less intuitave (although no less capable) in use... It's slightly harder to tune initially (a wee bit more backlash in the adjuster and a courser adjuster thread) but once tuned will cut with controlable effort.
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Interesting...What exactly is "backlash"? I've heard the term used in describing planes, but I have no idea what it equates to.I was thinking of pulling the trigger on that LV Medium, but they're on back order. after looking around a bit, it seems shoulder planes of all sorts are on back order!
in this instance, backlash is the machining tolerence between the male and female threaded components of the adjuster... the degree can be gauged by the amount the adjuster needs to turn before the blade begins to move.
The relevence is that if you adjust your blade by retracting it, only the cap iron tension prevents the blade retracting farther when in use until it has taken up the backlash in the thread. Adjustment by advancing the blade prevents any unintentional movement when in use.Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
I tried them both (LN and Veritas) and liked the Veritas medium shoulder plane the best. The "lever" on the top of the LN didn't work well with me. The Veritas is much more comfortable to use (IMHO).
Barry in WV
Just picked up the LV medium shoulder plane with A2 steel blade. It's been a joy to use and performs well.
I very much enjoy using my LV bullnose. It is a joy. A LV medium shoulder plane will find a home in my shop in the near future. Good luck with your choice.
BigFrank:
Have you considered a wooden shoulder plane? Bargains abound...
Peace,
Greg
Hi Frank,
Just got the latest catalog from Highland in Atlanta.
Here's the link to their planes page online:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=659
Quite a selection and the prices for some lines are low. I may gamble on a few. I need a new block plane.
Edited 3/29/2007 2:10 pm ET by kenshep
I just purchased a medium shoulder plane from Lie Nielson but haven't used it yet..haven't figured out how to hold it comfortably but will be taking a week long course in hand tools starting next week...I know what knickers are, but what is a nicker?
Neil
Neil,
Nickers are the small cutters inset along the sides of a plane, usually in front of the mouth and at the same width as the sides of the plane iron. Their function is to shear the wood fibres ahead of the iron, to reduce/avoid tear-out when planing cross-grain.
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"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that...."
-- A.C. Clarke
Big Frank,
I was at the woodworking show at Dulles Airport a few weeks ago, and Lie Nielsen had a booth there. Someone asked about which shoulder plane is the best. The Lie Nielsen guy asked him what he planned to do with it. He said "Trim Tenons". The LN guy said, "Then I wouldn't recommend a shoulder plane at all. I'd go with the fixed mouth low angle block plane. It will trim most tenons completely in one pass rather than multiple passes with a shoulder plane."
My take on it is that he is right.
Another thing I use is a router plane. It references the tenon depth to the highth of the board.
BOth work well.
If you have enough money, you should buy one of each types of planes from each manufacturer, do a study and publish it here so that all of us can learn from your experience. That is what I am hoping you will do. :-)
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
...The LN guy said, "Then I wouldn't recommend a shoulder plane at all. I'd go with the fixed mouth low angle block plane...
Hi Mel,
Maybe the LN guy was Deneb--a prince of a guy. He might have said the Rabbet Block Plane:
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=60_5R
When I used a plane, tis what I used mostly. If there are a lot to do, the router plane is a great way as long as your stock is the same thickness. I have recently done 30 odd half lap pairs [got 20 some more as of the other night]. With the router plane set up, it's pretty assured the results are correct.
To make a clarification, and at the unintentional risk of putting words in Deneb's mouth, I suspect had this someone said to him, to trim the shoulders of a tenon the answer would have been a shoulder plane. Probably.
Take care, Mike
Mike,
You are correct on all points.
I appreciate the clarifications you made. He did say low angle rabet block plane. I don't know what his name was, but he seemed very knowledgeable to me. He wasn't just talking, but actually demonstrating answers to people questions. You are also right about the question that the man asked Deneb.
Thank you,
MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot.
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