Shoulder Plane

[Mrfixit71]

I've decided that it's time to purchase a medium (3/4") shoulder plane and am looking at Lie-Nielsen vs. Veritas. I'd rather not spend that much money but I only want to buy it once. I'd appreciate comments on these or others.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

I have the Veritas. It is great. I think it will be hard to go wrong with either one.

 

[Mike Davis]

Rich, I see you are in Pittsboro. Have you been to the tool shop above Roy Underhill's school?
They very likely have some older Stanley planes that will fit your need and have another 100 years of life in them.
Not sure the price, but should be less than new.

 

[Mrfixit71]

Mike,

Good idea. I hadn't thought of that tool shop.

 

[W Burton]

+1 to Ed's Old Tool Store in Pittsboro.

That said, I have the Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane that I picked up practically new from CraigsList. It is made well and works great, as with most anything from Veritas.

 

[KenOfCary]

Another +1 for the Veritas, I have both their medium and large (as well as the miniature 1/4" which is really useful) and am very happy with both. Last time I was at Ed's he didn't have many shoulder planes, but his stock varies greatly over time. Worth checking out.

 

[nn4jw]

Another +1 for the Veritas. I looked at both the Veritas and the Lie-Nielsen medium shoulder planes. Current pricing is pretty close. It boiled down to how the plane felt in my hand and the Veritas was just more comfortable for me. But either is a great choice.

 

[bluedawg76]

i have a number of vintage planes (rabbets, shoulder, bench, etc.). IME, "vintage" shoulder planes are so-so and can be a bit finicky (i've got a couple of stanleys). It's not the kind of plane that needs great precision -usually used for truing tenons and other joints, but I'd probably lean towards a Veritas (or LN) vs. a vintage if I was looking to buy. What do you want to do with it? I've grown accustomed to using a chisel in place of my shoulder plane as time goes on. Could just be my shoulder plane though.....

 

[Mrfixit71]

Planning to use it mostly for truing tenons. I just retired and will be moving into a new house and shop next month, so have a looong list of furniture and built-ins to make. I plan on doing a lot of M-T joints.

 

[Dan Bowman]

I have the LN medium shoulder plane and it's a fine tool but I'd rather have their rabbet block plane for most tasks. It just feels better in the hand and works better on longer tenons.

 

[bluedawg76]

Planning to use it mostly for truing tenons. I just retired and will be moving into a new house and shop next month, so have a looong list of furniture and built-ins to make. I plan on doing a lot of M-T joints.

Personally, I've found a router plane to be much more useful for truing/sizing tenon cheeks. Veritas (and LN) make a nice router plane. The older Stanley 71 version also works quite well. Tenon shoulders need to be square off the saw -a real PITA to square after the fact. I've not found a shoulder plane to be much help for the shoulders b/c there's not much of a reference to get the shoulder line equal on all faces.

 

[bluedawg76]

I have the LN medium shoulder plane and it's a fine tool but I'd rather have their rabbet block plane for most tasks. It just feels better in the hand and works better on longer tenons.

agree. a skew rabbet is a very useful tool IME.

 

[Chris C]

Personally, I've found a router plane to be much more useful for truing/sizing tenon cheeks..

+1...Like Paul Sellers does. Makes it easy to get the tenon parallel to the main rail.

Tenon shoulders need to be square off the saw -a real PITA to square after the fact. I've not found a shoulder plane to be much help for the shoulders b/c there's not much of a reference to get the shoulder line equal on all faces.

Also +1....a careful accurate cut right off the saw is the trick.

 

[Charlie Buchanan]

For trimming the cheeks of tenons for a tight fit I usually use a left-hand Skew rabbet block plane (http://www.leevalley.com/US/Wood/page.aspx?p=65373&cat=1,41182,41192&ap=1) Since I am right-handed a left-hand skew allows me to trim tenons on the right end of the workpiece. The skew pulls the plane tight against the shoulder. I also use an older #93 Stanley shoulder plane but have mostly transitioned to cleaning up shoulders with a paring chisel. If you think about a Stanley shoulder plane check it with an accurate square before you buy. Otherwise you may have to spend several hours getting the sole perpendicular to the sides. Don't ask how I know this.

 

[Mark Johnson]

I also have Veritas. This one I use frequently and find it to be excellent.

 

[Rwe2156]

B4 you pull the trigger I suggest you consider large model. The extra mass does make a diff plus if you've got big mitts like me its easier to control. My experience was I got a LV large sent it back and got a medium. Wasn't long before I wish I had the large (ended up with a LN large). I do like the ergonomics of the LV better.

I think a shoulder + a rabbet block plane are a very good combination.

 

[BKHam]

woodcraft brand woodriver makes a decent shoulder plane. i've never used the Veritas or LN and the reputation of both of those is well earned. I have a veritas saw and LN router plane, both great products. i'll recommend the woodriver without reservation. the woodriver is a good product that would be a price point below the Ver and LN.

even if you don't buy anything from Ed's tool shop, go there and browse, really cool place.

 

[danmart77]

I have the LN medium shoulder plane and it's a fine tool but I'd rather have their rabbet block plane for most tasks. It just feels better in the hand and works better on longer tenons.

This has been the case for me. I don't have a shoulder plane but got to use a "loaner rabbet block" from a friend. Most of the tenon work was trimmed with the block then the rabbet block. The one I used was a LN rabbet block and it was really nice. If you can afford both that's one thing. If you can only get one now, I would say take a look at the rabbet.

Sure wish I could find a used one on sale but it like searching for a hen's tooth.

 

[JimD]

I use a Stanley, a new one, shoulder plane. I am pretty sure the blade is 1 inch wide. The blade came in pretty crude shape and is quite hard so the initial sharpening took awhile. But once I got the blade sharp it works great. I have not used the other planes mentioned for tenons but I will say that my tenons improved a lot once I got the shoulder plane. It is so nice to be able to cut slightly oversize and then just take a little off with the plane. Before I would try to cut to a perfect fit or trim with a chisel and neither worked well for me. Very small thickness variation in the pieces kept the same table saw setup from working for all the pieces. I also trim the shoulder with it but usually I trim the side that won't show to have a slight gap so the other side will be tight. Hard to get both sides tight. The Stanley is a heavy plane, it is mostly just a hunk of steel. But it does the job and is significantly cheaper than the ones you are considering.

 

[Mrfixit71]

Thanks to everyone for your input.