Shoulder Plane
 

So I am planning my next hand plane purchase and was hoping to get some
advice from the wreck.

I find that I am most missing a small shoulder plane for trimming up
mortice and tenon joinery. I have a lie-nelson shoulder block plane,
but have found it unwieldy on the shoulder or the tenon. So far I have
been drawn primarily to either a japanese style, probably from Steve
Knight, wooden shoulder plane, or the Clifton shoulder plane. I am
reluctant though to drop up to a couple hundred dollars on something in
case I later find it's not what I really want.

I must admit the depth adjustment knobs on western style planes is
appealing, but I have found my japanese smoothing plane is reached for
much more often than my number 5.

I guess I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on these two types of
shoulder planes, though realize that the fit in the hand and some other
number of intangible things contribute to the ideal handtool.

While I am asking, what is the consensus of japanese dovetail chisels?
Do they do a better job somehow than high quality japanese bench
chisels at chopping joints? I have some extra money and want to add a
partial set of nice chisels to the bench.

Thanks for any thoughts you guys have

Andrew

Tattooed and Dusty wrote:

So I am planning my next hand plane purchase and was hoping to get some
advice from the wreck.

I find that I am most missing a small shoulder plane for trimming up
mortice and tenon joinery. I have a lie-nelson shoulder block plane,
but have found it unwieldy on the shoulder or the tenon. So far I have
been drawn primarily to either a japanese style, probably from Steve
Knight, wooden shoulder plane, or the Clifton shoulder plane. I am
reluctant though to drop up to a couple hundred dollars on something in
case I later find it's not what I really want.

I must admit the depth adjustment knobs on western style planes is
appealing, but I have found my japanese smoothing plane is reached for
much more often than my number 5.

I guess I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on these two types of
shoulder planes, though realize that the fit in the hand and some other
number of intangible things contribute to the ideal handtool.

snip

Andrew

I have - and actually have used- both the small Veritas
and Clifton shoulder plane. I found it tricky to get good
gripping positions on the Clifton, solved nicely by the
Veritas - finger hole under the iron, handle that fits
nicely between thumb and forefinger and is adjustable.

Neither is the ideal for working on long tenons - that
gets taken care of with the LN rabbet/block plane.

Tip - if you put a small chamfer on the edges of the
mortise any "high spots" at the base of the tenon
won't prevent the joint from closing completely.
Also helps get the tenon started easier, especilally
if you also chamfer its end as well. This should
explain it better. Works for hole snd pegs too.

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/MT/CBbench19.html

(go to the previous page and read how this little tip
could've saved me a lot of grief)

charlie b

On 15 Apr 2005 20:53:58 -0700, "Tattooed and Dusty"
wrote:

While I am asking, what is the consensus of japanese dovetail chisels?

Lovely things. I've only got one, but there's nothing like them for
getting into the corner underneath a tail. A really narrow one is
particularly good if you're trying to trim the end grain when you're
cutting dovetails with narrow saw-kerf-width pins.

Do they do a better job somehow than high quality japanese bench
chisels at chopping joints? I

Japanese chisels (except for the deliberate bevels) are quite tall and
square on the sides. You need _something_ to work these internal
corners and the tall, steep-angled dovetail chisel is stiffer than the
shallow bevel.

--
Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet.

"Tattooed and Dusty" wrote in message
ups.com...
I find that I am most missing a small shoulder plane for trimming up
mortice and tenon joinery. I have a lie-nelson shoulder block plane,
but have found it unwieldy on the shoulder or the tenon. So far I have
been drawn primarily to either a japanese style, probably from Steve
Knight, wooden shoulder plane, or the Clifton shoulder plane. I am
reluctant though to drop up to a couple hundred dollars on something in
case I later find it's not what I really want.

I must admit the depth adjustment knobs on western style planes is
appealing, but I have found my japanese smoothing plane is reached for
much more often than my number 5.

I guess I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on these two types of
shoulder planes, though realize that the fit in the hand and some other
number of intangible things contribute to the ideal handtool.

While I am asking, what is the consensus of japanese dovetail chisels?
Do they do a better job somehow than high quality japanese bench
chisels at chopping joints? I have some extra money and want to add a
partial set of nice chisels to the bench.


Have both the LN rabbet block and the Veritas medium shoulder. They're a
pare -uh pair - of beautiful, useful tools. The combination is so pleasant
to use that I have begun making most of my tenons wildly oversize so I can
play plane. If you don't have the Norm tenoner for the tabelesaw, this is
it.

As to Japanese style or wooden planes in general, that Veritas design gives
you the best in adjustment, and plenty of hand room even for large hands.
Wood's good and all, but it's not, in my opinion as reliable and adjustable
as iron or bronze. I've also got an old Stanley smoother with a Hock iron
and a corrugated bottom, and it doesn't fear even resin.

Only thing wrong with buying non-English chisels is the sizes don't match.

I agree that some of the lie-nelsons can be useful in some situations,
but I prefer the cheeper stanley planes. Some of my friends have taken
classes in which they build their own Japanese planes. This might be a
good way to go.

"woodworker88" wrote in message
ps.com...
I agree that some of the lie-nelsons can be useful in some situations,
but I prefer the cheeper stanley planes.

Aside from the original cost, any reason you prefer cheap planes? It took
me hours to get my Stanley shoulder plane to work properly. My next plane
was a Veritas. as will be al my future planes.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Yeah, I ruled out the stanley planes at some point. I like the lower
price, but want my handtools to provide pleasure while using, as well
as give me a good value. The feel of the stanley tools in my hand
doesn't inspire any confidence in their use, something I find to be the
case with Lie-Nielson and most wood body tools.

Thanks for the thoughts on planes though. I imagine I will try a
Veritas shoulder plane and see what I think of it. If nothing else the
initial cost is lower than the Clifton, so even if I end up with a wood
body plane, I won't be out as much money.

Still hoping for thoughts on japanese chisels though.

Andrew