Thread: Which shoulder plane?

Virgil

I am not sure how successful you will be looking for erudite responses: The occassional lapse into the vernacular could probably be arranged with little or no provocation.

I also can't offer an opinion regarding the suitability of size in shoulder planes. So you may ask what the *&^% am I doing responding at all. The answer is, that for me, Terry's planes are just beautifully made. I too am looking at the shoulder planes and they are the planes I can least justify with only a future project in mind. Having seen them in the flesh at a recent wood show, they are a little smaller than might be imagined, but seem all the better for it. They seem like small jewels.

I had thought in terms of the 1" model but as In the past I have used a table mounted router for this type of joinery I am not the best person to ask. I have two of his bench planes and am well pleased.

It is not often I eulogise with tools, but I do make an exception with Terry Gordon's gear. A certain cordless drill maufacturer is the only other tool maker to enjoy my seal of approval .

Regards
Paul

Virg - no erudition here, either, but I'm prepared to make a couple of remarks. If I only have one shoulder plane I would prefer a larger plane rather than a smaller, for 2 reasons - it will handle a wider range of jobs, and it will have a bit more heft. I do like a bit of weight in a shoulder plane, but that's my personal preference, and probably heavily influenced by the fact that I only have one, myself. It's a home-built brass beast that weighs 1.9kilos. It is still very capable of fine work - only yesterday I was using it to trim some shoulders on the (15x30mm section) rails for a small door, which it handled quite easily.....

Cheers,

G'day Virg,

I think the biggest shoulder plane that feel the most comfortable to your hands will be one you're most likely to use.

I have a 3/4 inch HNT Gordon which works great and fit my small hands. My 1st HNT Gordon was 1 inch wide but it was too big for me, hence I sold it.

I would suggest holding and, if possible, using the plane just to have a feel of it. Better feel = greater use for me.

My 2 cents. Happy shopping.

Cheers,

Gunn

Originally Posted by dynoforce

G'day Virg,

I think the biggest shoulder plane that feel the most comfortable to your hands will be one you're most likely to use.

I have a 3/4 inch HNT Gordon which works great and fit my small hands. My 1st HNT Gordon was 1 inch wide but it was too big for me, hence I sold it.

I would suggest holding and, if possible, using the plane just to have a feel of it. Better feel = greater use for me.

My 2 cents. Happy shopping.

Cheers,

Gunn

I'd say that's the answer to your question Virgil. If you're like most of us, you'll tend to use tools that are more comfortable in the hand and easier to control.
Having said that, it's also true that we like a bit of heft/grunt in reserve so that, should we feel like extending ourselves, our ambitions don't exceed our capabilities

Tom

+1 for Dyno's and Tom's replies. Also, top marks to you for supporting Australian makers.

Choosing tools such as these is a bit like Goldilocks and the three bears chairs. I tried all Terry's shoulder planes at the WWW Show in Melbourne. For me, the half inch was too small, the one and a quarter inch was too big, and the one inch was just right. The three quarter inch was a bit on the small side for me, so I bought a one inch plane and have been very happy with it.

As other have said, try before you buy. I tried Terry's shoulder planes at a Canberra Woodwork Show a few years ago and bought the 3/4", which has been getting lots of use.

Terry makes wonderful shoulder planes (great planes altogether!), but I sold my 3/4" as I preferred the Veritas for its ease of set up and general precision.

I have a review of the Veritas 1/2" whihc compares a number of sizes. At the least this may help with understanding the pros and cons of size.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...lderPlane.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by Virgil

Am thinking about adding a shoulder plane to the collection.

snip

I look forward to your most erudite feedback.

Cheerio,
Virg.

I'll try not to be sarcastic see note below

Derek has done some great work with shoulder planes, so what follows is my personal thoughts and prejudicies.

Large shoulder planes 1" to 1½" are more suited to large shoulders as found on breadboard ends and timber framing. They are a great tool to use when raising a panel by hand. They are also useful for planing down the rail to meet the style (or vice versa) when making the frame for frame and panel construction. They are a little on the large size for furniture work where even a large tenon might only have a 10 to 15mm shoulder

Medium and "small" shoulder planes -- 5/8" to 3/4" -- five or seven come to mind in that size range Terry Gordon's, 2 each from Clifton and Lie Nielsen and 1 from Veritas -- are possibly the most useful ones. The size seems about right for the typical furniture component, as the sole width is typically around 1/3 to 3/4 the width of the shoulder. these planes can also be used to raise small panels.

The ½" from Lie Nielsen, Veritas and Terry Gordon are more suited to smaller components -- the rosewood bronze infill from LN might be considered a little on the bling side, but if you are lusting after bronze plane this might be the one to get. I've used the Veritas and liked the heft.


Then there's the ¼" from Veritas. They're so inexpensive you just have to get one. They look like a toy, are a bit fidderly in the adjustment, but really do work on very small (i.e.<6mm) shoulders.






Scartastic?
Sometimes I pull out the Shorter Oxford to look up a word.
According to the SOED, Erudite (used as an adjective) means 1. a. Trained. b. Learned, scholarly (Now chiefly scartastic.)

I have a 3/4 HNT Gordon, and it is beautiful and a joy to use. It is my only HNT plane, and I was concerned that I would be unable to get used to the adjustment method, but that worry proved needless. Easy to use, practical, solid and robust, and a work of art to boot.

I also have the Veritas 1/4, which I've neved used in anger (but of course have tested it out). It is a tiny thing and quite silly, but I love it. It is one of my favourite things, in spite of not being the most useful tool. It is also the only Veritas plane that I own - the only one that I can afford so far!

I've got the HNT Gordon 1 1/4, 3/4 and 1/2 inch shoulder planes and I use the big one the most.

Virgil

Ordered an HNT 1" shoulder yesterday. Your post prompted me to do something about it instead of just talking about it. The timber planes have a beauty to them that for me the metal planes can never hope to emulate.

I have a birthday coming up (come to think of it, I've had a few of those of late) and mentioned to SWMBO in combination with children that they might like to consider. Didn't expect the go-ahead. She said "Do it!" She must think I can make something for her.

I went for the ringed Gidgee. (The other two planes are the same).

Regards
Paul