lee valley - get more from your shoulder plane

Get More From Your Shoulder PlaneWoodworking Newsletter

Vol. 9, Issue 4 - March 2015

1/6 www.leevalley.com

There are a variety of reasons why many woodworkers, including some skilled craftsmen, never use a shoulder plane. Some, for example, have such solid chiselling skills that they can pare tenons without any difficulty, while others have top-notch sawing skills and can cut flat and square tenons. Most of us, however, can benefit from using the shoulder plane not only in shooting shoulders, but also for various other cutting tasks.

Not Just for Hand-Tool UsersA shoulder plane is also useful for power-tool users because it trims wood with a precision that no machine can match. It allows you to fine-tune joinery work up close, which is often impossible or unsafe to do using machines. I once used a shoulder plane to fine-tune a sliding dovetail joint, which was cut on the router table, to a perfect fit. At times when close enough just doesnt cut it, the shoulder plane is the tool to reach for, even in a power-shop environment.




The Shoulder PlaneWe use the shoulder plane upright like a bench plane, starting by putting pressure on the toe, then even pressure on the body and finally full force on the heel as the plane leaves the stock. But as youll see later, we also use it on its side or tilted at an angle or in pull strokes.

With its cutting angle at 42 or so, the shoulder plane is suited for handling all grain orientations (cross, long and end). In my shop, a shoulder plane serves four key functions, but to perform those functions well, it must be properly set up and equipped with a sharp blade. First, set the blade for fine cuts and, for tenon work, just proud of the cheek of the plane. Make a test cut to check that the shaving is fine, full-width and of consistent thickness.

The blade can be set either flush with or proud of the cheek depending on the task.

Set the plane to cut full-width fine shavings of consistent depth.

Precision TrimmingA shoulder plane excels at making precise or square cuts as required for tuning tenon shoulders and cheeks. Some shoulder-plane users are frustrated when they end up with out-of-square shoulders or shoulders of different heights on the sides. Or, they find that their tuned cheeks are neither parallel nor centered. Lets see how these frustrations can be avoided.

Tuning the Cheeks In a mortise-and-tenon joint, the cheek fit is most important for joint strength, while the shoulder fit matters most for the joints appearance. To adjust the thickness of the tenon, I use the shoulder plane for its quick set-up and precision. Even British woodworker and teacher Paul Sellers, who uses the router plane for cheek work, likes to leave his tenons a hair proud and make the final passes with a shoulder plane for unmatched precision and fit.

Use a square to check for high spots on the cheeks and mark them with a pencil. Hold the rail down on a bench hook and plane off the high spots, taking care not to make any overlapping cuts.




Count the number of passes made on the first cheek and repeat the same number of passes on the other to keep the tenon centered. Finally, to prevent breakout, plane halfway from each end in push and pull strokes.

Tuning the ShouldersUse a square on four sides to locate any high spots. Remove the high spots one at a time, starting with the long shoulders first. For narrow tenons, rather than using spacers to support the plane on its side, I prefer to shoot the workpiece in an upright position by clamping the board in a vise.

Avoid overlapping cuts as they can lead to unparallel surfaces or tenon cheeks.

For narrow stock, it is easier to plane the shoulder in the upright position.




For short shoulders, I use a chisel to pare the shorter shoulders to line up with the long ones. Sometimes in soft wood, if the short shoulders are only a hair proud, I can rely on clamping to compress the parts to a tight joint. Learn to choose your tool wisely.

Cutting and Tuning Rabbets or DadoesMy skew rabbet plane is the workhorse for cutting rabbets, but I often use a shoulder plane to tune rabbets in both the width and depth for a snug fit. Sometimes a shoulder plane is a better choice for cutting rabbets, such as those for a lap joint. To cut a rabbet, I scribe the layout lines and use the shoulder plane with a simple squaring jig to cut a shallow wall on the side. I then remove the jig and shave with the plane against the wall.

Place a chisel or blade in the scribed line to position the squaring jig or a batten.

Once the shallow wall is in place, use it to guide the plane for the rest of the cuts.

Freehand cutting can be made more precise by placing your fingers under the toe to act as a fence guide for, say, a ship-lap joint. Lastly, the shoulder plane also excels at cleaning up or removing the machine marks on the bottom of a wide dado or groove.

Your fingers often work well as a fence, sometimes saving the need to clamp a batten.




ShapingA shoulder plane, like a rabbet plane, can be used as a roughing tool to remove waste for moulding or shaping work. I like to use it to cut close to the edge profile before turning to moulding planes for the final shaping passes. This reduces the wear on both the iron and the moulding-plane body. The slim body of the plane sometimes makes it the tool of choice to ease edges or cut round profiles on narrow stock when other shaping tools such as a spokeshave cannot reach or when I prefer not to sand.

The hollow and round are used in the final stage to shape the ovolo and cove profile.

The shoulder plane is a handy shaping tool for narrow work.

In cabinetry work, I can use a shoulder plane with better precision than my apron plane for fine tuning or accurate fitting, such as refining a drawer bottom to fit grooves. In dovetail work, I can cut a shallow rabbet on the interior side of the tail board to align the tail and pin boards squarely. The creative and joyful use of a shoulder plane is for each owner to explore.

The rabbet makes the transferring of marks to the pin board a breeze.




Text and photos by Charles Mak

Charles Mak is a businessperson and enthusiastic hobby woodworker, teacher, writer and tipster. He works part-time at his local Lee Valley Tools store.

Further Reading

Gochnour, Chris. Shoulder Planes Reviewed. Fine Woodworking. July/Aug. 2004. Pp 42 -47.

lee valley - get more from your shoulder plane

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