The Shoulder Plane This underrated trimmer picks up where machines leave off . By Craig Bentzley As much as we might like to believe that our various share with you in this article. woodworking machines theyWhen can it fine-tune comes to machine-correcting of Therehigh-precision are plenty tasks, of new which and I’ll can produce perfect joinery cut joinery for a perfect fit. used shoulder planes available every time, we’d be kidding in various widths, lengths, and ourselves. The truth is that ill-fitting tenons, rabbets, dadoes, 3 accurate joinery often depends and other flat-faced joints, it’s choice is a 4 hard to beat a well-tuned shoulder configurations. A good starter on precision to within several will probably⁄ handle most of thousandths of an inch—a afterplane. its This ability open-sided to trim tenontool, with your needs. But"-wide regardless plane, which of challenge under the best shouldersits full-width and blade, make is rabbets. named (See the size plane you get, once you circumstances. That’s one of “What’s in a Name?” at right). the reasons planes and other Despite the moniker, shoulder reaching for it a lot during the hand tools are still around; planes are handy for a whole host coursestart using of building it, you’ll projects. find yourself 44 woodcraftmagazine.com Dec/Jan 2012 Figure 1: Shoulder Plane Anatomy What’s In A Name? Blade When shopping for a shoulder locking plane (especially online), be screw aware that not everyone is on the same page regarding the name of this parti cular type of plane. Some manufacturers Toe call them “shoulder planes,” some call them “rabbet planes” or “rebate planes,” and some call them “shoulder rabbet” planes. It seems that most Blade depth American manufacturers Sole Mouth adjusti ng screw have adopted the name Lever cap “shoulder plane,” so that’s what I’m sti cking with here. Heel Built to trim into corners narrow plane with a blade that is Blade theA shoulder full width plane of the is basically body. Because a the sides of the plane are open, Tuning and sharpening reason enough to return a new the blade can reach into corners, Shoulder planes are highly tool to the manufacturer.) allowing the trimming of tenon specialized tools and must shoulders and cheeks, as well as be precisely machined and .002" can often be corrected the edges of rabbets and dadoes. properly tuned in order to work An error of less than about dadoes, and grooves from scratch. plane, the sole should be dead 100by sanding grit) to thea granite sole. Attach surface In Thefact, blade it can on fully a typical create rabbets, accurately. As with any hand plate,sandpaper and clamp (I usually a square, start with it’s also important that both straight wooden fence to the sidesflat, but are with parallel a shoulder to each plane, other plate. Hold the plane against factory-made shoulder plane is and perfectly perpendicular thedesigned blade tobedded work atin a 15°bevel-up to 20° to the sole. When shopping for angle.configuration, This bedding with theangle, body coupled of a new or used shoulder plane, Tip Alert with a 25° blade bevel, adds up to make sure to check the body An automoti ve feeler gauge and with a machinist’s square. a dial caliper will allow you to with lower cutting angles are ideal take precise measurements when a 40°-45° cutting angle. Models than a couple thousandths of gauging joints and tuning planes. anIf it’s inch, out keep of square looking. by more(This is trimmingfor end-grain with planing, equal aplomb. although they usually handle face-grain removable toe (the section of the When “Tiny” Matt ers bodyMany in frontshoulder of the planes blade) include that a You might think that working to thousandths of an inch is the purview of a machinist, not a woodworker. But when creati ng joints (and as a chisel plane, allowing the tuning hand planes), it can matt er a lot. See for yourself: create a bladeenables to themreach to all pull the double-duty way into a perfectly fi tti ng morti se-and-tenon joint that slips together with corner. Removing the toe on some moderate hand pressure. Then cut away about .004” (the thickness shoulder planes can be a hassle, of a dollar bill) and refi t the joint. You’ll fi nd that it’s now sloppy, but it’s a good option if you don’t and you’ve just compromised its strength, even when glued up. own a dedicated chisel plane. Photos: Paul Anthony; Illustrati ons: Melanie Powell Dec/Jan 2012 woodcraftmagazine.com 45 Figure 2: Blade Side Projection grinder, drawing their temper. simply by honing them with waterstonesI usually sharpen through thin 8000 blades grit. No side projection results in tapered wall (exaggerated for clarity) clampingI typically the use narrow an “Eclipse” shank style of .002 recommended thehoning blade jig in (Woodcraft the way that #03A21), chisels side projection (required for are normally held, (Photo A). square rabbets) Adjusting the blade and mouth To cut properly, a shoulder plane blade must project the right amount from the side of the body as well as from the bottom of the sole. While common sense might indicate that the the fence with the blade The next item of concern is side of the blade should be set retracted, and rub it on the its beveled end needs to be body, cutting geometry dictates close to square, it shouldn’t deadthe blade. square Most to theimportantly, sides of the flush to the side of the plane takesandpaper. long to If bring the plane it up tois fairlysnuff, plane body. Check it by placing Figure 2, a blade that’s set working through successively a small machinist’s square otherwise. As shown in against the sides of the blade, a tapered cut, especially when makingflush with deep the rabbets body will and create finer grits to 220 grit. Tip Alert endfirst of making the blade sure is that out ofthe square, sides When truing the sole of a plane itof canthe beblade corrected are parallel. during If thethe thedadoes side from of the scratch. blade must In order against sandpaper, first draw projectto cut a bysquare-sided about .004 shoulder,inches. felt-tip marker lines across the thicker blades can safely be Therefore, if both sides of a sole to help you gauge your ground,sharpening and process. then honed, Although some shoulder plane are to be used sanding progress. vintage plane blades are so thin without readjustment, the blade they’ll overheat quickly at a should be about .008" wider than the body, as is the case with many vintage planes. Unfortunately, the blades on many older planes have been ground down to match the body width. And, surprisingly, the A An Eclipse-style honing guide works well to ensure that the cutting edge remains square to the sides of the blade when sharpening. 46 woodcraftmagazine.com Dec/Jan 2012 B C Set the lateral blade projection by resting the plane Trim a tenon shoulder by holding the workpiece body on notebook paper shims, and then pressing against a bench hook, whose fence secures down on the blade before locking it in position. the piece and prevents exit tear-out. blades on many new planes mind that some shoulder planes come the same way. This just have a tendency to clog, the tablesaw a hair shy of the shortcoming can be corrected especially when cutting across shoulders. I then cut them on by adjusting the blade to the grain. This isn’t a defect; project from whichever side is it’s just the nature of the beast. onknife a bench line. After hook, sawing butting the the being used as a reference for Simply clear the throat manually tenoncheeks, shoulder I place my against workpiece the a particular job. To make the when the occasion arises. bench hook fence to prevent adjustment, lay the plane on its side spanning a couple pieces Shaving tenons Before the advent of power tools, shouldertear-out at plane the endis all of it the takes cut. push the blade down with your toA couple shave perfectlylight passes to thewith knife the of paper on a flat surface. Then shoulders almost always required line as shown in Photo C. clamping mechanism (Photo B). tenons were hand-sawn, and their Fat tenon cheeks can also Thefingernail, downside and of tighten this approach the blade be trimmed with a shoulder is that the blade must be shifted goodsome chancecleanup you’re to achieve making a tight- your plane, although it’s a bit trickier. to the other side when you tenonsfitting joint.on a tablesawAlthough or there’s router, a Because there is little frame of need to use the opposite side misalignment can still creep into reference, you have to take care of the plane as a reference. your setup. That’s where the to cut parallel to the tenon cheek To set the blade projection shoulder plane comes into play. to prevent tapering it. With your from the sole, use the blade plane adjusted for a very light depth adjustment screw. a marking knife to lay out the pass, start the cut with the toe When laying out tenons, I use purposes, you’ll want a cut of For most joint-trimming it on scrap). When hogging outno more a rabbet than or .002"-.003" dado, you can(test set it for as heavy a cut as possible without suffering clogging or blade chatter.