Shoulder Planes Reviewed
Furniture makers can choose from a wide variety of high-performance tools
Synopsis: A well-tuned shoulder plane is a necessary part of any well-equipped workbench, woodworker Chris Gochnour affirms. Used to refine and perfect joinery, a shoulder plane can perform any smoothing task that requires controlled and precise cuts, such as fitting into a corner. Gochnour reviews shoulder planes by Clifton, E.C. Emmerich, H.N.T. Gordon, Lie-Nielsen, St. James Bay, Shepherd, and Veritas, and offers a fine-tuning guide to help you get the most out of your plane.
From Fine Woodworking #171
Three tools that always find their way to my workbench are the smoothing, block, and shoulder planes. Of the three, the shoulder plane commonly is viewed as a specialized tool with limited application, but this is not true.
In a college furniture-making class I teach, students generally bring their own smoothing and block planes but end up borrowing my shoulder plane daily. Their actions confirm what I concluded some…
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