which plane for trimming tenons?

[John Daugherty]

Which plane should I get to trim tenons?

Lie-Nielsen rabbet block

http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?grp=1269

or


Verital medium shoulder

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...30,41182,41192

My thinking is that the LN has a wider sole so the tenon would be more consistent in thickness since I'd be removing more stock at once. Wouldn't it work on the shoulder also?

Are there some advantages/disadvantages I don't see of each?

[Casey Gooding]

Depends on what part of the tenon you are trimming. For the tenon faces, the rabbet block plane will be best. For the tenon shoulders, the shoulder plane is the way to go.

[Sean Hughto]

You should consider a router plane. Both LN and LV's are excellent for this task -- or you can make your own from wood like Harry.

[lowell holmes]

I use a router plane or a LV float. I use the router plane most of the time.

[James Owen]

For trimming the faces of the tenons, take a look at a router plane (a Stanley 71 or 71-1/2, the large LN, or the large LV).

[David Gendron]

For the faces, I often use a large paring chisel, in the 1 1/2" range, 2" would be great but...

[Frank Drew]

I just got home from work and I'm beat so probably my head isn't working correctly... but how do you use a router plane to trim a tenon? Doesn't the body of the plane prevent you from planing the whole thing, by bumping into the tenon shoulders? (By tenon "face", I assume people mean the tenon cheek?)

[Tom Henderson2]

I just got home from work and I'm beat so probably my head isn't working correctly... but how do you use a router plane to trim a tenon? Doesn't the body of the plane prevent you from planing the whole thing, by bumping into the tenon shoulders? (By tenon "face", I assume people mean the tenon cheek?)

I believe the technique is to either support the router plane on both the workpiece and another piece the same thickness, or to just support it on one side, sort of cantilevered off the edge. Then use sort of a pivot stroke to remove material.

THe advantage is that if you do this on both side, the tenon will be EXACTLY centered. Since you ordinarily are taking very light cuts, it is doable.

Derek has a photo on his site....
http://tinyurl.com/yhoj9vj

-TH

[Jim Koepke]

It comes down to whether you want to have the least number of tools needed to do the job or if you want to justify having the most tools one could use to do the job.

Various styles of router planes would be good for the job, the best being like the one Harry posted about with one side long that swings over the tenon's face like a pendulum.

See it here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1207410#poststop

A shoulder plane can do the work. It is a bit narrow. The advantage being it can also trim the shoulders and can be used in tighter places like narrow lap joints when needed.

The block rabbets also have the advantage of being wide and making the trimming of a wide tenon a bit easier. Some of the modern block rabbets are less breakable than some of the old ones. If it has a skew blade it is even more versatile. They may not be as good for trimming shoulders.

Each way has its advantages and disadvantages. The only way to get all the advantages and be able to forget about the disadvantages it so get at least one of each type of plane.

See, there is an easy answer to almost everything.

jim

[Eric Brown]

The router allows you to use the face of the board as a reference and ensures your tendon is not only flat but also parallel with the face. By turning the board over while planing (routing), you also achive the tendon being centered between both faces. Harry's board allows better support for the router an is highly recommended. For the shoulders either use a shoulder plane or chisel. A miter/shoulder vice can also help.

Eric

[Richard Magbanua]

Another vote for the router plane!

[greg Forster]

1 vote for wide paring chisel - which you may already have.

[Pam Niedermayer]

I vote for, in order of preference: shoulder plane, block rebate plane, float/file, wide chisel used bevel down.

Pam