Adjusting the angle of a shoulder on a tenon?

[John Pond]

So I am making a bench from a large slab that has warped slightly, and while the leg will still enter perpendicular to the ground, the shoulder that meets the slab's under surface will not meet flush or completely flat. I assume that I will have to sand and adjust so there is maximum contact, I was just wondering if anybody had any experience with this. Any help is appreciated.

[Tom M King]

I expect sanding won't be the fastest adjustment to the shoulder. Easy way would be with a flexible handsaw that will follow the shape of the slab where the tenon enters it. Seat it as far as it will go, and take a sawcut to get it down the thickness of the saw. Repeat as needed. These saws work fine for such a job if the size is fitting: http://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-Tools-Double-Edge-9-5-Inch-213103/dp/B0001GLEZ8

[Jerry Miner]

Shoulder plane. That's what they are for!

Shoulder plane (http://www.veritastools.com/Products/Page.aspx?p=94)

[Max Neu]

If you don't have a shoulder plane,could you tilt the blade on your table saw and use a cross cut sled?

[John T Barker]

I almost always need a picture to understand what people are describing. Without the benefit of that I would say marking what you need to cut away is your first step. Seat the tenon as deep as you can and the put a straight edge on the slab, mark the leg using the parallel edge of the straight edge. Rotate the straight edge around all facets of the leg and you should be able to mark it completely and then remove what you don't need from the leg. I'd say chisel and hand saw, it sounds like you are describing a small amount of wood. Shoulder plane could help too.

[Matt Day]

I like toms idea, assuming I'm envisioning the problem correctly.

[Brian Tymchak]

If I'm understanding the problem correctly, I'd insert that leg as far as possible, like John suggested, but then use a pencil compass to scribe around the leg. Since this likely would not result in a straight shoulder, I would use a chisel and pare to the scribe lines by hand.