Router or shoulder plane?

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Although I am working as a hobbyist woodworker for around 30 years, I am mainly a "power tools" user. I have learned manual tools can have a great part of my tasks, sometimes better than a power "equivalent" tool, besides, of course, the joy to use them (it is a very important factor for me as an amateur woodworker - the total experience counts, not only the final results).

I do not have intention to go to hand tool only and I have to handle my crescent hand tool passion to strictly minimum. I am thinking on a low angle block plane as first one, followed by a low angle jack plane and an either shoulder or router plane. Just three to all jobs in my woodworking.

Some of you recently lectured me about block planes. Thank you very much. It was appreciated.

Now I have a doubt between shoulder and router planes. It looks me a router plane is more flexible than a shoulder plane but, incidentally, I have found much more references to shoulder planes than router one. In my inexperience it looks me the router plane can do virtually all tasks a shoulder plane can accomplish and more. I cannot see any reason to prefer a shoulder plane... of course I missed something very important...

I really will appreciate if you can spend sometime to figure out to me why a shoulder plane could be a better solution, if it can be, of course. Additionally if you have a reason to not replace both planes for router plane only, it would be very welcome.

Thank you in advance to share your experience and advice. ;)

[Bruce Haugen]

A router plane can’t be used to trim the shoulders of a tenon, one of the main functions of the shoulder plane.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

A router plane can’t be used to trim the shoulders of a tenon, one of the main functions of the shoulder plane.

Why not? I saw several similar videos like that, https://youtu.be/ZpVaSz-GAiA ...it looks me very convenient...

Edited: oops, I think now I see what you mean: shoulder!

One interesting point.

[Don Dorn]

Everyone is different, but my shoulder plane essentially gathers dust while I have used my router plane quite a bit, mostly for dados.

[James Pallas]

Router plane. Use for trimming of hinge gains, dados, inlay work. Tenon cheeks for some people if they are small tenons. Shoulder planes are good for tenon shoulders but you may need more than one size. They also work for trimming rabbets but again it may take more than one size. If you are doing mostly machine work I think I would consider a good smoothing plane more useful than a router or a shoulder plane to get those machine tool marks off if your finish faces.
Jim
PS That is not ment to be a criticism of machine work. A smoother is usually the last tool used on my projects eithe hand or machine built.
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

Everyone is different, but my shoulder plane essentially gathers dust while I have used my router plane quite a bit, mostly for dados.

Same here, almost anything a shoulder plane can do is fairly easy to do with a chisel or other rabbet plane.

My shoulder plane may get more use than Don's since it is often used to clean up rabbets.

There are many things a router plane can do. A shoulder plane is rather specialized.

jtk

[Bruce Haugen]

Everyone is different, but my shoulder plane essentially gathers dust while I have used my router plane quite a bit, mostly for dados.

I’ve used my router plane maybe 4-5 times in 15 years.

[Derek Cohen]

Quite simply, a shoulder plane and a router plane are quite different tools, used for different purposes. It is not helpful to contrast them.

I tend to use a shoulder plane to make or true up rebates, very occasionally to remove a smidgeon from a tenon shoulder (mainly I use chisels to fine tune shoulders). I use a router plane to level surfaces, which could include tenon cheeks (where some might use a wide shoulder plane - I dislike the shoulder plane for this as it is ungainly). The router plane is great for stopped and through dados, sliding dovetails, hinge mortices, and nooks and crannies.

I could say router plane before shoulder plane, but I still find a use for the latter (edit to make this point).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Rainey]

I agree with Derek. Whatever you need the most on your next project buy - I used my Shouldr plane on over 40 tenon shoulders after I hand chopped over 40 mortises on this cherry king size bed379179

[Noah Magnuson]

I agree with Derek. Whatever you need the most on your next project buy - I used my Shouldr plane on over 40 tenon shoulders after I hand chopped over 40 mortises on this cherry king size bed379179

I have to ask about the clamp. Did you glue the whole bed together?

[Chet R Parks]

I'd go with the router plane before the shoulder plane. In addition to the many reasons already stated please add, stopped dados and creating the cutouts for bow ties to stop wood from checking.

[Mark Rainey]

Used bed bolts to join rails to head board and foot board - was using a brace and bit to drill holes but tired out and used electric hand drill to finish job. if you look closely just beneath the orange pad on the pipe clamp there is the hole for the bed bolt - I had to clamp the frame together to line things up. I stand corrected - used shoulder plane on over 50 tenons fitted into over 50 hand chopped mortises

[Phil Mueller]

That’s a tough question for me. I bought a router plane first and love using it for all the things already stated above. Sometime after, I bought a medium size shoulder plane. Frankly didn’t use it much at first. On some of my more recent projects, however, I’ve found it quite handy for a number of tasks. For example, I needed to slightly tune a drawer runner which was butted right up against a side rail and it was perfect for that. Heck, I’ve even used it to tidy up long grain edges and make a quick chamfer.

[Jason Baker IX]

I bought the router plane first, and then ended up buying the smaller version last summer. It's such a handy tool I can't imagine not owning one. I also bought a medium shoulder plane last year. I knew that this was more of a specialty plane, but it has seen use on most of my projects since then. You might not need to use it often, but when you need it you are so thankful that you own one. My vote is to buy both. Life is short. I'd get a smoother instead of the jack plane if you are using mostly machines.

[Bruce Haugen]

That’s a tough question for me. I bought a router plane first and love using it for all the things already stated above. Sometime after, I bought a medium size shoulder plane. Frankly didn’t use it much at first. On some of my more recent projects, however, I’ve found it quite handy for a number of tasks. For example, I needed to slightly tune a drawer runner which was butted right up against a side rail and it was perfect for that. Heck, I’ve even used it to tidy up long grain edges and make a quick chamfer.

I have the Veritas medium shoulder plane. It is an absolute delight. The adjustability, function, precision, and usefulness are unmatched. The longer I have it, the more I use it. It tunes rabbets better than an ordinary rabbet plane, mostly because of the precision of its adjustability. It tunes tenon shoulders better than anything else, chisels included. Since I’m a hybrid woodworker, I use an apprentice to cut tenons within .001”, so a router plane is unnecessary for that step.

The better question is whether a router plane is better than a chisel at pruning tenons than a good rasp, or better than a paring chisel at leveling out dadoes.

If you’re looking for advice on how to spend your money, you need to decide how you’re going to do your woodworking.

[Derek Cohen]

The better question is whether a router plane is better than a chisel at pruning tenons than a good rasp, or better than a paring chisel at leveling out dadoes.

Bruce, the issue is not about "pruning" but about making or keeping a face parallel. It is quite easy to saw a tenon cheek slightly (or more!) out-of-parallel to the stretcher. The router plane is an easier tool to use to restore parallel (while trimming).

The router plane certainly makes levelling easy, since that it what it is designed to do. Other tools can get there in the end, but require more effort to do so.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bruce Haugen]

Bruce, the issue is not about "pruning" but about making or keeping a face parallel. It is quite easy to saw a tenon cheek slightly (or more!) out-of-parallel to the stretcher. The router plane is an easier tool to use to restore parallel (while trimming).

The router plane certainly makes levelling easy, since that it what it is designed to do. Other tools can get there in the end, but require more effort to do so.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Not to me. My tenon cheeks are parallel and level to start. The only issue is fit.

[Derek Cohen]

Bruce, do you cut your cheeks with a handsaw or a power tool?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi Oswaldo,
I use my small router plane more often than my shoulder plane. But I have both because they do different jobs in my shop. For me, the shoulder plane is used on tenon shoulders. But like many tools, you can use it for other functions such as cutting camphers.

I bought the router plane first and I have never regretted that. I originally purchased it to make sure that any long dados I cut on a machine are cut to the exact same depth over their entire length. (Sometimes, a long part rises up just a little as it goes over the dado head. Then the joint doesn't fit properly because the depth isn't right. So I use the router plane to make the dado bottom uniform depth.) After I bought this tool, I discovered that it has many other uses that others described above.

I would give up my shoulder plane before I would give up my router plane. But that's just me. Everyone works wood a little differently.

Good luck!

Fred

[Bruce Haugen]

Bruce, do you cut your cheeks with a handsaw or a power tool?

Regards from Perth

Derek

I’m a hybrid worker. tablesaw.

[Derek Cohen]

Tablesaw is cheating, Bruce :) The OP is asking about hand tools, so the cheeks would be shaped with a tenon handsaw, not a tenon tablesaw .. :).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bruce Haugen]

Tablesaw is cheating, Bruce :) The OP is asking about hand tools, so the cheeks would be shaped with a tenon handsaw, not a tenon tablesaw .. :).

Regards from Perth

Derek

When I cut tenons by hand and they need to be adjusted, I use a zephyr rasp. It’s quicker. I’ve never, ever found the router plane useful for that. Obviously you have. And, btw, the OP’s original question didn’t say anything about tenon cheeks.

[Derek Cohen]

Bruce, it is not about which is quicker - there are a lot of quick methods. A skew block plane or a rabbet block plane is quicker than a router plane. I often just use a wide chisel. But it is not about which is quicker, especially for a beginner (the OP, who began the thread asking about the merits of the shoulder plane vs the router plane) - it's about which is likely to produce the more accurate results.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[andy bessette]

I could easily live without my router plane. But my shoulder planes are used daily.

[lowell holmes]

I have both router and shoulder planes. IMO, they are used for different tasks.:)

[Prashun Patel]

There is overlap, but there are times one is more convenient than the other. Sometimes I appreciate the vertical registration and wide blade of the shouder plane.
Sometimes I appreciate the ability to get into a stopped groove, or to dial in a particular depth precisely.

This is subjective, but I will say that I tend to use the router plane to refine a tenon to a line, but a shoulder plane to refine a tenon to a mortise. Does that make sense?

[John Sanford]

Yes. Embrace the power of "AND". Based on my own past use though, if I could only have one, it would be the router plane. And knowing what I have done with the shoulder plane, I would not be a happy camper limited to just one of the two. So, barring the dictates of immediate need, I would get the router plane first and then a shoulder plane as opportunity/circumstances dictate.

[lowell holmes]

I have both or had both. I have not seen the router plane since Hurricane Harvey came through. I will have to look for them tomorrow.

[Warren Mickley]

I did a lot of cabinetmaking without a router or a shoulder plane. After quite a few years I got a router plane for carving work, but I have never owned a shoulder plane. Three tools which I could not have worked without, however are the plough plane, the fillister plane (rabbet plane with a fence), and the rabbet plane. I made simple versions of all three of these right away when I started woodworking.

[david charlesworth]

The idea that a shoulder plane could be used to clean small shoulders is completely alien to me!

Like Derek, I use a router plane to fit tenons and chisels to perfect the shoulders.

David Charlesworth

[Matt Evans]

It is relatively easy to make a shoulder plane. Router planes are a little more difficult to make. If I had to decide which to buy, I'd buy a router plane, then make a simple shoulder plane. (I have, and use, both, so take my advice with a grain of salt.)

[Bill McDermott]

Osvaldo, On your theme of amateur enjoyment...
A shoulder plane is one of those tools like a hammer or a block plane that you pick up and use without much thought because of it's simplicity, predictability and utility. It's a great tool to have in the mix. If you don't have a rabbet block plane, then you should seriously consider this. It gets all the way to an inside corner. Very useful.
On the other hand, a router plane is a unique tool. It involves setup for each application. It is more like a chisel jig for delicate operations where you really do not want to over cut. Removing waste from hinge mortises is a classic example. You can literally dial-in your depth of cut. Anyway, it's an enjoyable hand tool and it gives me (very amateur) confidence when I a nervous about using a chisel in a delicate process (that others on this thread could perform one handed).

[Jerry Olexa]

I prefer a router plane to a shoulder for M/T joints...Better control..

[Ted Phillips]

I use my router plane quite frequently for hinges, dados/housings, and general smooth-bottom chores. My shoulder plane is very useful, but I find I reach for it once every few weeks/months. I use my router plane once a week or so consistently.

This might have something to do with the fact that I *hate* my electric router. Too much set up time. Too much dust. Much too dangerous...

TedP

[Talbert McMullin]

I have both. Veritas router plane is invaluable, especially for inlay work.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I rarely ever use my shoulder plane, but I am also not cutting tenons. I might have used it twice. I keep thinking that I should sell it but it costs me almost nothing to just keep it so I do.

I would use my router plane more if I did not already own plane designed to cut hinges; I own the Lie Nielsen variety.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/planes/71265-veritas-hinge-mortise-plane?item=05P3870
https://www.lie-nielsen.com/products/butt-mortise-plane

If I owned a router plane when I purchased my used butt mortise plane, I would not have purchased my butt mortise plane (probably).

I have had more opportunities to use my router plane.

I might suggest that you wait until you have a project where you can use a specific plane and then buy it.

You are a long drive (and flight) from where I live or I would say "give mine a try and see what you think" :-)

If you must by one now, I would choose the router plane.

I chose a large and a medium Lee Valley with their pre-made box (not flashy but well thought out). Have not yet found an excuse to purchase the small router plane, I just keep resisting the urge to buy it anyway!

[Tony Shea]

Not to jump on the Derek and David bandwagon but I agree that a shoulder plane used to tune tenon shoulders seems insane to me. I will say that if my handsaw cut, the shoulder cross cut, is not close enough to my knife line I will run the shoulder plane to get closer to my line to prepare for the chisel. I always chisel my shoulder line and will ever so slightly undercut that shoulder. I would think a shoulder plane used on the shoulder would throw your piece out of square. I'm not sure how you would keep the multiple pieces the exact same length. I also don't know how you would keep the shoulder square all the way around the tenon.

I tend to use my router plane a little more than my shoulder planes but agree they are two very different tools used for completely different tasks. I do use my router plane to level my tenon cheeks and never use my shoulder planes for this. Shoulder planes just are too awkward for this task and there is no good way to keep the cheeks parallel. I own both the LN and LV router planes and I would recommend the LV version. I really like the ability of the cutter to come off the blade stem to enable sharpening. Sharpening the router plane blade attached to the stem can be awkward which can make it difficult to maintain a perfectly square edge on the blade. If the blade isn't perfectly square across its' edge then you will not be able to maintain a perfectly level field when using the plane, if that makes any sense.

[Robert Engel]

Where the shoulder plane excels is just what its made for - shoulders. I do pair shoulders to the line with a chisel, but impossible in those instances where I need to dial it in just a bit more trimming off a few thou.

That said, this weekend I found myself picking up a shoulder plane to tune up a tenon face - and a router plane, the best tool for this job, is sitting right there on the shelf!!

Its all going to boil down to what fits your work methods, but sometimes adapting our methods to a tool improves our work, for example a router plane keeps the tenon face parallel to the board.

[Prashun Patel]

Shoulder planes get short shrift. Mine's pretty good at getting into tighter spots than a block plane. It also has a flush sided blade like a rabbet plane, a lot of mass, and high sides. All these things make it a good tool that can do some things easier than others in some situations.

[Jim Koepke]

Where the shoulder plane excels is just what its made for - shoulders.

It is always interesting to see conversations about "Shoulder Planes." Of course, that is the common conventional name for these specialized planes.

Looking at Patrick Leach's site tells a different story:


#90 Bull nose rabbet plane, 4"L, 1"W, 1lb, 1898-1969.

450276
This is the first in a series of so-called cabinetmaker's rabbet planes, and is the rightmost one in the image (the larger planes are pictured to show the details of the text). They were advertised as being "designed for fine Cabinet Work where extreme accuracy is required."

http://www.supertool.com/StanleyBG/stan11.htm

It may be this plane is awkward for trimming shoulders and tenons because they were never actually intended for the job.

jtk