Using Shoulder plane

[john mclane]

I just received a nice older Stanley 92 shoulder plane. It arrived just in time to use on some 3/4" x 1/2" tenons I had cut about a week ago for a cherry quilt rack I'm building. I'm trying to trim them down to fit the mortises tightly.

I checked the Stanley for squareness and flatness. Sharpened the blade to a nice sharp polish. Reassembeled and left about a 1/16" in the mouth. Made sure the blade was square and the nuts all tight. Tryed on some scrape and showed I could get a nice even thin strip curled up inside.

Went to the tenons and all I could seem to get was some dust scrapings and a few shavings and these always seem to start inside the edge making the tenon not square. Cutting across grain and it just seemed to not be able to get a bite without chatering.

Any suggestion on how best to use this plane. I'm relatively new and have not yet used a top quality plane but can get a good clean shaving regularly out of my Groz bench plane and Stanley block plane.

[Mike Henderson]

I, too, have had trouble using the Stanley 90 series planes. While this is not what you asked for, I now just use a chisel to trim tenons. I find it easier and my chisels are usually right there on my bench.

Mike

[tod evans]

john, i keep a 93 in my top bench drawer just for knocking down fat tennons. did you wax the sole and sides? if so and it`s sharp then it`s just a matter of getting used to the tool....02 tod

[Dennis Peacock]

Yea....I'd like to know the same thing. So if anyone has any pointers for those of us using a LV medium shoulder plane, I'd like to here it. I've got 12 large tenons to clean up and fit to mortises.....and right now, it's taking me about 3 hours per set of tenons. Any help at all would be appreciated.

I'm only talking about maybe 1/64" is all I'm needing to remove. Right now, it's sandpaper and maybe several card scrapers and a LOT of frustration. :o :(

[Brian Hale]

My best suggestion is firm downward pressure and quick strokes. Like you Dennis, I'm just getting used to my LV MSP and it's a bit temper mental.

Brian :)

[harry strasil]

holding the plane straight, getting the depth right, ending up with a taper. That's why I made this tool. always parallel, no chance of going to deep, makes quick work of a tenon and its repeatable for multiple tenons of the same size.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36807

[Doug Shepard]

I'm with Mike. While I do still occasionally use the 92, I also find it easier and quicker with a chisel. I usually grab for the 2" one as I find it easier to keep the wider ones held square to the tenon. For trimming ones that fit but are just a hair too snug though, 80 or 100g wrapped around a block works for me.

[Dennis Peacock]

holding the plane straight, getting the depth right, ending up with a taper. That's why I made this tool. always parallel, no chance of going to deep, makes quick work of a tenon and its repeatable for multiple tenons of the same size.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36807

Harry,

That tenon router looks pretty good. I sure could have used that last night and tonight. But, I finally got my LV MSP adjusted fairly nicely and I used it tonight on a couple that really needed some wood removed in order to fit the joint. The SP did it's job well, it's just the operator that need more practice. :eek: :o :D

[Derek Cohen]

Hi John

I have a few different brands of shoulder planes, amongst them the Stanley #92. Now it is not as comfortable to hold as some but it is, nevertheless, a fine shoulder plane, especially if one wants a compact package. Importantly, it cuts as well as any of the others on the market. And knowing this, all I can say to you is that your blade is not sharp enough. Are you sure that you achieved a wire edge on the primary bevel before moving up the grits? Or did you just polish a rounded edge?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[john mclane]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did resharpen and used on a larger tenon then what I started with. With that set of tenons I was able to get some nice shavings and was able to quickly trim the tenons to get a tight fit. The smaller tenons I did resort to a sharp chisel.