Decent shoulder plane for the money?

[Jon McElwain]

I love my medium LV shoulder plane - it's one of my favorite planes to use. I don't think that I would use the large very often for the work I do. Don't forget about the LV fully functioning miniature planes. I use the mini shoulder plane to clean out narrow rabbets and other very small tasks frequently.

[Brian Thornock]

The Veritas ones look very nice. However, the only shoulder plane I have is an infill that I built. It has a 1" wide iron and gets used for tons of stuff. If I had to pick one of the current sizes, 3/4" would probably be where I would go. Then again, I will likely never buy a commercial shoulder plane.

[Kevin Hampshire]

I have the LV Bullnose, Medium and the Large. I strongly prefer the large for working tenons. The medium may have an edge for working shoulders.

[Tyler Arsenault]

I just picked up a LN medium. I've only used it to clean up a couple rabbets so far, but it is great. I really like the simplicity.

[Robert Engel]

Hi Tony

There are two main reasons: firstly, the set screws in the body of the LV enable the blade to be removed for sharpening and then reset in the exact previous position. This is helpful with a shoulder plane, which needs to be set up with the blade exactly square and with the correct side projection. Secondly, The LV shoulder planes are more comfortable to push than the LN shoulder planes. The Medium and Large both have handles that pivot and make this process more ergonomic on the left- and right sides. The Small additionally has a blade adjuster, which the LN Small lacks (it is an infill).

Regards from Perth

Derek

This is exactly my experience. I have a 1" LN and ergonomically the LV is better for me.

Blade adjustment is necessary after each sharpening. So with the LN its tap tap with a small hammer to adjust the blade.

[Rob Luter]

I have the medium sized Lee Valley model. Very happy with it.

[Peter Gavin]

Ok so I'm leaning toward a LN, is the PM-V11 blade material worth the extra $10?

Does LN offer a PM-V11 blade? I thought that was 'proprietary' to LV?

Peter

[Dave Cav]

I know this is a somewhat old thread, but it's one of the more recent ones I found discussing shoulder planes. I have had a LV Medium for a number of years, and it's just about my favorite hand tool. I use it all the time, even for things it's not designed for, like some block plane work.

I just started on a project to make all (17) interior doors for my new house. They're stain grade alder, four panel shaker style and all the rails and stiles are M&T. (No, they're not sawn/chopped out by hand, but I am using a 60 year old Newman mortiser and an 80 year old Millbury tenoner.) The tenons are pretty big and the medium LV is a little on the small side for clean up work. I got a pretty good deal on line for a vintage Stanley 93, but I sure don't love it, and sometimes don't even like it. It's small, cramps my hand, and is fiddly to adjust. I think I may have to break down and get the large LV in the next few days.

[Matt Lau]

not to increase competition, but wait until Lee valley's cyber monday sale.

[Patrick Chase]

I just started on a project to make all (17) interior doors for my new house. They're stain grade alder, four panel shaker style and all the rails and stiles are M&T. (No, they're not sawn/chopped out by hand, but I am using a 60 year old Newman mortiser and an 80 year old Millbury tenoner.) The tenons are pretty big and the medium LV is a little on the small side for clean up work. I got a pretty good deal on line for a vintage Stanley 93, but I sure don't love it, and sometimes don't even like it. It's small, cramps my hand, and is fiddly to adjust. I think I may have to break down and get the large LV in the next few days.

The large LV is a wonderfully usable tool IMO. I prefer it to the medium and find myself using it even in situations where it's a little bigger than optimal.

[Dave Cav]

not to increase competition, but wait until Lee valley's cyber monday sale.

Thanks for the reminder. That's in November? I may have a bunch of the doors finished by then, but a discount is a discount, and the Stanley 93 will work for the time being.

[bridger berdel]

I have the LV medium, a Clifton of the same blade width but a significantly smaller body and a couple of wooden side escapement skew rabbit planes.the rabbit planes are definitely a different beast. With the grain they run like gangbusters but I wouldn't even try using them for end grain like tenon shoulders. The shoulder planes will cut long grain but they're slow. The Clifton needed a bit of fettling but now runs fine and sometimes I like the smaller body. The LV Is tall and sometimes a bit tippy but the wide cheeks are ideal for registering square when trimming shoulders. It needed nothing out of the box but final honing. It definitely has the most sophisticated adjustment mechanism of the lot.

[Dominik Dudkiewicz]

I also have both the LV medium and large and rate them highly. I would be hard-pressed to choose one over the other, but I guess if I could only keep one it would be the large. I find the extra mass and size helps more than hinders in most situations. But it would be a tough decision and I don't think you could go far wrong with either. It really depends on the size of tenons / shoulders you typically work with.

Cheers,

Dom

[Todd Stock]

Had both LN and LV - wonderful flexibility, but ended up preferring simplicity, so sold off the LV. Kept the LN large and medium, plus the early infill small. A well tuned woodie is quite useful, but most will need some tweaks that will take some small amount of skill and larger amount of time. If you routinely work in curly anigre or other abrasive, A2 or PM alloys might be worth it.

[Kevin Perez]

LV medium for me. Love, love it. Works great with an absolute minimum of fettling.