Router or shoulder plane?

[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...e?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.

Image From Patrick's Blood and Gore.png
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