Veritas Medium Shoulder Plane

glenn bradley

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I promised myself I wouldn’t go through another M&T project without a shoulder plane. The current effort has M&T and breadboard ends. I had been saving a bit and the switch from QSWO to Ash for the project saved enough money (in my mind anyway) to spring for this:

medium-shoulder-plane.jpg

The blade arrives lapped and is pretty good right out of the box. About 10 minutes on the scary sharp and I was feeling OK to test it out. Beautifully executed tool and a pleasure to use. This will be more fun on those tenon cheeks than my chisels ;-)
 
They are a very nice plane to have in the woodworking arsenal. Just be wary of that blade, with 3 points of sharpness, I got snagged on my more times then I care to remember.
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but been looking at one of these. My DIY chisel/shoulder plane has turned out to take a lot of fiddling to make it work right. I got by on my high chair project with some chisel work, but as you mentioned, it wasn't enjoyable and really slowed down progress. I've looked at the Stanley 92, but for $90 it sounds like it's a crap shoot if you get a decent one to start with that is half way square, then you may have to square and tune it to work. So for the price the Veritas looks to be a good value.

Just curious what blade you got? A2? O1? I see they have a newer steel called PM-V11. Just wondering what would be recommended and why. My understanding is that O1 would be easier to sharpen, but have to sharpen more often, A2 holds an edge longer, but harder to sharpen. Reading about PM-V11 it sounds like it has both easy sharpening and edge holding properties, and is only about $10 more.
 
Just curious what blade you got? A2? O1? I see they have a newer steel called PM-V11.

I had A2 on all my LV stuff that offered it up until the PM-V11 became available. So many people who's opinions I respected spoke well of it, I tried it. I have been buying it when available ever since and would recommend it highly. It sharpens about like the A2 and lasts very noticeably longer. That is, you don't need to keep track or apply any science to notice it; there really is a difference and well worth the money IMHO.
 
Haven't used the PM (powdered metal) steel in any plane irons, but it's great for turning tools. Like Glenn said, it holds an edge noticeably longer.
 
LV versus LN is all a matter of preference for many items. The LV fit my hand better but, I have also heard folks say it is like holding a handful of spaghetti ;-)

LV-Med-Shoulder-Grip-RH-001.jpg . LV-Med-Shoulder-Grip-RH-002.jpg
 
Glenn I have a feeling you got mental telepathy going with some of us on this forum. :D I was about to ask you since this thread came up, just how you hold that shoulder plane. I been itching to buy one and when i was down in the LV store the other day i tried it out and put it back on the shelf. There is nothing ergonomic about that tool. It could do with some serious redesign so its made for human hands to hold.

Now i will go back to LV and give it another try after seeing how you grip it but it looks very uncomfortable.

Wish Toni would chime in here because he and i discussed this a couple of years back. I have not seen one that is made for our hands to hold like a plane is when you consider the shape of the tote and knob.

I guess its one of those traditional hang overs of carrying old designs forward and not wishing to upset the status quo. Given all the work that went into the design of this plane http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=61963&cat=1,41182,48942,61963

re industrial design etc i think the shoulder plane series could do with the same. But that's just me the village idiot.

I guess this is one tool that needs someone coaching one on how to use it to have it a) be used for the correct application and b) be used and held correctly to achieve its purpose.

I see no reason why a rabbet plane cannot do much the same thing but with a better way of holding it.


Ok now the woodworking gods will strike me down for having dared to question the existence use and purpose of this tool. Let the bolts of lightening commence.:rofl:
 
When you consider how the tool is used, the grip makes sense (for me). When shooting a tenon that is only 1-1/2" wide the standard knob and tote grip offers me no real control. I like to have my hand right over the work and the area being worked. This is probably 99.9% me :eek:. Using the grip as shown the plane is very comfortable and controlled. I also sometimes grip it like a molding plane and sometimes pull it instead of push. On the other hand, the LN version felt completely foreign to me and I couldn't guide it without transitioning my hands all over the place. This could be due to an expectation of how I should hold it. I would say the difference in grip would be one deciding factor on this tool between the two makers. I also have the LV large shoulder plane and find it just as intuitive. Maybe its a left-brain, right-brain thing? :huh:
 
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I have both the Veritas Medium shoulder plane, and the Lie Neilson large one. The Veritas plane is my "go to" about 90% of the time, and I grip it pretty much the same way Glenn does.
 
I posted a comment long ago about the LN one ( which I have) and I still have to find a proper way to hold it, the Veritas one is far better ergonomically than the LN one IMHO.

However, I still think that there is room for improvement, the front push knob on the big one that you have to screw and unscrew to change side is one of the things to improve...
 
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