Classic Boat – September 2019

SHOULDER PLANE

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS
ROBIN GATES

Just like your average teenager
tweeting a selfie, I’m careful to show
my best side – but it’s my half-lap
joints and tenons I’m concerned
about, not my puppy dog eyes and
pouting lips. When you work wood
by hand, minor irregularities are
inevitable – something I regard as
character, although wood machinists
might call them flaws. Still, a lot can
be done to improve the look and fit
of a hand-cut joint using a sharp,
finely set shoulder plane.
Superficially, a shoulder plane
is similar to the simplest of rebate
(rabbet) planes, the key differences
being that the blade is bedded at
a much lower angle, with the bevel
facing up instead of down, and
fitted perpendicular to the stock,
not skewed.
The low angle is designed for
trimming a shoulder’s end grain
cleanly. In this example the blade is at
28°, compared to 52° for the 1930s
rebate plane. Meanwhile, the blade is
mounted bevel-down to maximise
support and minimise chatter at the
cutting edge when slicing through

tough fibres. In a rebate plane,

a skewed blade steers the tool into

the corner of the rebate, keeping it

on track while also ejecting the long

shavings to one side, but skewing is

not required in a shoulder plane that

takes mere crumbling wisps over

a short distance. At a pinch you can

trim a shoulder with a rebate plane,

but a shoulder plane used to cut a

rebate quickly becomes clogged.

Compared to a high-end modern

tool with screw adjustments,

customisable knobs and shiny bronze,

this user-made shoulder plane is

refreshingly down-to-earth yet also

surgically precise. It’s of a handy ¾in

(19mm) width, with traditional beech

stock that’s bang-on quarter-sawn for

long-term stability, and has the

advantage of an ergonomic tail

shaped from the long rear end that

is unavoidable with a low-slung blade.

Also significant is the steel shoe

covering the sole, ensuring its survival

through the hands of at least three

owners so far, whose names are

stamped into the toe. The two-piece

shoe, which maintains the mouth to

a fixed narrow opening, also prevents

premature wear and – especially –

guards the mouth’s tapering trailing

edge against chipping. Even all-metal

low-angle planes are often found with

damaged mouths, because the sole in

this area is so thin and vulnerable.

NEXT MONTH: Natural honing stones

Clockwise from

above: Truing

the shoulder of

an ash lap joint;

Wispy shavings

from the

bevel-up blade;

A shoulder

plane has a

lower bedding

angle than a

rebate plane

Traditional Tool