The Only Shoulder Plane
I know this post is fruitless, but I want to save you some money and frustration. So here we go: If your work requires a shoulder plane (and not all work does), you need only one of them.
Like chisels, unfortunately, shoulder planes come in a variety of sizes, from 1/4" up to 1-1/4". And they get named “small,” “medium” and “large.” And so, it seems that you should invest in owning one of each. One for small work, one for medium and so forth.
No. Totally not correct. That is not how it works at all.
If you ask Google which shoulder plane is best, you’ll find this advice from Woodsmith magazine and many others: “You’ll find that a size in the midrange – 3/4" to 1" will be the most useful and handle the widest range of tasks. The larger sizes of shoulder planes can be pretty bulky for fine work.”
That seems a reasonable Goldilocks choice. Pick the middle one. Not too big and not too small.
No. Totally incorrect and (sorry W…
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