I was lucky enough to get the Lee Valley (LV) medium shoulder plane for Christmas this year, and I can say that it is already one of my favorite planes.
I have been surprised at how often I have used it for a variety of tasks. My only other shoulder plane is an old Stanley #90 that I use a lot, but I have found myself using the LV for almost everything now. It “comes to hand” easily and constantly and works very easily. It is 7″ long by 11/16″ wide….seems like a good compromise in size to me.
The plane is great for trimming tenon shoulders, etc or for paring cross-grain as is often required on tenon cheeks. I am doing a lot of mortise and tenon joints right now, and I see to be constantly using this plane.
I find that the Lee Valley planes are less expensive but every bit as good as Lie-Nielsen (LN) planes when it comes to use and functionality, and in some cases the LV planes are better as they tend to include some excellent modern interpretations of the older designs. Having said that, there is something more aesthetically pleasing about the LN planes that just isn’t there in the LV counterparts. LN planes are precision, functional pieces of art…LV planes are precision, functional tools. I love using them both, but somehow get more attached to the Lie-Nielsen tools. Does that make them worth the extra money? I’m not sure.
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About mattsanf
Matthew Sanfilippo is currently Executive Director of PSII (Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator) and the CenSCIR (Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure), Associate Director of ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).
Prior to CMU, Matthew was Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, a large engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed a technology consulting division for Baker including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality (VR), visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services.
Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on Information Security, Supply Chain, Network and Mobility Solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies after investment.
Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, a Boston-based engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up division that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics.
Matt is current board member and past Chairman of the Board for the Botanic Garden of Western Pennsylvania, a board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), and a former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also a former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.
Ahhh. A shoulder plane is on the wish list at my shop. I think the medium shoulder plane is the right one to have if you only have one…