Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Sanford Levy
>Hi folks. I was going to buy a Veritas medium shoulder plane (for tenons and such: I am about to cut my first by hand) but noticed they also have a new bullnose shoulder plane. I like the fact that it can be used as a chisel plane since I do not have one. I do not know what their capabilities of these different planes are. I did not see much of a discussion at woodcentral on this. Any help and advice is much appreciated. Sanford
Re: LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>I have the shoulder plane and have closely looked at the bullnose. I think that the shoulder due to it's longer bottom with more sole in front of the blade makes it better for triming up the shoulders. Tennons don't have to be a work of art just snug.
Re: LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Hank Knight
>I am probably going to buy the new LV bullnose plane because I do not have a bullnose. I have the LN Small chisel plane, but I use it only occasionally for cleaning up glue squeeze-out and similar tasks that I could do as well with a half dozen other implements. If I didn't have either one and had to choose between the LV medium shoulder plane and the bullnose plane, I'd choose the medium shoulder plane. I have a large shoulder plane and I use it a lot. I rarely need a bullnose, but when you need it, nothing else will do the job as well. Depending on the kind of work you do, you would probably find the shoulder plane the more useful of the two. My $.02
Re: LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Moses Yoder in White Pigeon, MI
>Choosing between the two I also think your first purchase should be the shoulder plane. The bullnose will not work well for planing tenon shoulders due to not having the toe at the front to start it. There was some discussion a while back about the bullnose plane being mostly useless, and I tend to agree with that, but have two bullnose planes and no shoulder plane due to the purchasing opportunities thrown my way. The LV medium shoulder plane is on my list of must haves by the end of the year.
Re: LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Rob in Ontario
>Hi Sanford, do you have a coin to toss?
I have a Stanley #90 an a LV med. shoulder plane, purchased for different uses. The 90 I picked up for a small mirror frame and its chisel feature. It did the job but is a pain in the hand. It hurts to hold in chisel mode. I plan on replacing it with the LV bullnose since all of the other LV planes I have are a joy to hold and work great. The LV shoulder plane I use for fine tuning tenons, cleaning datos and rabbets. I have also used it for shooting, with it's high sides.
Just to complicate things, another plane that I have found VERY useful is my LN Rabbet Block plane. Just add it to the list. Each of them can do something that the others can not!!!
Good luck in your decision. Rob
LV bullnose or medium shoulder plane
Sanford Levy
>Thanks people. Sounds like the medium shoulder plane is my best bet. Sanford
Useless?
Christopher Schwarz
>I must have missed the thread about bullnose planes being useless. While I don't use mine as much as I use my shoulder plane, the bullnose is an essential part of my toolkit.
I have an old Preston model, by the way, and can't wait to use the LV, which arrived last week.
Yes, it cleans up rabbets. It's good for shooting miters and cleaning into corners, especially those that are routed out.
But it is indispensible when building casework. After assembling a carcase, the bullnose is the best plane for flushing the joints where the sides, shelves and dividers come together at the back of the case. Unlike any other tool, it can reach into those rabbets cut for the back and flush things up so your back will fit without any gaps.
I also use mine to fit raised panels. It's great for trimming the backside rabbet to fit in the door groove.
I'll have to make a note every time I pick one up and make a list of operations.
Chris
Re: Useless?
William Duffield on the Cohansey
>I think what you missed was that the Stanley #75 is neigh unto useless, due to it's lacklustre design and lacadaisical manufacturing.
A little more insight or clarity into the concensus of recommendations might be "If you don't have a shoulder plane, don't make a bullnose your first choice, because something like the LV medium shoulder plane will work better for some very important uses.
A compendium of applications (avoiding tongue-in-cheek "functionalitY") for which the bullnose plane is the first choice would be quite enlightening, and quite useful to those who are contemplating the new LV offering, especially.
Re: Useless?
William Duffield on the Cohansey
>that's "nigh unto". sorry, typo