How to Hold an Adjustable Shoulder Plane

I have large LN and feel that discomfort you speak of. Thanks for posting this. As soon as I saw the picture, it became one of those slapping of the forehead moments. I feel like I got a new tool out of the deal.

I would have never known ! Thank you for sharing this bit of knowledge.This may be one good example of how some of the plain and simple processes of real craftsman get lost over time when they are not used or taught for many many years. I don't recall even being taught how to use a simple block plane in high school wood shop some 40 years ago.

Danny Hellyar wrote:

"I don't recall even being taught how to use a simple block plane in high school wood shop some 40 years ago."

Uh-oh. Is there a right way to hold and use a block plane too?

BTW, I had a semester of HS wood shop in the mid-1960s. My first experience of woodworking tools. I barely passed with a D. If my old shop teacher had known that I would go on to try and make a living at woodworking he would be surprised I hadn't starved to death.

But how do you hold the plane while planing a tenon shoulder? That's the first task for a shoulder plane I guess.

Planing a shoulder - Good question.

I need to take some pictures. Infill shoulder planes have ears to make it easy to grab the tool at each end. With Preston style planes it is a little harder.

Dang ! Does this mean that our Japanese Daiku equivelants push their shoulder planes?

If the shoulder plane was designed to be used as you say, why would it have an handle in the back facing the "wrong" direction?

Bert,
No idea - other than to cover the mechanism. And sometimes you do push a shoulder plane.