# Shoulder planes



## jimmy986 (May 23, 2014)

I am looking to get a shoulder plane. From what I've found online, it seems that most people recommend buying new. When it comes to other planes, many people say restoring is fairly simple and much cheaper. I'm just wondering if this isn't true for shoulder planes and , if so, why?

If true, what models to people prefer? I've looked at Lie-Nielsen and Veritas. Price is is similar and I'd pay a little more for LNG because it's American made. Are they equal? Which size is the best to start with? 


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

I fall pretty square into the "restore an old one" camp. Admittedly, I've never done a shoulder plane, but really, how hard can it be in comparison? Anyway though, there is one hidden cost: sweat equity. Restoration takes time. Time to find the right plane, time to do the cleaning, time to do the tuneup, time to replace missing parts. Its extremely rewarding, but there's pros and cons. Given the relative complexity of a shoulder plane to, say, a number 5, if you've never restored an old tool before I'd look into buying a new one. Saves some trouble, especially given that older speciality planes do carry a premium


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## Fred Hargis (Apr 28, 2012)

To be honest, I don't see that many old shoulder planes up for sale. Admitting I'm not searching for them, but I do look for used bench planes and so see a lot of ads. Anyway, between the Veritas and LN, I have both (different size) and like the Lie Nielson design best. But that's likely just a personal preference rather than anything functional. They both work just fine, and since my Veritas is the medium size (My LN's are small and large) it actually sees the most use. If you buy one of them, you can't lose on the choice between them.


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## acowboy (Nov 20, 2013)

+ epicfail48,

Older tools have a mystic about them, especially the hand me down kind. And then those that are over a century in age, sharpened, cleaned, and even a face lift done to them.

I find myself looking at some of my special one's and they seem to call out, "Put me to work so I can sing".

Would be nice to have "new", but rehabbing and using an older tool is much more rewarding to me.


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## jimmy986 (May 23, 2014)

The only problem I'm having is finding a good one. Most of the ones I find on eBay are new models for a little bit less. If I'm going to buy used, I want it to truly be a vintage model of high quality. I don't want to buy a new Stanley on eBay. If I'm buying new it's going to be a Veritas or Lie-Nielsen. Are there good sources other than eBay?


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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

I have all three sizes of the Lie Nielsen shoulder planes. I started with the large and liked it so much I ended up getting the other two sizes. I felt that they are well made and worked well, that is until I tried a wood-bodied one from MS Bickford. I now have two sizes of those and haven't used the LN's in over a year.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

jimmy986 said:


> The only problem I'm having is finding a good one. Most of the ones I find on eBay are new models for a little bit less. If I'm going to buy used, I want it to truly be a vintage model of high quality. I don't want to buy a new Stanley on eBay. If I'm buying new it's going to be a Veritas or Lie-Nielsen. Are there good sources other than eBay?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using woodworkingtalk.com


Ebay, craigslist, thrift, pawn and antique shops, estate sales, garage sales. Anywhere you can find used stuff. Goes back to what i said earlier, sometimes finding a good used one is a matter of waiting for one to rehab. All of my planes are examples of me just wandering and finding ones i like. Couple are craigslist, ones an antique store, and all together i paid less that $50 for the ones i have, i just had to wait (and wait and wait and wait) for the opportunity. Also, dont write off the stanelys, or any other, lets say utilitarian brands. Sure, they dont have as much shine and polish out of the box and need a little more elbow grease, but hey, saved money is still money.


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## timetestedtools (Aug 23, 2012)

vintage shoulder planes are pretty hard to find. I have both the vintage Stanley and the Lee Valley. The Stanley seems to have more heft.


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