Got a new LN shoulder plane a couple of weeks ago, spent some time last
weekend sharpening the blade but didn't have anything to use it on at the
time.

This week, I had the opportunity to fine-tune some mortise & tenon joints
for the headboard I'm building. I cut the tenons a bit larger than the
mortises to allow me the ability to fine tune the fit. In the past, I have
used a block plane, wood file, and wood rasp to tune the joint. the block
plane can't reach to the shoulder of the joint, so the file and rasp are
needed for that. The purpose for getting the shoulder plane was to
preclude having to go through these steps (filing never seemed to give the
flat profile one would like). What a difference! Just a few well-placed
strokes, some fine whispy shavings, and voila! a nice, tight fitting joint
with a flat-profiled cheek.

Please note, I'm not saying that a Lie-Nielsen shoulder plane is required
-- any well-tuned shoulder plane will serve the same purpose. But, if you
haven't got a shoulder plane and do a lot of M&T joinery, it is certainly
worth getting a good shoulder plane. I'm sold.

A lot of you already know all this, some of us are just slow getting on
board.



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If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

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