rabbit planes

We need more information

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>Les,

A shoulder plane is not a rabbet plane. What do you want to do?

Rabbet planes are nasty tools for rough work. If you really want to make rabbets fast, use a plow to define the shoulder/fillet and depth, a firmer chisel to remove waste fast, then clean up with a rabbet plane. $5 wooden rabbets that look clapped out work just fine for this.

Adam

LN Rabbet - AWESOME!

Greg Deavers in Stillwater

>Hi Les,

I have to say your timing is perfect!

I received my Rabbet plane from LN just Friday afternoon. I let my wife open it as she is usually as impressed with their product quality as I am. Actually I was blown away at the quality of their tool, packaging, etc.

A very classy company!

No complaints so far.... Just really impressed with my purchase. I plan on using it this next week on a project for my father.

My choice if I was to do it again!

more info

Les Williams

>I am trying to find a plane that would be used to clean out dados, rabbits, and triming tenons. I would like it to be a tool that is rather diverse in usage, due to the fact that I would like to buy a good one and need to watch the money situation. I hope this is helpful. Thank you

Stanley #93

jim_reed@marietta

>If I had only one plane for cleaning up rabbets and fitting tenons, it would be my #93. Very good & accurate.

Re: rabbit planes

Paul M. in San Diego

>I've never needed a plane for a rabbit. I've found that a good skinnin' knife gets the job done. ;-)

Re: more info

William Duffield on the Cohansey

>You really need two different planes.

A good rabbet plane has a fence and a depth stop and a blade configured to cut with the grain. Combination planes work marginally for this purpose, because they have no mouth, and therefore will make a mess of the bottom of the rabbet when the grain is going the wrong direction. An old Stanley #78 can be found inexpensively and will do this job well. It also has a bullnose mode for working towards the end of stopped rabbets. The Record #778 is similar, but with a significant improvement to the fence. It is also more difficult to find inexpensively on the used tool market, especially in the U.S.

For trimming shoulders, you need a precision plane designed to cut across the grain, with a low effective cutting angle, in other words a shoulder plane. As far as I'm concerned, the choices here are the L-V medium shoulder plane and the Lie-Nielsen #073. I really like my LN, but it is significantly more expensive and many people find the large size and weight cumbersome. The L-V has been getting some very good reviews (which you should look for and read), and has many advantages over the LN. The only shortcoming is that it's blade is narrower than the LN, which makes it a bit more difficult to trim tennon cheeks to width. I have used a Stanley #93 extensively, but do not own one, nor would I buy one or recommend it to anyone. They are fragile (brittle cast iron with nickel plating) and uncomfortable to work with, and the blade is made of inferior steel. If you do buy one, check the that sides are square to the sole with a good engineer's square before you plunk down your hard-earned money.

I hope this is helpful

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>Les,

You mentioned three applications: cleaning out dadoes, rabbets and trimming tenons.

I'm not sure how you create these features.

I recommend using a wooden dado plane for dadoes. If you prefer using a router, that's fine. Either way, you don't need to clean up the bottom of a dado. If you use a back saw and a chisel, (I don't) some recommend a router plane of some sort. A narrow skew rabbet might be a good choice for a clean up tool. But since this isn't an essential mating surface, the best tool for the job is the fastest tool.

For rabbets, a S#78 will work, though they are not fast enough for me. A wider skew or square rabbet will suffice for this.

I recommend a chisel for trimming tenon cheeks and shoulders. Believe it or not, planes have a few disadvantages for these operations, especially if you make them by hand. I suspect the shoulder plane was designed to clean up work done by power tools in factories. That doesn't make it bad. Its just not an essential traditional tool, used and cherished in the days of yore. But then neither is the band saw.

All said, if you are looking for a tool just because, then any tool will meet your critieria. There's nothing wrong with that by the way. I have many many tools just because.

I guess my point is there is no one tool for all the operations you wish to perform and the shoulder plane wouldn't be at the top of my list for any of these. If it is functionality, speed, and precision you seek, buy some nasty old rabbets and sharpen your wide chisels.

I hope this helps you choose a tool that's right for you and that you're happy with.

Adam

Shoulder and Rabbet Planes

TMStock

>My guess is that you are doing the lion's share of dado, rabbet, or tenon shaping with power tools and need hand tools to clean up the joints for final fit.

For trimming up machine-cut joints, a narrow (1/2"-3/4") shoulder plane and a rabbet plane will handle most chores. I'd buy the shoulder plane first - it can handle wider tenons by making multiple passes - then pick up a rabbet plane or rabbeting block plane to make wider trimming jobs a bit easier.

The LV med shoulder (at .700" wide) is the right size to handle 3/4" or wider dados, and is pretty reasonably priced for a shoulder plane at $140. The LN 60-1/2R rabbeting block is about $135 to $150 (depending on where purchased), making the cost for the pair about $275 to $290 before shipping.

Both tools are similar to vintage stuff available on the web, but have some improvements in design or materials which might be worth the investment. The latest FWW has a once-over-lightly review of new shoulder planes that covers most of the offerings.