Stanley #39 front knob
Ted Shuck
>I recently acquired a Stanley #39 1/2 inch dado plane. After reading reports of how uncomfortable this plane is in use, and experiencing this after testing the plane some, I decided that it really needed a front knob. The tops of the nickers and the depth stop are pretty sharp edges that can do a job on your left hand in short order. Some people use padded gloves while using this, but a knob seemed like a better solution to me.
I sawed a wide rabbet in a piece of 4/4 hard maple so that the rabbetted piece would hang over one side. The wall of the rabbet sits on top of the stock of the plane with mortices for the tops of the nickers and the depth stop adjustment screw. An offcut from the rabbet is glued onto the face of the other side and has a mortice for the rest of the depth stop adjustment screw and a cutout for the depth stop.
I wondered how stable it would be, just sitting on top of the plane. It is more stable than I thought it would be and seems to do the job well.
Here is a picture so you can get some idea. It looks like the cutout for the depth stop extends higher than it should, but this is needed in order to allow the depth stop to be raised for deeper dados.
What I would do differently... I would drill out the mortises for the adjusting screw and the tops of the nickers. I chiselled these before I glued the side on, but drilling would be a lot easier.
It works for me, I hope it can work for you too.
Ted
