Rebate plane or moving fillister

[Noho12C]

Hello,

i'm in the market for a rebate plane (since quite some time now...) and was thinking to get the Veritas skew rebate plane.
However, I came across the moving fillister from Phillyplanes and i quite like the idea of a wooden plane (already have a marking gauge from him that I really like).

Compared to the wooden ones, the skew rebate from LV seem fairly straightforward to use and adjust (eg the fence, the blade).The fillister seems a bit more complicated to adjust.
Also, I wonder also about the long term : will the fillister remain flat and unwarped in 1y, 5y, 10y ? Or will it need regular "heavy" maintenance to keep being precise ?

If anyone has experience with those, would be more than happy to hear about !

Cheers,
Chris.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Chris, the Veritas Skew Rabbet Plane (yes, I also prefer "rebate", but I cannot change the name) is also a moving fillister plane.

Which is preferable? It will come down to personal preference. Wood vs iron. I use both.

Do you prefer to adjust the blade with a hammer or a screw/knob? The Veritas has a number of aids for setting the blade, such as side screws -which I find invaluable, but this is not everyone's bag. The Phillyplane has romance on its side.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Noho12C]

Thanks Derek. How do you find adjusting the fence of the wooden fillister ? Is it straightforward ?

I agree with you, a wooden plane has some kind of "soul" compared to a metal plane.

(Ps : I really like your tools reviews!)

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[memzey]

Not as sexy as either of the options described above but have you considered a Stanley #78 as another alternative? Plentiful and cheap on the second hand market, not to mention extremely good at what it does. Pic of my own one below:

 

[Noho12C]

To be honest, I've never considered the Stanley. Every time I heard of it, i heard negative things. Apparently many had fence and depth stop issues.

I've been using the Veritas skew block plane for the past 2 years, avoiding doing rabbets as much as possible ! :roll:
Time to upgrade !

 

[Trevanion]

To be honest, I've never considered the Stanley. Every time I heard of it, i heard negative things. Apparently many had fence and depth stop issues.

The Woden W78 or the Record 778 (not 78) are superior to the older Stanleys and Record 78s due to the much better, sturdier fence with uses a twin rod system rather than single rod. The Record 778 also had screw blade advancement whilst every other rebate plane had those rubbish geared lever adjusters which were difficult to adjust accurately.

Perhaps not as nice as a new Lie Nielsen or Veritas but they work just as well if set up right.

 

[tony_s]

I've never found the geared lever adjuster on my Stanley in any way problematic. Or the fence for that matter.

 

[AndyT]

I've never used the Veritas but I am familiar with several other options including the 78/788.
However my first choice is a wooden moving fillister - it just feels more controlled and the skew iron is cleaner cutting across the grain or with it. Good old ones are still pretty common and not too dear. In my experience they stay straight and flat enough but naturally some are better than others.
You can find wear on the fence and on the heads of the two or (preferably) three screws which hold it in place.
These are easyish to fix if you can't find a better specimen.

I did once have the pleasure of trying out a brand new wooden moving fillister, made by Ollie Sparks and it was lovely, faultless as it should be. I'd imagine that one of Philly's would be just as much of a pleasure to use.

 

[memzey]

To be honest, I've never considered the Stanley. Every time I heard of it, i heard negative things. Apparently many had fence and depth stop issues.

I've been using the Veritas skew block plane for the past 2 years, avoiding doing rabbets as much as possible ! :roll:
Time to upgrade !

Each to their own but I can only comment based on my personal experience and that is that I’ve never had issues with the fence, depth stop or adjuster on my 78. It just works as it should. No doubt there are some lemons out there to be avoided but I’m sure mine isn’t the only good one either! In fact the 78 I have (pictured above) is about 100 years old (I think) and only cost me about £20 off eBay IIRC.

Anyway I’m sure a shiny new Veritas or Philly will be at least as good and probably better in some ways if that’s what you’re after. If you just want to make some rebates in wood though, there are plenty of alternatives, metal or wood, in the second hand market that could meet that need and leave you with more cash in your pocket for buying timber!

Whatever you decide let us know how you got on.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Thanks Derek. How do you find adjusting the fence of the wooden fillister ? Is it straightforward ?....

I have three moving fillisters: Veritas Skew Rabbet, ECE, and Record #778.

The ECE is a woodie, but the fence system is different from the usual woodie. Woodies tend to use either a screw arm or a sliding pin to lock a square arm. There is a third type, but it is hard to find. It is the best of the lot, however difficult to make (which is why it is not common). This is a bridle fence.

The issue with a wooden fence is that it needs to be adjusted on both wooden arms. This can be finicky. Some more than others. At the least, you need to check projections. Some find the process charming and enjoy the ritual, as I do cleaning and setting up a vinyl turntable. Others want the speed and convenience of a CD player.

Mathieson used to make bridle fences. You may find one if you hunt around. I built one (below) for a plough plane. This is a plough, but the fence is the same as a moving filester ...

The advantage here is that you only have one screw to tighten, and the mechanism hold the fence square. It really works well.

Much of the time, however, I use an iron Veritas plough (do you think that we could get the Northen American to write "plough" and not "plow"?

The metal fences of the iron plough and moving filester planes are uncomplicated and relatively stress-free. The single arm of the Stanley #78 or Record #078 is less stable in the vertical than the double armed fence of the Record #778 or Veritas, but all actually work in a similar manner.

I've not used the PhillyPlane (I do have one of his planes) but can see that the fence system is the same as the ECE. This is adjusted with screws from the underside. It involves two, individual settings made manually. This is the vinyl record method.

Taken off the Internet ...

Here is the PhillyPlane (beautiful plane btw) ...

And the Veritas ...

Note that I use it without the front knob.

This is the fence with a wooden subfence ...

One of the use things one can do with the metal planes is to add a subfence with any angle you like. Here is one I used for raising panels ...

As I mentioned at an earlier time, the woodies and the metal planes all do the job. Ultimately, it is up to one to decide how they want to do the job.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[custard]

Hello,

i'm in the market for a rebate plane (since quite some time now...) and was thinking to get the Veritas skew rebate plane.
However, I came across the moving fillister from Phillyplanes and i quite like the idea of a wooden plane (already have a marking gauge from him that I really like).

Compared to the wooden ones, the skew rebate from LV seem fairly straightforward to use and adjust (eg the fence, the blade).The fillister seems a bit more complicated to adjust.
Also, I wonder also about the long term : will the fillister remain flat and unwarped in 1y, 5y, 10y ? Or will it need regular "heavy" maintenance to keep being precise ?

If anyone has experience with those, would be more than happy to hear about !

Cheers,
Chris.

I've had a Phillyplanes moving fillister for a fair time, probably coming up to ten years now.

It's remained as true and accurate today as when I first got it, and it works very cleanly both along and across the grain.

I also have the Veritas rebate plane, and that also performs perfectly well.

For small runs they're both an awful lot faster than setting up the router table, but the Veritas tool is that little bit quicker than the Phillyplane. The Veritas is also more versatile. But the shallower fence on the Phillyplanes tool can sometimes prove an advantage and, personally, I find it a more engaging and pleasing tool to use.

If you ever find yourself in the New Forest area, around the western Solent, then feel free to drop by the workshop and you're welcome to try them both side by side.

 

[Noho12C]

Many thanks Derek and Custard for your answers. Much appreciated.

The Veritas one seems to be the easiest to use, but as you both noted, the wooden ones, despite being a bit more finicky, have a little something extra. I will probably spend the next 6 months overthinking it ! :roll:

I was considering few weeks ago to get an old one from tooltique, but was worried about the work needed to get it running. Maybe I should just get it and give it a try. At 40 £, it's not a major risk. And if I cannot get it to work well, it can always become a nice decoration for the home... Just need the approval from the better half... :roll:

 

[Jacob]

Stanley 78 every time. Cheap, available and highly effective. No problem with the fence, one rod is fine. No prob with the depth stop, though in fact they aren't used much - most people work to a gauged line.
Lot of them around 2nd hand often been thrashed with bits missing - which shows they are popular and get well used.
PS the 78 has one design detail better than all the others I've seen; the fence covers the unused portion of the blade and saves you from getting cut fingers.

 

[Lonsdale73]

Sorry, unable to add a meaningful contribution but completely misread that as removing fertiliser!

 

[Noho12C]

Thanks all for your advises. I need to have a look at the stanleys, seems that here people are happy with it.

But I decided yesterday to pull the trigger and bought a vintage fillister. As soon as I get it, I will post some feedback and pics.



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[ac445ab]

+1 for a wooden moving fillister.

I don’t know the Veritas rebate plane, but I have and used Stanley 78 and Record 778. The lack of a skew blade I think does matter.
Of a wooden moving fillister, like Philly one or old British classical examples, I love its easy sliding along as well as across the grain. Moreover some more attention in setting is not a limit for me.
This is an old one I have (ebay purchase :wink: )

This is another one I made:

Ciao
Giuliano