Side rebate Plane - old ones any good?

[JoeSheffer]

In my desperation to become a curmudgeonly old man and in my attempt to remove more and more power tools from the mix, I've found myself needing to trim a rebate on a couple of occasions (...where i couldn't trim the width of the component slipping into it).

Whilst veritas and lie nielsen make new ones, there are plenty of old record ones around, a few prestons and various other random bits including Stanley 79 planes. Are these good tools to have and which one is worth picking up?

Cheers
Joe

 

[toolsntat]

Yes the old ones are good and unless abused should serve you well.
A note here to say that often a sticking point (literally) is that the resultant point of the blade sometimes needs flattening off a touch. Without this, that point can have a habit of digging in and impeding the taking of a smooth shaving.
I have the double ended Stanley 79 in my work kit and it will shift timber really fast, cutting on the push and the pull.
Cheers Andy

 

[Hornbeam]

I have a very old Preston one which has the fine depth adjuster screws. If you get one with a removeable front you can work right into stopped corners. You do need to be very accurate when you sharpen to maintain the correct angle.
Fantastic little tool for what you want

 

[toolsntat]

I have a very old Preston one which has the fine depth adjuster screws. If you get one with a removeable front you can work right into stopped corners. You do need to be very accurate when you sharpen to maintain the correct angle.
Fantastic little tool for what you want

A very fine tool indeed.
Cheers Andy

 

[JoeSheffer]

Lovely. Will pick one up. Cheers.

 

[Jacob]

Old woody rebate planes are very cheap and very useful - well worth having.
Next cheapest, and very versatile, is the Stanley 78, even without all its bits.
After that there's dozens of more expensive rebate plane options.

 

[toolsntat]

Old woody rebate planes are very cheap and very useful - well worth having.
Next cheapest, and very versatile, is the Stanley 78, even without all its bits.
After that there's dozens of more expensive rebate plane options.

All very true but the side rebate plane is a whole different gubbins
Cheers Andy

 

[Jacob]

All very true but the side rebate plane is a whole different gubbins
Cheers Andy

They work on their side too. Turn 90º and work from other direction.
You are thinking rebates and not slots/dadoes whatever they are called? That's what a "side rebate plane" is for, and as such generally not much use.
I guess they are misnamed - you don't need a side rebate plane to plane the side of an actual rebate.

 

[custard]

They're not an easy tool to source used.

The reason is that the skew on the iron has to be accurately preserved across every sharpening/honing in the tool's operational life for it to function correctly, and the majority of the ones I've seen have had the point on the iron dubbed over. Easily done as it's such a tiny iron it's difficult to hold, similar in that respect to many spoke shave irons in that you really need a little jig to grip the iron in order to sharpen it. Some people use a pair of pliers and just give it a little tickle on a strop after every use.

Get a good one, learn to sharpen it correctly, and they're a superb tool. I use one regularly as it's often easier to ease a groove with a side rebate plane than it is to set up for a second pass with a router.

 

[Hornbeam]

They work on their side too. Turn 90º and work from other direction.
You are thinking rebates and not slots/dadoes whatever they are called? That's what a "side rebate plane" is for, and as such generally not much use.
I guess they are misnamed - you don't need a side rebate plane to plane the side of an actual rebate.

A side rebate plane is the only tool that will fit into a narrow groove and can be used to widen it slightly to get a really good snug fit for the of shelves etc. A standard rebate plane or a no 78 will not do this job

 

[Jacob]

A side rebate plane is the only tool that will fit into a narrow groove and can be used to widen it slightly to get a really good snug fit for the of shelves etc. A standard rebate plane or a no 78 will not do this job

Yep I realise that now. Should be called a side of a slot plane! I've never had one I guess my slots are always perfect.
And adjusting the thing going into the slot should be easier?

 

[JoeSheffer]

Yes it would be... but sometimes you can't do that...or might not want to do that (...i.e. create a visual step)

 

[D_W]

two stanley 79s. make fun if you want, but you can keep both set for opposing directions, or just have one and always trim the same side of a slot.

Anyone cutting dados by hand will find use for these often, just don't buy one without a depth stop. When set right, they're a joy to use and remove a gorgeous waxy ribbon of end grain.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

In my desperation to become a curmudgeonly old man and in my attempt to remove more and more power tools from the mix, I've found myself needing to trim a rebate on a couple of occasions (...where i couldn't trim the width of the component slipping into it).

Whilst veritas and lie nielsen make new ones, there are plenty of old record ones around, a few prestons and various other random bits including Stanley 79 planes. Are these good tools to have and which one is worth picking up?

Cheers
Joe

Joe, side rebate planes are one of those tools which, while many would not imagine they have much use, are an absolute treasure when needed.

There is no other plane I know which can widen a groove/housing/dado as this plane can. Some may argue that the housing should not be planes, but rather the workpiece going into it should be planed. However, this is of little use when one slides a panel along a dado, which is too narrow at one spot.

I have both (left and right) LN planes, as well as the Veritas. I purchased the LN pair about 20 years ago, and received the Veritas more than a dozen years ago when I was testing planes for Lee Valley. I like both of these. They work equally well. The Veritas has the advantage of a switching back-and-forth between left and right sides. And you do need to be able to plane each way since the cutting angle of these side rebate planes is low, which opens them up to tearing out when against the grain.

The LN ...

Not only does one widen the dado with these planes, but also they clean up the corners when sawing-chiseling-router-planing out waste ...

Any waste in the corners is removed with a side rebate plane (this is one from Veritas). be careful not to remove waste from the upper edge as this will change the position of the dado.

I also have a Stanley #79 with two fences. This plane is set up to shape sliding dovetails. It can do both the male and the female parts ...

I have modified this one by adding an angle (6:1 ratio) to the depth stop ...

By running the #79 along the edge, the angled blade will now slice away the cheek at a 6:1 ratio ...

For the female socket, start with a housing ...

... and then plane the sides ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[JoeSheffer]

Incredible reply. Thanks.

 

[Racers]

You are better off with one of the metal ones as they fit into narrower groves than the metal ones, then get a pair of wooden ones for deeper wider groves.


Pete