Is Side Rabbet Plane what I need for widening machine cut dadoes and grooves?

[Wes Billups]

Not sure if this is the correct forum but I'm predominately a power tool user.

Like most woodworkers I always tend to make my dadoes and grooves a tad to tight. Right now I end up trying to sand the mating board to an appropriate thickness so it fits just right but I'm wondering if a side rabbet plane (like shown below) is the perfect answer. I used to struggle with the same problem when machining tenons until I discovered shoulder planes. Now I make everything tight and plane to perfection.
296319

Based on other's experience, is this plane going to be what I've been missing all these years?

Thanks,
Wes

[Mike Henderson]

The Stanley 79 works very well. Just make sure you get one with the depth stop. I use a 79 to widen grooves (with the grain). Might be more difficult for dados that are cross grain. You can cut dados pretty exact. Take a look at this thread (http://www.mikes-woodwork.com/Box_For_Trays.htm). Somewhere in it I discuss how to make dados that fit.

The 79 used to be cheap but now, I don't know the price.

[Here's one for a decent price - eBay 281432901836]



Mike

[John Sanford]

Not sure if this is the correct forum but I'm predominately a power tool user.

Like most woodworkers I always tend to make my dadoes and grooves a tad to tight. Right now I end up trying to sand the mating board to an appropriate thickness so it fits just right but I'm wondering if a side rabbet plane (like shown below) is the perfect answer. I used to struggle with the same problem when machining tenons until I discovered shoulder planes. Now I make everything tight and plane to perfection.
296319

Based on other's experience, is this plane going to be what I've been missing all these years?

Thanks,
Wes

Yes, that's exactly the mission of a side rabbet. I have one of those Veritas beasties, and when I ventured off to New Mexico to help my father with a kitchen remodel, the side rabbet was a lifesaver for tweaking dadoes and grooves. It's almost magic.

[John Vernier]

I tend to work the way you describe, cutting tight dadoes and trimming to fit with a side rabbet plane. As plywood is often badly irregular in thickness these days, I find myself using a side rabbet on plywood as well as solid wood, much faster than fiddling with dado shims or different router bits unless you are working on a very large run of dadoes. Like Mike Henderson I use an older Stanley #79, which is compact and light to carry in a tool belt pouch in the field. I played with the Veritas plane at a show and it looks like a solid piece of work, i would definitely consider it if I were shopping for a plane now.

[Jim Koepke]

Side rabbet planes can be great work savers.

As Mike said the Stanley 79 is a good inexpensive way to own one.

My preference is the Stanley 98/99 combination.

The advantage for me is not having to change the depth stop around when changing from side to side. The #79 also has this advantage over the side by side designs like the Preston/Marples/Record/Veritas models.

jtk

[David Weaver]

I like the stanley 79 for the work, too. I prefer to have two of them, so they're getting worked like the 98/99 would (so you don't have to fiddle advancing one blade and retracting another), but I also prefer to get them on the cheap. So one would do for starters and the other one can follow when one can be found for a song. The depth stop is a must to me.

I don't know anything about the new ones, but if others vouch for the veritas version, i'm sure it's fine.

[Tom M King]

I'm still using a Stanley 79 that I bought new, and like it enough not to need anything "better". It's also handy for trimming half lap cabinet doors that might be a hair too tight, if a small shoulder plane is not as close at hand.

[Derek Cohen]

The Veritas side rabbet plane is one method for tuning the fit for a dado. The other is to plane the board that is to fit into the dado. Sometimes one is easier than the other.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[David Weaver]

The other is to plane the board that is to fit into the dado.

A good reminder.

[Jim Matthews]

I just run a large Milling file along the length of the dado.
It can't take off too much, at a pass.

I particularly like auto body "floats" for this, but they tend to be curved along their length.

Large files are practically falling out of trees, in this part of the Country.

[Alfred Kraemer]

I have always wondered how often people actually use them. I guess if you have one you are more likely to use it and less likely to consider alternatives. Planing board to fit works especially if you cut the dadoes a little tight to begin with. A few years back I needed to widen a cross grain dado (is that redundant?) by just a hair. I could have thinned the board a little a little but here is what I did: after putting a pretty aggressive burr on the short edge of rectangular scraper I ran it along the inside of the dado. That worked better than I expected in oak. It might be a different story in softwoods.
I'm not arguing against side rabbet planes. The better known ones probably work very well for widening dadoes, and maybe even for sliding dovetails, but they can be finicky to set up and keep sharp.

Alfred

[bridger berdel]

here's a thread about the woodriver side rabbet plane, with some pictures of a handle I made for it:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?154263-Woodriver-side-rabbet-question