Side rabbet plane

[Mark Rainey]

Made some grooves a bit narrow. The Veritas side rabbet plane looks interesting. I am able to widen my grooves with an edge trimming plane ( based on Stanley 95 ). Does the side rabbet plane offer much more?

[Bill Houghton]

It will probably fit in tighter grooves than the edge trimming plane.

[Derek Cohen]

Mark, you mean better than the Stanley #79 :)

Here is a review I wrote some years ago ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/TheVeritasSideRabbetPlane.html

These were compared ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/TheVeritasSideRabbetPlane_html_m1bdb799b.jpg

Summary: all work as intended. The Stanley has the disadvantage of needing to tuck the second blade away. The LN pair I really like but they are less easy to grip than the Veritas. The blade change on the LN is easier than the Veritas. The Veritas has the advantage of being a single tool, while the LN is a pair, and more expensive.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

The Stanley/LN design has a longer 'toe' than the Preston/Veritas design. This helps at times. The toe on the Stanley/LN side rabbets can be switched to a shorter toe. When buying the Stanley #98 or 99 be sure the screw holding the toe plate in place can be removed. For some reason these become frozen and impossible to remove on some. Also do not purchase a used side rabbet or set if the depth stops are missing. These are one of the rarest parts to find on ebay. For me the depth stop is an important part of getting good results with side rabbet planes.

Another advantage to the Stanley or LN design is the depth stop doesn't need to be changed from side to side once it is set. On the single tool design, when switching from left hand or right hand use the depth stop will need to be moved.

If the grooves are wide enough for a #95 to fit into them, those are some wide grooves.

jtk

[Mark Rainey]

Thanks for the information, Bill, Derek and Jim!

[Mike Henderson]

I've own the LN set (copy of the Stanley 98/99 planes) and the Stanley 79 plane. My favorite is the Stanley 79. I let the trailing blade drag - never found it to be a problem.

Mike

[Tom M King]

I've never bothered to tuck away the other blade either. It gets used so seldom, that it might go years before the irons need sharpening, so there is no worry about the one going in reverse suffering. It just gets called on when needed. I should add though that I don't work the hard, abrasive woods that Derek does.

[Derek Cohen]

Tom is on target. The blade on the #79 would wear if trailing on our abrasive woods.

I do like the #79, nevertheless. I use one primarily, however, for sliding dovetails. I got the idea from HNT Gordon (who make a fantastic side rebate plane) ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/SlidingDovetailsWithTheStanley79_html_680e7f25.jpg

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/SlidingDovetailsWithTheStanley79.html

Flipping the hand grip and depth stop on the Veritas is not intrusive, but can irritate if you continually forget tomdo so. It takes 1" to do. The grip on the Stanley/LN is non-existant, but somehow can be held with a degree of comfort. In spite of the Veritas is the most comfortable of all to hold, some might prefer having a dedicated set up for each grain direction, which is the Stanley/LN.

Regards from Perth