Dado & router plane questions.....

[Roy Wall]

Hello creekers,

Forgive my ignorance, but I would like to know more about these planes.
It would appear that a 1/4" #39 is pretty versatile, as multiple passes could increase the width of the dado as needed..........not that it's very efficient....

And...is the router plane (#71,,#71 1/2 ???) just a "free hand" type of plane? Do users clamp "guides" to their work for straight edge stuff????

Lastly,, these (#39's) planes seem pricey if I wanted different sizes...is there a combination plane alternative?

I can always keep using the dado blade on the TS if these aren't very good hand tools....

Thanks everyone!!

[Steve Wargo]

Wooden Dado planes work most excellent. They are easy to sharpen and as long as they are complete they're quite useful. The nicker is the most important thing to make sure is inplace. You can cut a dado with them quite quickly. The 71 is a good tool. You can use free hand, to remove waste in hinges, or inlays, but when they are complete they come with a guide that can be affixed to either side of the iron. Irons can be purchased or made. Hope this helps.

[Mark Singer]

The 71 has a fence . It can be moved to either side. I am not sure about the 39...I have a 44 and that has a fence with rods. The router has replaced these in most shops. They are still great for cleaning up or adjusting the depth of a dado . Or you can cut one by hand and plough out the center...the old way The 71 1/2 is a closed throat stripped down 71....more or less the same

[Leif Hanson]

Some of this stuff is a repeat of what's said above, so bear with me..

The 71 and it's brethren (aka "old woman's tooth" or "hag's tooth") router planes' best uses are for leveling the bottom of a mortise,groove, or dado, and while they come with a fence, they really are not very good at making their own channels. You see them being used for leveling the bottom of a mortise for a hinge, for example, or inlay, or leveling out the bottom of a dado more often. This is one of their better uses today - if you have one of those dado blades for your table saw that leaves a very rough bottom, a 71 is great to clean it up.

Another place you see a router plane used is when making a stopped dado. You can cut the edges of the dado with a stair saw (or back saw, if you don't have a stair saw), then chisel out the majority of the waste between the two cuts you just made, and use the router plane to level the bottom of the dado.

I don't know much about the stanley dado planes, but wooden ones are great to use. The largest majority of the old ones you will find are going to be 7/8" (perfect for smoothed 4/4 stock)... a 3/4" is pretty rare but you do see them and 1/2" ones pop up occasionally. I think making these yourself would be a great exersize, but occasionally you see a set of Stanleys come around. You really only need a couple of sizes - which size depends on the type of work and what stock you are using, but for me a 7/8" or 3/4", 1/2", and maybe a 3/8" would be the sizes I would find most useful. I don't have any good ones right now myself, and am contemplating making these sizes rather than purchasing any (too cheap)

The more common combination planes with straight blades such as a stanley 45 or 55 don't work as well going across the grain. On a good dado plane, the blade is skewed, and therefore will cut better. Combination planes can be used, but they are a bit more difficult, and leave a bit of roughness to their cut you don't see when you use a skewed iron.

Stanley did offer combination planes with a skewed cutter (the 46 and 47) but I wouldn't think them to be an "economical" solution given their relative rarity - but is an option.


HTH

Leif

[Wendell Wilkerson]

The technique for dado planes that I've read is to use a batten (fancy term for straight edge) as guide for the plane. I just watched Jim Kingshott's Special Planes video tonight and he demonstrates this technique. The other dado technique he demonstrates in the video is sawing the housing, paring the waste with a chisel, and flattening the bottom with a #71. To me, the dado plane method looked easier. He also used a small router like a Stanley #271 to clean the bottom of a recess for an inlay. As the others have mentioned a #71 router plane has a fence. However, a router plane wouldn't be my first choice for making channels from scratch. I'd much rather use a plow plane. A Stanley #46 is the combination plane alternative to a set of #39's. They are also rare especially with a full set of blades and both nickers, but probably not as expensive as a set of 39's. If you find a #46 without all the blades, there are several places to buy replacements sets. I bought a set from St. James Bay Tool Company along with a replacement nicker. They make just about every part for a #46 except the plane body itself.

Wendell

[Roy Wall]

Thanks for the info.........



I saw Mario Rodriquez cut a dado with the #39.....just clamped a board for straightedge and was slicing like cheese.........a very slick way without the power tools!!! The simplicity, quietness, and speed were amazing to me.



I'll keep a lookout for such items in hopes of adding them to the arsenal

[Roger Nixon]

I'll chime in with Steve et. al. and advise you to go with woodie dados instead of the #39 (note to self: get more sizes!). These things are inexpensive and easy to use.

[Roy Wall]

I'll chime in with Steve et. al. and advise you to go with woodie dados instead of the #39 (note to self: get more sizes!). These things are inexpensive and easy to use.

Okay...........More planes, more planes.........

Nothing wrong with that.....thanks everyone!!