Opinions? LV Skew Rabbet vs Jack Rabbit

[Brian Hale]

Hey folks

If you needed a rabbit plane, which of these two would you choose?

My average rabbit is ~24" long by 3/4" wide and I've grown weary of the personality my Stanley 78 has, mainly the shifting blade if I hit a hard spot or adjust the depth of cut. I'm leaning towards the Jack Rabbit because of the nicker on each side and simple blade sharpening.

Brian

[Curt Putnam]

I have the skew rabbit although it hasn't seen that much use. The smaller and more more nimble skew rabbit will easily do your nominal rabbit - as will the jack. But the jack is bigger and heavier. I think of the jack as more of a panel raiser although the skew can do that too. Do you need finesse or beef?

[Stew Hagerty]

I looked at both of those. First I decided that the Jack Rabbet was too big for my purposes. Then I thought about the Skew Rabbets. I really liked the fact that they had skewed irons, however they were each only good in one direction. That meant I would need to get the set. Now let me say that I am a huge Lee Valley fan! I do, however, have some Lie Nielsen tools as well and they are of outstanding quality. So I look at what Lie Nielsen had to offer. Their solution was a straight blade, open both sides with a nicker on each side as well. A typical LN upgrade to a traditional Stanley design. Since it could be used either direction, it was roughly half the price of 2 LV planes. I absolutely LOVE THIS PLANE! If I didn't already have a low angle block plane, I never would buy one. I use this all the time.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/...plane-w-nicker

[Brian Hale]

........ Do you need finesse or beef?

Good question. I normally like a heavier plane. Example.... I have several #4's with aftermarket blades/chipbreakers that cut fantastic. Then I got a 4 1/2, added LV blade and chipbreaker, tuned it up and the 4's sit mostly unused. I added 3 more that are setup for different cuts and there is always one on the bench.

[Brian Hale]

I also looked at the LN offering (it's not off the list yet) and it has all the advantages you mention, especially not having to buy 2 planes, although cost isn't that big a factor. However, I do have a block plane problem. Over a dozen sitting on the shelf, all sharp and willing to work. Can't convince myself to buy another.

I also feel like I have more control when I can get 2 hands on the plane

[Mike Cherry]

I went with the skew rabbet. Right hand version only. Reason being is that in the event that I need to go against the grain for a rabbet, I don't mind a little tearout in an unseen surface.

For the sake of argument, let me offer a couple observations about the skew rabbet. First off, the front knob is next to useless. That doesn't affect the operation really, it's just kind of odd. The tool is obviously well made, but if you have larger than average hands I could see it being uncomfortable. The tool does have a nicker, but I have yet to do a significant amount of cross grain rabbets with the tool to offer any comments on its effectiveness.

The one argument that one could make for the Jack rabbet, is that the mass could be really helpful. The bed is angled @ 15 degrees and uses the same blades as the rest of their bevel up family of planes. Personally, I have the bevel up Jack and if the mass is anything like that, it would make raised panels a lot of fun. Being able to swap blades between their jack, smoother, jointer, rabbet, and shooting plane is a nice feature.

[Brian Hale]

I should add that i'm uncertain if the length of the jack rabbit would be a hindrance, it's the same length as my 5 1/2's

[Brian Hale]

Mike, i also have the bevel up jack and it's one of my favorite planes, i use it as a shooter all the time. The jack rabbit weighs 1/2 lb more than the jack,sweet! It uses a different blade than the other BU planes.

I often make boxes with a one piece fitted lid rabbited on the underside so i have 2 cross grain cuts to make and tear out just looks crappy. I keep eyeing up the tablesaw for that. (did i just say the T word????)

[Mike Cherry]

Brian, in that case I would say the Jack rabbet. You can customize the angle for no tear out and can work the tool on either edge of the board without the need for an additional tool. What type of lumber do you like to use? That could also sway your decision.

[John Schtrumpf]

I have the skew rabbit although it hasn't seen that much use. The smaller and more more nimble skew rabbit will easily do your nominal rabbit - as will the jack. But the jack is bigger and heavier. I think of the jack as more of a panel raiser although the skew can do that too. Do you need finesse or beef?

I am going to go with Curt on this one.

I have the Veritas jack-rabbet, plow, skew block, medium and small shoulder planes. For a 3/4" inch rabbet I use my plow plane then a shoulder plane for any cleanup and/or tweaking. For cross grain or short rabbets I tend to use the skew block plane. At 3/4" you would be getting close to the size, that I might use the jack rabbet, but I haven't done a larger rabbet.

I make smaller projects (not big furniture), the jack rabbet is my jointer. It is great for jointing the edges of boards up to 3 or so feet long (never did a longer board). The fence is under slung, so I can set it to balance the plane on an edge. I have also done a few beveled edges with the jack rabbet.

[Jim Koepke]

The penalty for inaccuracy is more work

This reminds me of a manager I worked with many years ago. He often said, "we seem to never have time to do it right but always have time to do it over."

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Hey folks

If you needed a rabbit plane, which of these two would you choose?

My average rabbit is ~24" long by 3/4" wide and I've grown weary of the personality my Stanley 78 has, mainly the shifting blade if I hit a hard spot or adjust the depth of cut. I'm leaning towards the Jack Rabbit because of the nicker on each side and simple blade sharpening.

Brian

Brian, for rebates one uses a rebate plane. You can make them with a shoulder plane with a opened mouth (using fingers as a fence), or you use a moving fillister plane, such as the LV Skew Rabbet plane or a Record #78/778.

I wrote a glowing review of the LV Jack Rabbet, but referred to it as a Swiss Army Knife. It is a very good plane and it can do so much. In practice, I prefer planes that do one thing very well. The forte of a the Jack Rabbet is planning a wide surface against a wall, such as a raised panel. It may work on a narrow rebate, but it would be cumbersome.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Patrick Chase]

Hey folks

If you needed a rabbit plane, which of these two would you choose?

My average rabbit is ~24" long by 3/4" wide and I've grown weary of the personality my Stanley 78 has, mainly the shifting blade if I hit a hard spot or adjust the depth of cut. I'm leaning towards the Jack Rabbit because of the nicker on each side and simple blade sharpening.

Brian

How long are your largest rabbets?

If the average rabbet is 24" that I'd guess that implies some larger ones in the mix as well. If that's the case then I'd say you're in the sweet spot for the Jack Rabbet and the L-N 10-1/4 (another good option that you didn't list). They're both Jack-sized rebate planes with straight blades and nickers on both sides. The L-N is a bit shorter but is a BD plane, which means you have the option of using a close-set cap iron for tearout control. In the Jack Rabbet you'd use higher bevel (and therefore cutting) angle to manage tearout. I have both...

The L-N block rabbet that somebody else mentioned is on the small side for the work you describe. The skew rabbet is probably workable if perhaps a bit shorter than ideal, provided your longest rabbets aren't too much bigger than that 24" average.

I disagree with the characterization of any of these planes as jacks of all trades. If you read Derek's Jack Rabbet review you'll see that he engaged in some impressive contortions to make it serve all purposes for the box he was building (for example he made a wooden cheek so he could shoot with it IIRC). IMO that proved more about the breadth of his skills than the flexibility of the plane. Like the 10-1/4 the Jack Rabbet is an example of what Stanley used to call a carriage-maker's rebate plane, and the one thing it's extremely good at is making rabbets of that scale, which is basically what you describe.

FWIW my personal preference these days is for the 10-1/4. I prefer BD planes for this sort of thing.

[Patrick Chase]

Brian, for rebates one uses a rebate plane. You can make them with a shoulder plane with a opened mouth (using fingers as a fence), or you use a moving fillister plane, such as the LV Skew Rabbet plane or a Record #78/778.


I wrote a glowing review of the LV Jack Rabbet, but referred to it as a Swiss Army Knife. It is a very good plane and it can do so much. In practice, I prefer planes that do one thing very well. The forte of a the Jack Rabbet is planning a wide surface against a wall, such as a raised panel. It may work on a narrow rebate, but it would be cumbersome.

There's a reason why Stanley called jack-sized flush-cutting planes with nickers "carriage maker's REBATE planes". The Jack Rabbet is very much a rebate plane, as are the 10-1/4 and 10-1/2. They're just optimized for larger work than the 78.

A 24" x 3/4" rebate is wide enough for the carriage makers' planes to shine IMO. You wouldn't want to go too much narrower than that of course.

[Derek Cohen]

There's a reason why Stanley called jack-sized flush-cutting planes with nickers "carriage maker's REBATE planes". The Jack Rabbet is a rebate plane, as are the 10-1/4 and 10-1/2. They're just optimized for larger work than the 78.

The relevant pice of information in the OP's original post was "3/4 inch" wide rebate. That should immediately exclude planes wider than about 1".

Regards from Perth

Derek