Rabbet Planes

Posted by Easy WoodCraft on

Oct 17, 2016

The rabbet plane (often called a fillister plane) is used to cut rabbets on the edge of a work-piece, either with or against the grain (left photos). Since it is designed specifically for this task, it does an admirable job. The cutter extends the full width of the sole to cut cleanly into corners. A couple of add-on accessories make cutting highly accurate, and repeatable rabbets a breeze. First, there's a guide fence that adjusts in and out on either one or two arm rods that thread into the sole of the plane. Moving the guide in or out sets the width of the rabbet (right drawing). An adjustable depth gauge on the opposite side lets you set the depth of the rabbet. A three-pointed spur scribes a line in advance of the cutter to help create clean cuts across the grain.

Two blade positions

I'll never forget when I bought my first used rabbet plane at an auction: a rather nice Stanley No. 78. Since I didn't know much about rabbet planes at the time, I thought it was missing a cutter, as the plane obviously has positions to mount two blades. So I embarrassed myself by asking the auctioneer if he knew where I could pick up a spare blade. He was kind enough to explain that a rabbet plane came with only one blade—the single blade was used in the center position for general rabbet work, and then moved forward to rabbet into a corner (similar to a bull-nose plane; see Combination Shoulder Planes and Bull-Nose Planes in Shoulder Planes). To adjust the depth of cut on a rabbet plane, loosen the knob on the lever cap slightly and then pivot the depth-adjustment lever up and down. When the desired depth is reached, simply tighten the knob.

The spur

Undaunted by my embarrassing question about the missing blade, I asked the auctioneer if he knew where I could buy a replacement spur. The one on my rabbet plane looked like one of its four spurs had broken off. He gently pointed out that it should have only three cutting spurs. The "missing" spur is used for the "idle" position; that is, it is rotated out of the way when it's not needed—like after you've started a rabbet that's cut with the grain. If you leave the spur down so it's scribing a line continuously it'll quickly dull. The idle position was created so you could keep the spur on the plane even when it wasn't being used. The logic here was, there was less chance to lose this little beast if you didn't take it off the plane and set it aside, where it would likely get swept away with a pile of shavings and discarded.

Basic use

To use a rabbet plane, start by securing the work-piece to your bench. Then set the guide fence and depth gauge for the desired cut. Make sure the cutting spur is in the active position, and then start the rabbet at the end of the workpiece (left photo). Take a series of light cuts until the shoulder is defined, then slowly work your way backwards to the opposite end (right photo). If you're planing with the grain, rotate the spur to the idle position once the shoulder is defined. For cross-grain work, leave the spur active the entire time. Take full-length, light strokes; if the blade is sharp, you'll peel off full-length, crispy shavings.

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