Rabbet Plane Question

[baok]

Many months ago, I asked a question about some chips getting bunched up in my rabbet plane. Advice was given which I followed and the problem is now much improved. Thanks to all.

But...

I notice that it is really easy to make a rabbet that is sloped away from the shoulder or sometimes towards it. It is actually sort of fricky to get the rabbet to be parallel with the rest of the piece. Christopher Schwarz noted that in one of his blog posts and recommended the you don't actually grip the handle (tote?) but open your fingers to force yourself to only push so as to not twist it one way or the other. Seems like good advice but I have trouble doing it.

So does anybody have any other advice or is it just a matter of practicing? I could well believe the latter.

[jpdorn]

yeah, there's no real way around practice but i enjoy the development of the skill. aside from that..

• one hand holds the fence against the work, the other moves it through the cut
  
• keep an eye on your layout lines as you progress so it doesn't get away from you
  
• an auxiliary fence (assuming your rabbet plane (moving filister) has one) and increasing the registration surface helps quite a bit..
  

[derekcohen]

The problem is that you do not have the plane set up correctly. What you have is a common symptom of the outside edge of the blade lying flush with the side of the body. It needs to extend past the body by a hair. This will enable the edge of the blade to cut into the corner of the rebate and keep the rebate square.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[nateswoodworks]

I agree with Derek (as usual) with the blade adjustment. A while back I too had had the same problem with sloped shoulder walls and set the blade a hair proud of the side of the plane, can't say I get perfect shoulders every time but much better than I used too. I need to practice more, as a hybrid this step is normally electron driven but that is changing-the addiction runs deeper all the time!

[RenaissanceWW]

There is an element of making sure your fence is firm against the edge and adding an auxillary fence will help a lot. Derek's point is a great one but it sound like you are having a problem with the horizontal surface not the shoulder. This is fixed by tweaking the lateral project of the plane. In a bench plane you would use the lateral adjust lever but for a rabbet plane you don't have one so you need to futz around and sight down the sole to make sure you have the blade parallel to the sole. One of the reasons I like the new Veritas plane is the set screws mean you really only have to do this once. It takes some fiddling but once there you will find it is much easier to get square rabbets.

[derekcohen]

Derek's point is a great one but it sound like you are having a problem with the horizontal surface not the shoulder

Yes, on re-reading I agree Shannon.

Greg, it is important that the plane is set up (such as the blade being square, etc), but then he trick is to ensure that the plane runs square to the edge of the board. It must not lift and run at an angle. Concentrate on pressing the fence against the side with the front hand. This is more important than pushing the plane forward, per se. I neve use the front knob, instead placing my hand on the side of the fence. If you use the knob it is likely that this is what is creating side-to-side movement that causes the symptoms you describe.

Regards from Perth

Derek