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Veritas has just released its much-awaited Side Rabbet Plane (at a special introductory price) and Veritas was generous enough to permit me to test-drive it here in our workshop.
Though I still am getting comfortable with the tool, below are my initial impressions after trimming out about a dozen grooves and rabbets this week.
About Side Rabbet Planes
Side-rabbet planes are specialty tools that belong in the family of joinery planes. They are used to clean up and widen the difficult-to-trim walls of rabbets, grooves and dados. To be honest, some craftsmen don’t use these planes at all. Instead of trimming a dado wider, they will trim the mating panel instead. Both perspectives work.
There are two kinds of metal-bodied side-rabbet planes (and there are wooden ones as well). The Stanley Nos. 98 and 99 have a right-hand version and a left-hand version so you can work with the grain in grooves in rabbets. The other format is to combine both cutters into one tool. Stanley did that in its No. 79 (with mixed results in my book). And the English Preston version (and later Record version) got it right.
Lie-Nielsen makes versions similar to the Stanley, but in bronze. I’ve used them and they work quite well.
Veritas Specifications
The Veritas Side Rabbet Plane is similar to the Preston plane: One cutter is on top. One is below. A handle is in the middle. Veritas, as always, has made improvements to the design that are beyond the “socks on a squirrel” variety.
The sleek handle , which reminds me of a beetle’s back , pivots up and down depending on which cutter you are using. The handle is spring-loaded and doesn’t slip during use , which is saying something because you have to apply significant hand pressure to these tools in use.
The handle is comfortable. It burrows into your palm without poking you.
The other major advancement for the user is the irons. Veritas has lapped the flat faces of these O1 (high-carbon) steel irons so sharpening them up takes only minutes. And when it comes to skew-cutting planes this is critical. A small sharpening error with a skew plane and the tool won’t function correctly.
The other thing to note about the tool is its depth stop, which locks quickly and squarely (thanks to some clever machining) in either direction. You also can remove the toe piece of the tool with a screwdriver so you can work into the corners of stopped rabbets, grooves and dados.
In putting the tool to use, I was impressed (as always) with the irons and how easy they took an edge. Sharpening them without a jig is fairly simple work because the bevels are quite large and register firmly on a sharpening stone.
The only modification I’d recommend to the irons is to relieve the acute corner of each iron as it will dig in a little deeply in use (and will get worn away anyway). Veritas recommends this in the manual, and it is a two-minute job with a file. Be careful not to go too far , the point needs to extend beyond the sole a tad.
The real skill to learn with this plane is starting the tool. All the varieties of this tool have a small nose that you have to register against the sidewall of the joint you are going to trim. So it takes a steady hand to start a clean cut. Once you begin, the tool is easy to manage in the cut. The Veritas works in cuts up to 1/2″ deep.
Trimming the long grain of grooves and rabbets is easier than trimming the end grain in dados, so start with the easy stuff first. This style of tool isn’t hard to use, but I wouldn’t practice on a live project piece.
The Veritas Side Rabbet plane costs $139, but it will be offered at a special introductory price of $119. You can order one through this link.
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The marks are indeed from the depth stop. They are very shallow and are easily removed with one swipe of a plane (which you are going to have to do anyway).
Polishing the sharp arris of the depth stop reduces the marking (I did that) but does not eliminate it.
Chris
VC – I think those tracks are from the depth stop. The stop might need a bit of a polish on the edges to reduce that effect. I’ve just ordered one of these. Sweet little thing.
M.Mike
Chris, I noticed track marks on either side of the dado. Is that from this plane or something else?
Sweet. I wonder if that would work on a sliding dovetail groove/dado.
Josh,
I believe you are thinking of the bronze edge plane. It’s got the 7/8" width of cut.
The Lie-Nielsen remake of the Stanley 98/99 Side Rabbet Planes have a 1/2" depth of cut.
Take care, Mike
Adrian,
You don’t have to back out the trailing iron, which is good workshop practice. Just my opinion, however.
Chris
I used a side rabbet plane when I was fitting plywood drawer bottoms, and then I think I needed it the next time I was fitting plywood into something. It seemed to me like a better approach than shaving the plywood thinner.
Is the Veritas a big improvement on the stanley #79? If so, why?
Rob,
I freehand sharpened the blades. It was very easy because the bevel is so wide and there is a lot of steel there for registration.
The blade clamp isn’t a bother. I snugged it up enough so I could nudge the blades with my thumb. Then, when they felt like they were in position, I cinched the blade clamp down hard. Nothing shifted.
There might not be enough blade to perform the trick you described in deep sliding dovetails. So that is something to consider.
Thanks for the comment!
Chris
Hi Chris,
It must be fun to try out all the new tools.
A few comments on this plane:
The blades look very short and I wonder if it’s a bit difficult to sharpen them without a holder of some sort.
The clamp looks like it tightens both blades at once. Did you find that troublesome?
I really like to use my L-N 98-99 planes for trimming the male part of a sliding dovetail. I modified the base to create about a 70-75 degree angle to set into the crevice of the joint (the tip is in PW last year).
The 1/2 inch depth could be stingy with a big sliding dovetail but I guess would cover most situations.
I don’t know if I could restrain myself if I had access to all the tools that you do.
Nice Veritas plane you have there!
Did you happen to notice a product number on the box? 😉
regards,
Dave
Josh,
Good question on the capacity. I think that most joints are going to be shallower than 1/2", so I don’t consider it a real problem. If I’m trimming bigger stuff, I’d use a rabbet or shoulder plane.
Chris
That is wicked looking. Do you think the 1/2" cutting capacity is limiting? I noticed the LN ones have a 7/8" capacity.
I thought at first glance I was looking at a small cordless iron. As always the boys at veritas are thinking outside the box.
I own the Lie-Nielsen side rabbet planes and while I considered them a luxury tool and waited until I got a gift certificate for my bday to buy them, they are quite handy when you need to widen dadoes and rabbets. I’m very happy to have them and $119 for the Veritas is an excellent price.