Thread: Rebate plane Record

Tiger. Do you have the spur engaged; and has it been sharpened. Shown in the following attachment as Part L. Stanley No. 78 instructions

Stewie;

do you have the blade extending a smidgen beyond the body of the plane on the inside of the rebate?

Originally Posted by ian

do you have the blade extending a smidgen beyond the body of the plane on the inside of the rebate?

If by 'inconsistent' you mean the inner edge of the rebate is not perpendicular or straight, what Ian says is usually the cure. It's probably the most common cause of problems. You don't usually need the nicker for along the grain rebates, in fact it can be a nuisance if you leave it engaged, but it sure helps cross-grain.

Adding a longer wooden fence to the short metal one can also be a big help; gives you something to hold and more to register against the edge of the work.

If what's been suggested so far is no help, post some pictures that illustrate the problem & we'll have another head-scratch.

Cheers,

I have one and it works a treat for me. Like somebody said a picture would help. Stanley made these by the truck load. I think they were called a fillister rebate plane.

IanW. can you explain why you deemed the spur a nuisance if left engaged when cutting a rebate with the grain.

You have also stated in a previous thread you dont use your #78 for cutting rebates.

Stewie;

Originally Posted by planemaker

Ian; I have read your comments 3 times to make sure I hadn't missed something; if your not prepared to use the #78 as it was designed to be used then dont blame the tool.

regards Stewie;

Stewie, I am not 'blaming' the tool at all! It's plenty good enough for the job it was designed to do, which is to cut rebates. Most rebates in cabinet work don't need to be particularly tidy, as they almost always end up out of sight, so as Derek rightly says, this is not a refined tool, & it doesn't need to be. Mainly because I don't like spending many minutes sweating over a job that can be done in two quick passes (and often more neatly), on a tablesaw, I just don't use the 78 for its ''intended" purpose, hence it is 'useless' to me in that role.

Derek, I think you misunderstood me - I use my 78 for refining the cheeks of tenons, not the shoulders, which is most certainly a job for the shoulder plane. While I can confidently saw dovetails to the line, my accuracy on the longer, wider cuts of tenon cheeks isn't nearly as reliable, particularly since my eyesight lost its acuity. So I saw with a fairly generous margin, which means I don't have to constantly check the back of the cut, or switch it around, then use the 78 to clean up to the scribe lines. Planing across the grain is an easy way to remove wood, so it usually only takes a few swipes to get them nice and flat & parallel.

I first tried using a 10 1/2 for the same job, but at least in my hands, it's nowhere near as good as the 78. The 'coarse-ness' of the 78 gives it the advantage here, because basically, I'm using it as a "scrub plane" which can cut up to a shoulder. Perhaps my use of the plane is 'unorthodox', but it sure is a quick & easy way to get tightly-fitting tenons..

As it happens, I've got a bunch of good-sized tenons to fit this very day, on a bench I'm currently making for the newly-renovated garage (so the better half can do her messier craft work in comfort). I'll be sharpening up the 78 very shortly......

Cheers,

IW

Stanley No. 78 Rabbet Plane - should I get it new or second hand

Originally Posted by planemaker

IanW. can you explain why you deemed the spur a nuisance if left engaged when cutting a rebate with the grain.

Stewie;

I'll let IanW answer the rest of your post, but in my experience if the spur is engaged for a long grain rebate (i.e. the spur is extended below the sole of the plane) the plane has a tendency to wonder as the spur tries to follow the grain.

Ian. That's interesting to hear. From my own experience the spur helps keep the fence locked against the edge of the work piece. The spur needs to be kept sharp.

Stewie;

Originally Posted by chook

...Stanley made these by the truck load. I think they were called a fillister rebate plane.

Duplex Filletster and Rabbet Plane according to Patrick's Blood & Gore, or Duplex Rabbet Plane according to the pamphlet with mine (a UK Stanley).

It's a pity you have the 078 and not Record's other Duplex plane - the 778 - which has two arms and therefore holds the fence better.

Cheers, Vann.

778? I will search one out.

Still no clue what the OP means by inconsistent. I never rely on a plane of this style too make perfectly crisp square and consistent rabbets. I rely on it to make rabbets almost that good, and then I bring them to completion with a rabbet plane. It's fast and accurate and easier on the hands in nasty woods.

Originally Posted by planemaker

IanW. can you explain why you deemed the spur a nuisance if left engaged when cutting a rebate with the grain. ...

Originally Posted by ian

I'll let IanW answer the rest of your post, but in my experience if the spur is engaged for a long grain rebate (i.e. the spur is extended below the sole of the plane) the plane has a tendency to wonder as the spur tries to follow the grain.

Thankyou, Ian. That's my main reason. I guess the nicker would help as you say, Stewie, if the grain is running away from the edge, but Murphy has decreed that it will almost always go the 'wrong' way.

Originally Posted by planemaker

....You have also stated in a previous thread you dont use your #78 for cutting rebates....

Yep, not since I acquired a decent table saw and carbide blades evolved to the solid, reliable things they now are.

Nothing too inconsistent there, I hope??
Cheers,

Thanks for the replies, having the blade project out from the side really does help. As far as inconsistent results go I meant that I would get tapered shoulders or shoulders with steps in them. I had assumed that the blade should be flush with the side of the plane as per setting a shoulder plane blade. This is clearly wrong, I don't understand why but the results suggest have the blade project out a bit, in fact Paul Sellers says it can even project by as much as 4 mm.

The blade has to project out (and its side has to have a bit of an edge on it) in order to scrape the side of the cut clean. If you just cut down, the side of the cut is torn slightly and not cut off cleanly, the iron is only cutting at the bottom of it. As you continue to cut, you step further out unless the iron projects out of the side of the plane a little bit and scrapes the side of the cut clean.

Originally Posted by chook

778? I will search one out.

Sorry chook, I meant the OP (Tiger) - but didn't make that clear

Here's a picture from recordcollector's site showing the Record 778 (left) and the 078.

778rebate_large.jpg

WS Tools made the first twin rail duplex rabbet (their A78). They were bought out in the early 1950s by Woden who continued to make the twin rail duplex rabbet (their W78), but with some modifications (the rails and fence aren't interchangeable). Then Record brought out their version in about 1955 (their 778), which has quite a few differences from the WS and Woden models. Within the next 9 years Record took over Woden's plane making department and phased out the W78.

All of the above twin rail duplex rabbets are good planes, although some of the much later Records suffer from the same quality control issues as their later bench planes.

The Veritas skew rabbet plane beats them all - if you can afford one .

Cheers, Vann.