Replies

1. 
   SCFrankland | May 05, 2004 06:23am | #1

   Check the width of the sole and the width of the iron, the iron maybe the right size. To get a good cut with little or no tear out start by scribing a line that will define both edges of the dado. Then check to see what way the grain is running and then plane with it.

   If the iron is the wrong size than see about finding a new one on eBay.

   Scott C. Frankland

   Scott's WOODWORKING Website

   "He who has the most tools may not win the race of life but he will sure make his wife look like a good catch when she goes to move on."

1. 
   Y_Gaudreau | May 05, 2004 03:15pm | #2

   Replacement blades are also avilable at St James Bay Tool co. http://www.stjamesbaytoolco.com/

   Yves

2. 
   lydensden | May 06, 2004 02:17am | #3

   Thanks for the tip. It looks as though the width of the sole is actually worn down. Both irons measure 3/8 ( actually, the blade measures a bit wider ). I'm wondering if it's possible to saw off the sole and replace it with any luck, or am I asking for trouble.

1. 
   Alan | May 06, 2004 03:02am | #4

   lydensden,

   STOP!  Please stop.  Don't go sawing up what may be a perfectly good plane.  Try more moderate measures before major surgery

   I assume you tried planing a housing (dado) across the grain, and that the plane has no nickers to cut the grain just ahead of the iron.  If that's the case, as someone else wrote, before doing any planing you do need to score the wood at the edge of the dados to prevent tearing.  Try this first and see how it goes.

   As to the width of the iron, on a plane that cuts housings or grooves (things with two sides) the iron must be wider than the plane body.  If it isn't, the plane will jam tight immediately.  Without actually getting up and going to see, I guess the irons in my planes that do this kind of work are wider than the body a total of 1/8" (that is, if the iron is centered it would stick out 1/16" on both sides).  Much tighter than that and you would be tempting the jamming gods.  The iron can be wider--within reason--with no bad effects.

   Lastly, are you sure you have a dado plane?  Without nickers and with an iron that looks too wide to you, it may instead be a rabbet plane.  There's no need for nickers on a rabbet plane, and the width of the iron doesn't matter nearly as much as it does on a plane that's supposed to cut things with two edges.  Is there any way you can post a picture?

   Alan

1. 
   lydensden | May 08, 2004 07:14am | #6

   I'll see about posting a picture asap. I'm sure that it is a dado plane as it does have a sort of fangish looking nicker. I wasn't sure of the blade exposure though. I assumed that it would be similar to the amount of projection that is ideal for the cutting edge. So far the only info I have on wooden planes is from Graham Blackburn's book on traditional hand tools. Thanks for replying. 

1. 
   Alan | May 09, 2004 01:51am | #7

   lydensden,

   I should wait to see the picture, but I'll embarrass myself instead...

   It still seems to me that you have a rabbet plane.

   You said it has "a" nicker.  A dado plane would need two nickers.  I looked up "dado plane" in Blackburn's Traditional Woodworking Hand Tools, and he says: "Two things define the dado plane...the first is a skewed iron that extends all the way across the sole, and the second is the presence of a two-spurred iron placed in front of the main cutting iron..." pg 179.  Also, the pictures he has of dado planes show them to have a "step" on one side.  This step looks like it could be both a depth stop, and a surface to register against a fence--which is necessary because the iron must stick out beyond the sides of the plane.  Is this what you have?

   I made a mistake in my previous post.  It's not unusual for a rabbet plane to have a single nicker.  The nicker allows a rabbet plane to continue across the end grain without the need to score across the grain with another tool.  (Stupid me!  I have a rabbet plane.  Another senior moment?)

   Alan

2. 
   SCFrankland | May 06, 2004 03:06am | #5

   You are asking for TROUBLE big time. It is the way it was designed. It isn't wore. You have to scribe your cut and after it has been scribed you should have no troubles.Scott C. Frankland

   Scott's WOODWORKING Website"He who has the most tools may not win the race of life but he will sure make his wife look like a good catch when she goes to move on."

2. 
   Cargo47 | May 29, 2004 06:06am | #8

   Wooden dado planes will likely not have separate nickers (ala Stanley 39), but instead have a single blade with two nickers machined into it sitting nearly vertical and ahead of the main blade.  If you don't have what appears to be two blades, you don't have a dado plane.  The whole idea of a dado plane is to avoid the inaccuracy associated with hand-scoring the shoulder cut, so if you have a rabbet plane, look for a dado on EBay (I've not had to touch my Stanley 39-3/4 in a couple of years - once a metal plane is tuned and working, it's good to go.  Woodies move around a bit more, but are available for a bit less).

   In terms of setting up the plane, ensure the blade and right-side nicker is flush with the riht side of the plane body so as to guide against the fence (the sole should be narrower than the width of the blade, so don't go hacking anything away before you set things up properly).  The nickers must be set slightly lower than the blade, which will be set for a fairly light cut in anything harder than pine.  Also check to see if the nickers are aligned with the edges of the blade.

   With a fence nailed or clamped to the work and the plane's right side against it, draw the plane backward once or twice to score the surface, then start your passes until the plane bottoms on the stop.

   Assuming you actually have a dado plane, a rough cut on both shoulders means that the nickers are either too narrow or not far enough down, while a smooth cut on one shoulder and rough on the other is an alignment problem with nicker and blade.

1. 
   lydensden | May 29, 2004 09:27am | #9

   I was supposed to post a photo of my dado plane a while back. I'm positive it's a dado plane. I think that I probably just need to practice a little more with it. I've been looking at the metal ones and I think they're the ticket. Thanks for the input.

   
1. 
   Cargo47 | May 30, 2004 02:17pm | #10

   Looks like a dado plane.  A well tuned one should give you a dado that is far smoother than one cut by a tablesaw.