Questions about dado planes

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi guys,
I think Id like to buy a dado plane and need some of your more experienced advice.

As background, Im sliding further and further down the slippery slope. Now Ive found that I really like cutting grooves and rabbetts by hand. I got a small plough plane from LV and got the hang of it. Then a skewed rabbet plane from LV - you guys gave me a bunch of advice on using it, and now I can do a decent job with it. I really like the feel of shaping wood with these two and I dont miss my electric router or dado blades one bit. Im hooked. I have cut a couple dados with a saw and a chisel and a router plane. I think Id like a purpose-built dado plane better. Im reluctant to try and build one just yet. The only one I could find was at HNT Gordon for $365 (Austrailian $). Im not skilled enough to "deserve" a tool like that yet. So Id like to try "used" instead.

Heres some questions that came to my mind. Id appreciate any thoughts or advice you have on any of them.
1) Ive read good things about Stanley 39s, if you can get the complete tool. Good users seem to run between $150-$200. If I only bought one, Id grab a 1/4 or 3/8. Is one likely to be enough?

2) Would a used wooden dado plane work just as well, considering my moderate hand tool skill level? I havent tried woodies yet but I mean to try sometime. Can I get a complete wooden dado plane in user condition for much less than a metal #39? (I ask b/c I dont know enough about woodies to judge "good" from what I see on auction sites.)

3) Ive fettled 3 metal planes now and they work well. Id expect fettling a woodie to be different, but I dont know if it would be easier or harder than tuning a metal one. What do you think?

4) Is there a better choice for a metal dado plane than a #39?

5) Question deleted - didnt work.

Thanks guys. I appreciate your help.
Fred

[Steve Voigt]

I don't have the LV plough so I don't know this for sure, but can't you just pull the fence off the plow and use a batten clamped to the stock for cutting dadoes? You'd need the batten for the #39 or a wooden plane anyway.
If this works, you'll want to heavily score both sides of the cut with your marking knife first.

[Derek Cohen]

I don't have the LV plough so I don't know this for sure, but can't you just pull the fence off the plow and use a batten clamped to the stock for cutting dadoes? You'd need the batten for the #39 or a wooden plane anyway.
If this works, you'll want to heavily score both sides of the cut with your marking knife first.

Steve, I actually demoed the Small Plow planing a dado in the review I wrote ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...w%20Plane.html

I was simply testing the extremes of this plane. It is not worth it.

Frederick, the HNT Gordon dado plane is worth every cent. It is stupendously easy to use. I purchased the 1/2" version. This is perfect for many tasks, and I also use it when planing sliding dovetails. Review below ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolRev...DadoPlane.html

Of course, a dado may be made with a saw and chisel, which is the traditional method. It is very easy and a skill that should be learned.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Holcombe]

I have designs on the HNT gordon dado plane as well. I have the side rebate plane for cutting sliding dovetails and it is a gorgeous plane that works quite nicely.

[Warren Mickley]

Although there are five dado planes in the Seaton chest (1796), 3/8, 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, 7/8, I think a lot of workers in the 18th century used a single narrow dado plane. Peter Nicholson, writing in 1812, says dado planes are "generally about 3/8 of an inch broad on the sole, with a double cutter [nickers] and a stop, both placed before the edge of the iron, which stands askew". With a single narrow dado plane, for a 7/8 dado one would make two narrow dados and chisel the waste strip in the middle.

It is very hard to know whether to recommend buying an old wooden dado plane for you, Frederick. I would be more confident if you had moulding plane experience. One option that you may not have thought of is the Stanley 45 plane. It has a nicker on each skate and these are used in conjunction with the plough cutters to make dados of various widths. These planes are often cheaper than dado planes and offer much more versatility.

[Jim Koepke]

One option that you may not have thought of is the Stanley 45 plane. It has a nicker on each skate and these are used in conjunction with the plough cutters to make dados of various widths. These planes are often cheaper than dado planes and offer much more versatility.

For most of its uses I will suggest a Stanley 45. For cutting dados, imo, a saw and chisel are better and faster. Using the plow you already have would be a better path unless you want a Stanley 45.

jtk

[Kees Heiden]

Old wooden dado planes sometimes have the bad habbit to twist. That makes them quite unusable. With that big hole in the middle they are just not as stiff as moulding planes, so if the wood isn't nice and straight grained, it can warp easilly. The same goes for rabbet planes btw. But when you find a straight one, they are nice tools (after sharpening of course!). But to be honest, I have no idea if sawing and chiseling isn't at least as fast.

[Warren Mickley]

For most of its uses I will suggest a Stanley 45. For cutting dados, imo, a saw and chisel are better and faster. Using the plow you already have would be a better path unless you want a Stanley 45.

jtk

Jim. it doesn't sound like you have ever used the 45 plane for making dados. It is very different from the LV plough Frederick already has. The LV plane has a single skate and no way to score the edges of the dado. The 45 plane was designed to cut dados. It has two skates, each with a nicker to score the edges of the dado ahead of the cutter. You might argue that a wooden dado plane or a 39 plane is simpler to use, but they all work on the same principle. All three are faster than using a saw and chisel.

[Tony Wilkins]

Find a Stanley 55 and you can sell all your other joinery planes (and your coffee pot)

[Jim Koepke]

Jim. it doesn't sound like you have ever used the 45 plane for making dados.

I have tried. For a dado to support a shelf where it isn't a big deal how the bottom looks, I can go faster with a chisels and a saw kerf. If you need accurate depth, then a router plane is handy at the end of the job.

One of the other considerations is most often my dados are stopped at one or both ends. This gets rather tricky, if not impractical, for a plane.

Find a Stanley 55 and you can sell all your other joinery planes (and your coffee pot)

Okay, at least you put a smily at the end of this. My #55 is the least used of my joinery planes. Though it does have its own special uses.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for the insights and advice guys!
Fred

[Zach Dillinger]

For a long time, I was forced to saw / chisel my case dados because I couldn't find a good usable (i.e. not banana'ed) dado plane in the proper sizes. It works fine if you can saw a line. However, within the last year or so I made an effort to find good usable dado planes in my most common sizes (3/8, 1/2, 3/4). I've been successful and definitely find them quicker than my old method, especially on wider case sides.

As Warren said, I could easily make do with one narrow dado plane and two cuts. This is better for hand planed stock, since you can make a dado sized precisely to fit stock that is most likely not a nominal size. I have seen pieces with filler strips between the bottom of a drawer divider and the bottom of a dado that will push a thinner drawer blade up to the top of the dado, making up for a difference in sizing. This supports the hypothesis of having fewer dado plane sizes with which to work.