Stopped grooves with a Veritas plow plane

[Mike Cherry]

As the title suggests, does anyone have a efficient way of doing this? My first instinct is to chop the last couple inches of the groove so that the plows blade will stay in the cut. This is for ship lapped panels between legs on a bookshelf. Any advice?

[Jim Koepke]

How many do you need to do?

And do you have a Stanley 45?

I submitted an article on this to one of the magazines and the editor didn't think it was of interest to enough of their audience.

jtk

[Bill Houghton]

One trick I've seen is to plow the groove through, then glue in a plug from matching wood for the part you don't want grooved. I've done it, though not for something where appearance mattered.

[Mike Cherry]

Well I got 4 stopped grooves and 4 regular grooves. I do not have a 45 at my disposal.. Never have found a good one.

[Jim Koepke]

Well I got 4 stopped grooves and 4 regular grooves. I do not have a 45 at my disposal.. Never have found a good one.

The Stanley 45 does take a bit of getting used to. It isn't difficult to see how many folks get the impression they are nothing more than a fancy boat anchor.

Not sure if it is possible with the Veritas Plow plane.

It is also something that can be done with a router plane.

jtk

[Robert Engel]

I don't see any other way than what what you said.
There's no easy way out of something like this with hand tools.

Why was a Stanley 45 brought up? What's it going to do your plow plane can't?

[Warren Mickley]

If we copy an old design, there are often things that are awkward with machinery, but straightforward with hand tools. On the other hand it can be awkward to make something by hand that was designed to be made by machinery.

Your design is not one we see in hand work. There is too much effort for too little gain. If you are willing or able to change the design there are possibilities.

[Judson Green]

Jim could you elaborate how to do this with a 45?

How many do you need to do?

And do you have a Stanley 45?

I submitted an article on this to one of the magazines and the editor didn't think it was of interest to enough of their audience.

jtk

[Judson Green]

Very true Warren.

If we copy an old design, there are often things that are awkward with machinery, but straightforward with hand tools. On the other hand it can be awkward to make something by hand that was designed to be made by machinery.

Your design is not one we see in hand work. There is too much effort for too little gain. If you are willing or able to change the design there are possibilities.

[Pat Barry]

As the title suggests, does anyone have a efficient way of doing this? My first instinct is to chop the last couple inches of the groove so that the plows blade will stay in the cut. This is for ship lapped panels between legs on a bookshelf. Any advice?

So its not really a shiplap that you are after. Maybe you can provide a sketch or describe why a normal shiplap won't work

[Sean Hughto]

Yeah, shiplap is mating rabbets, not grooves. Maybe you meant tongue and groove? But in any event, for the back of a bookcase, I am having trouble imagining a need for stopping.

[Mark Stutz]

I've done it with a plow plane, once. In the future, I will be heeding Warren's advice.

IIRC, I used a modern Record with the blue handle, since the cutter was closer to the nose than on the 45. I made a shallow mortise on each end with a brace/bit, and cleaned it with with chisels and a router plane. Hogged out as much of the rest as I could with the plow, then finished the other end with chisels and a router plane. Not fast and the result was a little rough, but it worked.

That was really one of my first attempts at hand tool work, and I was simply trying to recreate what I had done with a router in the past. If I have to have a stopped groove in the future, it won't be done with hand tools.

[Mike Cherry]

Warren you are quite perceptive! I am using a design that was originally intended for machines. I am also relatively new to woodworking and still making these " I'll never do that again" decisions at times.

The he design was found here
http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...rafts-bookcase
I simply used traditional mortise and tenons and I am actually building a nightstand rather than the bookcase. It is a project for my sons architectural design class. He came up with the dimensions and found these plans.

[Pat Barry]

From what I see those backpanels can be shiplap joints as per normal. They then have a tenon at each end to fit into the grooves of the top and bottom rails and a similar detail on the last two panels to fit into the grooves in the legs. All of this is very compatible with hand tools and non requires a stopped ship lap. Please post pictures of the project as you progress.

[Mike Cherry]

Im sorry Pat, perhaps I was unclear. The shiplapping of the panels is not where I am having the issue. The issue is the groove that the shiplapped panels sit in on the legs. I am at work, but if I need to I can snap a photo later of the issue I am running into. Thanks for looking everyone! I would like to know how I could have done this differently so that I make less work for myself in the future.