Technique for using a "poor-man's rebate plane"

Question

I made a poor-man's rebate plane following the approach shown by Paul Sellers in his blog and video

It is made from pine (construction timber, probably spruce) so isn't likely to be accurate or durable but it seems to work

I tried it out on another piece of spruce and am having a couple of problems,

• I find it hard to control the depth of cut, tapping the chisel usually results in a very coarse shaving.
• The rebate depth is hard to control to get uniform depth from end to end, I guess I need to add a depth stop.
• The side wall tends to be very rough and has some shreds of shaving attached.

My reason for making this was to see if it would serve as a plough plane to make a new frame for a garden cold-frame. I need to make a housing (dado) to hold the plastic glazing. Since this isn't fine furniture I'm not too concerned but I do have the same problems I'd like to eliminate

Here's some early coarse shavings and some newer thinner ones

How can I improve the results I get?

Answer 1

How can I improve the results I get?

Based on your pictures, I surmise that it's due to a combination of:

1. Your chisel not being sharp enough,

2. Planing against the grain,

3. Not having the edge of your chisel slightly proud of the side of the plane body, and

4. Taking too thick of a shaving with each pass.

I find it hard to control the depth of cut, tapping the chisel usually results in a very coarse shaving.

This is the nature of wooden planes. They take a bit of fiddling to get set right. Once you get the depth of cut set correctly, it should glide through spruce with no problem.

The shavings in your first updated picture are much thicker than I would look for if you're going for a fine finish. If you're just trying to hog off wood, those thick shavings are probably ok, but your surface finish will be worse off as a result.

The rebate depth is hard to control to get uniform depth from end to end, I guess I need to add a depth stop.

A depth stop would help you get a consistent depth of cut. However, it can be a crutch that keeps you from developing the proper technique.

You can also mark lines on your piece to shoot for the correct depth and just keep cutting until you get to that depth across the entire cut. This will probably result in you having to work only parts of the cut at a time when things get uneven, but again, this is the nature of wooden planes.

The side wall tends to be very rough and has some shreds of shaving attached.

See numbers 1-3 above.

Answer 2

To adjust the depth of the cutter in wooden planes by a small amount, knock one end or other of the plane with a mallet. The inertia of the plane iron relative to the wood will carry it up or down, depending which end you hit.