93
CLASSIC BOAT JUNE 2019BULLNOSE RABBET PLANE
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS
ROBIN GATES
Stanley’s No 75 bullnose rabbet plane
is as black as Marmite and stirs similar
feelings; people seem to either love
or hate it. Initially I fell in with the
detractors, but with perseverance
I’ve come to see this dinky plane
in a more positive light.
The first thing to observe is its
size. At a fraction over 4in (10cm)
long and 1in (2.5cm) wide, it is tiny,
reassuringly weighty being all iron
and steel but nonetheless lacking
the punch to plough through contrary
grain. It’s for small-scale work in
timber that’s sympathetic to your
cause, and using it outside this
comfort zone is sure to disappoint.
And speaking of comfort, an
obvious reason for the No 75 having
proved unpopular is that crudely
upstanding blade which, when
planing in the prescribed manner,
prods into your soft tissues like the
sharp end of a screwdriver. The
impression left on the palm of the
hand is of a prototype that, 140 years
ago, went too soon into production.
A taller, cushioning rear end would
transform it.
Yet for a tool used where a chisel
might be deployed (given sufficient
room to work), its compact form is a
virtue, reaching easily into awkward
corners and cutting tidy rabbets.
The body is in two parts, the lower
with sole and sides machined square,
the upper sliding on it, arching
forward to create an adjustable
mouth. The blade is clamped by
a screw-tightened lever cap, itself
pivoting on lugs.
Setting this plane is undeniably
fiddly. The mouth must be adjusted
before the blade is even installed, and
then while loosening the lever cap
you urge the blade forward using the
same fingers that are gripping it. The
secret is not to meddle with the plane
once sharpened and set. The edge,
by the way, should be atom-sharp,
parallel with the mouth and with
corners protruding by a whisker
so as to cut cleanly into the rabbet.
All that remains is to find a
comfortable way of holding the little
beast. Placing your index finger in the
concave which seems designed for it,
above the toe, works only until the
plane chokes on its own shavings. The
answer is a two-handed grip, as for
pushing a moulding plane. Now the
shavings billow forth like smoke from
a little steamship heading downwind.
NEXT MONTH: Spofford brace
Clockwise from
above: cutting
a 0.75in (19mm)
rabbet; a
two-handed
grip; dismantled
body, blade and
lever cap
Traditional Tool