[James Wright]

I need to reset the glass into the top of a coffee table and need a rabbit or plow plane that can give me a quarter inch by quarter inch rabbit. I am in Rockford IL

Topic

[Mike in TN]

#2027736

Hi James,

If the coffee table is assembled then you can’t do the work with the tools discussed without disassembling the table. You might be able to use a bull nose shoulder plane with a temporary guide strip but you still have to do some chisel work and would just have to use your skills to control the depth. A possible option for controlling the depth would be to clamp a depth control strip onto the plane.

While I would think that it is technically possible for the work to be done on disassembled parts with a plow plane and the right sized cutter, that wouldn’t be the preferred tool. I would go with a rabbet (rebate in Great Britain) plane and a wooden one or a metal one would work if you know how to control the work. The wooden ones tend to be cheaper but generally don’t have fences or stops. The ones that do are called fillister planes and tend to be more pricy. The metal fillister (often commonly called rabbet planes) tend to be the best tools for this particular work in my opinion and can be had new for about $70 and used for $25-$40. Pictures would help.

Have fun.

[James Wright]

#2027737

It is in pieces. cutting the rabbit  is a week or more away I am just wanting to see if I can get one. I will also be needing to cut a grove foe the drawer bottom soon  so if I can make one tool to do both I would be happy. I am looking for the cheap option as I only have $15 in the budget at the moment. That probably means I just get to do it all with the chisel. I am also looking at making one that will use my chisel, but we will see.

 

[Mike in TN]

#2027738

Assuming this is hand tool only: You might be able to find a wooden rabbet plane for your budget and it can do a rabbet easily enough to gauge lines,with some practice, maybe using a guide strip. The plow is another issue. You might want to investigate making a grooving plane for the groove but it would be a single use type plane with no real adjustments. You might also want to try playing with a saw and chisel arrangement for the grooves. You might be able to do a stair saw with rip teeth to establish the sides of the grooves and use the chisels to finish the groove. Not an elegant solution but workable.

[James Wright]

#2027739

I like the stair saw idea!

[Author]

Replies