Handplane Restoration #18: Stanley #78 Duplex filletster and rabbet plane

Sweet Wayne. I’ve started keeping my eyes out for some planes and chisels to restore. I’d like to focus on my handtool work more and you’ve inspired me to start restoring some. You can expect some questions.

-- Bob, Carver Massachusetts, Sawdust Maker http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org

Great Job Wayne. I need to find a Flea Market or two around.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

I still don’t understand how you find so many cool tools!

Wayne- I have a question for you concerning 78s. I have a newer Stanley 78. The fence is not square to the sole and thus it makes a tapered rabbet cut! Any ideas on how to remedy this? I did try referencing the sole on a trued up (square) piece of stock, with sandpaper on the side to abrade the fence square. Well, I didn’t stick with that for long – Any other ideas?

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I was thinking getting square cuts was a matter of technique. The more I use it the better I get. But the link above indicates blade setting plays a big role in getting a square cut. I’m not sure if you had time to read it, but it is pretty interesting.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I’ll check out the link -

Skill aside, the blade is razor sharp and plane is easy to use; it cuts a real clean rabbet. It’s my reference, the fence, that is out of square the exact amount of how out of square the rabbet gets cut. Sure, I could angle it to get a square(-er) cut to adjust for the fence that’s not true, but I believe that the purpose of the fence on this plane is to set the width of the rabbet and to ensure a square cut.

I’ll probably try to keep sanding til I get the fence square to the sole.

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Here is a link to a users guide for the #78. It does not address this issue, but may be of general interest. I’ll do some digging around I belive there is also some info in Michalel Dunbar’s book on the 78. I’ll take a look after dinner and post if there is some more info.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

I checked Michael’s book and nothing specific about getting square results other than making sure the body of the plane (side and sole) are square. He indicates the fence is used to determine the width of the rabbet. I’m going to play around with it some more and do some additional research. Let me know if you find out anything.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Thank you Wayne for digging into this with me – I’ve asked around and I haven’t really recieved this level of interest. I really appreciate it!

The users guide link is good, but like you said, it doesn’t address what we’re talking about. I’m thinking that I may have have some info on the 78 in fairly basic, though decent, hand tool book by Peter Korn. I’ll check! Should we move this into a forum topic on the 78 or stick with what we’ve got going here?

Also, I’ll check the sole to side squareness, but I’m just so convinced that the fence is the problem. In one of the pictures in the users guide link it does show an arrow which indicates pushing the fence against the workpiece while pushing forward…

Thanks again!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Wayne -

I checked sole to sides for square, one is dead on, the other a hair off, but it doesn’t seem to affect the wall of the rabbet that is referenced by that side (the right -I believe).

Also, in the Peter Korn book on hand tools, he states that after you get your fence and depth stop set up for the dimension you are to cut, “start planing with the fence flat against the work.” So, when I do that, I get a not so square rabbet.

Here are some photos of what I’ve described…

These are a couple shots with a little square referenced on the sole to show the how far out the fence is:

Here’s the rabbet cut when I use the fence as a reference against the side (sorry about the blur, though the silhouette tells the story:

Now taking into consideration what you stated above re: technique, I am able to correct the cut and get a square rabbet (but I really think that the fence ought to be my reference and my guide to a square finished rabbet):

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

I think your on to it. I just checked mine and there is not gap at all. I don’t have time to take any photos this morning. I would think about checking the post that the fence rides on to see if it may be bent. If bent, you could order a replacement from Stanley for a few dollars I belive. If it is strait, then perhaps a mill file and some lapping with sand paper is in order.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Yes! I’ll see if I can’t rig up a jig to file the fence down first! Thanks Wayne! That should speed up the process! I did check the post on a straightedge and it does seem to be okay. I hadn’t thought of running the fence on a file yet (only sandpaper), so I think that you’ve nailed it! I’ll get this thing tuned up yet! I’m starting to visualize the jig…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Where do you get the part that include the thumb bolts, the crew in smooth shaft and the side bracket that screws in?

You can try the Stanley Parts page. The ones on this plane were original to the plane and came with it when I purchased it. Sometimes you can find spare parts on ebay.

http://www.stanleytoolparts.com/planes-rabbetplanes-12-078duplexrabbet.html

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=stanley+78&category0=

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov