# Veritas small plow plane vs. combination plane



## kdeboy (Feb 22, 2016)

I want to cut grooves for drawer bottoms, etc. and from what I've read the tool for that is a plow plane. The Veritas small plow plane looks like what I need, the only problem is that some of the projects I want to do will require cutting the grooves cross grain. From what I understand, the plow plane won't do that without a lot of tear out along the edge of the groove.

The combination plane solves that problem b/c it has a nicker in front of the blade. So my first thought was just spend a little more and get the combination. Except $180 isn't just "a little more" and it's also larger and more unwieldy (?) than the small plow plane. Most of the things I want to build are fairly small, and I don't see needing the extra capability (reeding, rabbiting) of the combo plane.

So I guess my questions are, is their a plane that will work for cutting grooves cross grain other than the combo plane, and how much difference is there in "handling" between the two? Thanks…


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Stanley No. 45…...


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

If your primary use is drawer bottoms and small projects, I'd vote small plow. The combination is great, but a lot bulkier. I use a vintage Record 043 for drawer bottoms, which replaced using a Stanley #45 (I have a detailed blog comparing a Veritas combination plane to Stanley #45s if you're interested).

Dado plane is what you'd be looking for to do a lot of cross grain work. Knickers and a skewed iron usually. I'm not too familiar with what modern options there are, but I like a Stanley #46 myself (or one of my Fales Patent planes, but that's not a common plane).

If you're only occasionally doing cross grain, you can try work arounds like knifing the sides (every couple passes), or kerf them in with a saw. I've done both for quite a few projects.

Not knocking the Veritas Combo or Small Plow at all, mind you. I think they're both great tools, and worth what they cost if you use them as they can be utilized. I just don't have either in my own collection at the moment.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

Well, many older plow planes have nickers on them. Stanley 45, 46, 50, etc as well as some of the Records like 43, 44 i believe? I personally have an old 50 and it works great and much easier to use than a 45.

Here are Derek Cohen's thoughts on the Veritas small plow, a good read, as it addresses your concerns:

https://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/The%20Veritas%20Small%20Plow%20Plane.html


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## Sylvain (Jul 23, 2011)

I have done dados (a few inches long) with marking knife, chisel and hand router plane as demonstrated by Paul Sellers.

see here:





I you don't have a router plane:
poor man's router plane (in a hurry)





Good DIY router plane:





I have a Veritas plow plane for drawer bottoms.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I have a Stanley 45 and a 46. The 45 is easier to setup but the skewed blade in the 46 makes it cut much better cross-grain. I'm certain the Veritas planes are good choices but I'm not sure if they make one with skewed cutters?


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

not a plow, just a rabbet


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## ac0rn (Jan 31, 2020)

Vic Tesolin shows a comparison of both the small plow plane and the router plane.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3iPhitWSd4


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## KelleyCrafts (May 17, 2016)

Oddly enough I just had this convo with a couple people who commented on this thread.

I have a really nice Stanley 45 and it's big and finicky so it unfortunately doesn't get used much. I wanted something for drawer/box bottoms and looked for a 46 on eBay and those are fairly spendy so for a little more money I went with the Veritas small plow plane and it will probably sit there setup for bottoms which is 99% of what I would do with it I think. If I need to go cross grain I can precut with a marking gauge, use the 45, or the router table worst case.


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