Manual for setting up the Veritas Skew Rabbet Plane

The Veritas Skew Rabbet Plane is one of the most important tools in my workshop. It is used to create fine rebates in drawer bottoms ...

... and planing large rebates for the rear panels in cases ...

There has been some discussion about the difficulty in setting up this plane, in particular, positioning the blade and nicker. This is complicated by the skew blade, which is more tricky to sharpen to the ideal profile than a square blade. There is a significant advantage for a skew blade, which makes this worthwhile, this being that the plane will plane cleanly across the grain.

You will note that the front knob has been removed on my personal plane. I will explain this shortly, and advise that others do the same.

Two items here: the first is the sub-fence. This is 240mm x 40mm. It provides greater registration, while the wood offers less resistance. Secondly, the brass knob for the depth stop has been given a slot for a screw driver. This makes it easier to lock down more securely.

I have two fences, a straight one for rebate work, and an angled one for raised panels ...

There are two areas which are vulnerable to movement, which will be disastrous: the depth stop, above, and the fence, which is locked down by circular brass rings. It pays to tighten these further. I use a pair of plastic-mouthed vise grips (which will not damage the brass) ...

Inside the body is a screw ...

This controls the nicker. Loosen the screw and the nicker will slide in-or-out of the body. The nicker is used when planing across the grain. It sits ahead of the blade and creates a path for the blade to prevent tearout. It is not needed when planing with the grain.

It is the harmony of blade and nicker that determines how well the rebate plane with work:

1. The blade must project a smidgeon (technical term for 0.5mm) from the side of the body. This is necessary to cut into the inside corner of the rebate. If it did not, the plane will be forced progressively away from the wall, creating a slope instead of a square face.

2. The nicker needs to be at, or slightly further away from the body than the blade. If the nicker is set too close to the body, it will not pre-cut for the blade, and the result will be tearout along the shoulder of the rebate.

3. The blade projection needs to be set parallel with the sole. If it is canted one way or the other, it will prevent the floor of the rebate being square to the shoulder.

Set the nicker before you set the blade. This is the nicker. It is screwed on at an offset so that it may either project below the sole, or above the sole.

Remove the screw ...

... and sharpen the nicker. Just a few rubs on a fine diamond stone will do this. Mine is a 20 year old 1200 grit ...

Loosen the screw that holds the nicker barrel, and it will come out ...

Setting the nicker

… with blue tape ... what else did you expect from me! ....

Three layers of blue tape will total about 0.5mm. Replace the nicker and barrel. Orientate the screw to the lower end for the nicker to project for a cut ...

Now place a rare earth magnet on top of the tape. This will lift up the nicker to this height ...

Once the nicker is set, install the blade. Set is just a fraction inside the nicker. Once positioned and locked down by the lever cap move the set screws into position (against the blade). This will enable for set up to be done without any fuss.

It is not that easy to see here, but both the blade and nicker project from the body ...

Now set the depth stop, and lock it down. The ruler is measuring from below the depth stop to the tip of the blade (not the edge of the sole) ...

Here is a demonstration board, where we will create a rebate across the grain. This is soft wood, which will penalise any set up errors with tearout along the shoulder line.

To set the fence, what I do is mark the width of the rebate with a cutting gauge, and then place the nicker in the cut line, and push the fence up against the side of the board.

The hand position is thumb where the knob would have been, pushing down, and palm against the fence, pushing against the side of the board ...

Start the first cut at the far end. This creates a down hill slope, which planes more easily (like planing with the grain). Also, deepening the shoulder progressively will minimise tearout.

If you notice a little tearout along the shoulder, loosen the blade screw fractionally, and use a plane hammer to tap the blade in a little. I could see this happening here very faintly, made the correction, and then all was well.

Now move back and plane again ...

This is the result we are after ...

Checking for square ...

Setting up the blade

Freshly sharpened blade. The bevel has been hollow ground, and then honed on the hollow. This blade will not need to be ground again for a long time.

Try and set the blade for parallel and side projection at the same time. If it is not possible to achieve parallel, then the bevel angle needs to be corrected. The problem is that, without the blade being parallel with the sole - not with the mouth, per se - one side will cut higher than the other. Do not worry if the blade is not even against the front of the mouth. It will still cut appropriately.

Take your time to get this right. Bevel angle of 30 degrees ...

Place the blade in the plane. Note the set screws against the inside of the blade ...

Once the blade is positioned as close as possible - it is not final at this stage - then tighten up the set screws until they touch the blade ...

Once the blade has been fully positioned, it is unlikely that it will need to be set up again.

When making adjustments, such as re-positioning the blade projection, press the blade against the set screws, then loosen the lever cap, and use the adjuster ...

Regards from Perth

Derek

April 2023