Dado/Grooving plane recommendations?

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I'd like to add a dado plane to my arsenal; I recently got a shoulder plane and realize that planes aren't just for making wood flat!

What would you folks recommend? Price isn't a *huge* concern. If I have to save up for a few months, so be it. Having said that, I prefer quality and ease-of-use over cheap but I don't want to break the bank!

[Derek Cohen]

Best dado plane on the planet ...



HNT Gordon.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

That sure looks a lot like (in function) my metal body Stanley shoulder plane.

Can I use the Stanley to dado, too?

[jppierson]

A dado is cross grain, so a dado plane will have nickers on both sides to sever the fibers in advance of the blade. You could saw the shoulders of the dado first then use the shoulder plane to excavate the dado.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

Oh. Gotcha.

Forgot about the need for knickers cross-grain.

[Cloudy]

I'm very happy with my Stanley 39 series...

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I should modify my question, as I just figured out the original was incomplete:

What hand plane(s) should I look into for cutting dados AND grooves in flat stock?

[Rob Young]

I should modify my question, as I just figured out the original was incomplete:

What hand plane(s) should I look into for cutting dados AND grooves in flat stock?

You can use the combination planes for this sort of work.  Bit of a compromise in all configurations (not a skewed blade, nickers are goofy, sometimes insufficient blade support).  But with patience, good setup and sharp blades, they work just fine.

Something like a Stanley #45 or clone with the full set of blades and accessory fences, stops, etc. is pretty handy.

Even more handy is adding a second or 3rd body (often found cheap with the 1/4" blade and no other accessories) so you can set up for single tasks.

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

I like my Stanley #46 the best with the #39 set being a close runner up. The bonus with the #46 is that it has a fence and can double as a skew rabbet plane. I get better results when I saw the sides and use the skew plane to clean out the waste. That also means fewer blade changes since hogging out waste between saw kerfs does not require exact blade width--smaller blades can just "rattle around" until they get the job done. That is not a big deal for me because the inside floor of the dado will be covered up.

Another way is to saw, chisel to the kerf and then use a shoulder plane to clean up the bottom. A 1/2" shoulder plane is good for this job and is also handy for many other tasks.

Good luck in your quest.

[bandit571]

Best all-around for grooves and dados..

   
Dados..

   
Grooves.

   
any width...

   
rebates, too...

   
And will cut flutes and beads.   And sash making too.

Stanley No. 45.....