Stanley #146 T&G plane in action

[JimReed@Tallahassee]

Tongue and groove joints were a staple of old timey woodworkers and planemakers responded with a plethora of planes to assist. Most wooden T&G planes came in a set--one for the tongue and another for the groove. Stanley brought innovation to the market by using the features of cast iron to combine the two planes into one. Their #48 swing arm plane came out in 1876. In 1905, they brought out a line of T&G planes from a confused engineer who didn't know if he was coming or going. This is the famous #146, #147, and #148 series. Only the #148 survived the manufacturing disruption caused by WWII. Short manufacture cycle and low demand created the now rare model, the #146. It centers a T&G joint on 3/8" stock. It is probably more useful today than the other sizes. Not much need for floorboards, but there is a need for a non-plywood alternative for case good backs.

These planes are often found without blades or with rusted out unusable blades. Such was the case here. I made my own. I like a wider groove (this one is 5/32) because I have seen so many T&G blowouts on antique furniture. The secret to having a functioning geriatric T&G is lots of room for movement. If a tighter joint is desired, it is easy to substitute a 1/8" cutter from your #45 set.

So here is one in action:


I used some short pieces of 5/8 stock that I had on hand. Here is the tongue.



And here is the groove.



And here is the finished joint.



I encourage more T&G.

[Window Guy]

......... Nice job Jim.


Steve

[RLMillard]

I had the chance recently to use one made for 3/4" stock. It was a lot of fun and surprisingly fast; at least on poplar. I'd kind of like to have one.

Rob Millard
www.americanfederalperiod.com