Wooden Toungue&Groove planes
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14 December 2015 at 5:44 am #133134
I am looking at a wooden body match set of T&G planes. They are in really good condition considering their age. Aside from making sure the sole is flat, I would just need to sharpen the irons and they would be good to use.
The groove plane iron is lacking the “center crease” down the back side – I think that is what it is called. I will attach pictures to show what I am talking about. My question is simple. Does this matter? Does the groove cut in the back of the iron do anything? I was told it helps keep the iron from moving around, but I assume if the wedge fits properly it wouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks!
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You must be logged in to view attached files.The groove you find down the backs of plough blades is a legacy of wooden plough planes that would have originally been supplied with a set of 6 or 8 blades of graduating widths from about 1/8” up to about 5/8 or so.
It is intended to engage in a metal spline in the block of the plane so that the thinner blades remain straight and cannot twist from side to side.
If this spline is absent on your groove plane (which I expect it is) then you don’t need it. The slot in the plane body, the iron should all be the same width.
Matched pairs of T&G planes need to be exactly that…. Matched and by the same maker. They will probably have the same user stamps as well.
The blades in your picture look to be OK from the backs, no pitting etc. so, when you are honing, it is essential to ensure that the tongue iron (Y shaped iron) is dead flat and dead straight across, otherwise you will have a gap on one side of the board or the other when pushing a T&G together. The groove iron needs to be slightly wider than the slot, so that the tongue is a slide-in fit. If the two irons fit one inside the other, the joint won’t fit.
Finally, you may need to do a little fettling to get the planes to work properly and always, always, work from one face side of the boards; any discrepancies associated with widths of boards will then be taken up on the rear, out of sight. In addition to the sole being flat, you need to make sure that the fences are also straight and that they align. It’s difficult to explain in words, but the distance from the inside edge of the tongue fence must equal exactly the distance of the fence of the groove plane to its left edge of the blade, going forward. If not, two joined boards will not be flat to each other.
Good luck.
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