All the other bench-planes are adjusted in the same manner, and indeed do not differ, except in dimensions, as we shall explain, from the jack-plane. Of late years a great improve ment has been introduced in the irons of planes, to cause them to cut smooth these are called double-ironed ; they were at first only used in the finest shooting planes, but the advantages have been found so great, particularly in planing bad wood, that they have become general for all sorts of' planes. The double iron consists of a second iron, with a reversed basil, screwed against the front side of the iron, so that its edge lies against the iron at a very small distance from, amid parallel te, the cutting-edge ; and applying closely to the steel side of the iron; it forms an inclined plane, which turns the shaving over immediately after it is separated or cut by the edge, and thus it prevents the iron from splitting the shaving deeper down than it will afterwards cut, and therefore leaving a rough or torn surface. This second iron is called the cover of the iron ; and the basil of its edge, instead of being ground flat, as that of the iron, is rounding; the screw, which binds the cover upon the iron, passes through a slit in the cover, and thus admits of its edge being adjusted at any required distance from the cutting.edges of the iron, and this distance depends altogether on the nature of the wood the plane is to be worked upon. if the stuff is clean-grained, the edge of the cover may be set at a con siderable distance, because the difficulty of pushing the plane forwards becomes greater, as the edge of the cover is nearer the edge of the iron, and the contrary when more remote : this is occasioned by the edge of the cover turning the shaving over, immediately upon its being cut up. The trying-plane is usually twenty-two inches long, three inches and three-quarters broad on the face, and three inches and one-eighth in height ; it does not differ from the jack-plane, except in having a double handle, adapted for greater force; in use, it succeeds the operation of the jack-plane, to straighten the wood, and remove the ridges left by the former; it is set with less iron, and cuts a finer shaving : the mouth is also intioh narrower. When it is used upon a long piece of work, the workman takes every shaving the whole length, by stepping forwards, instead of stopping at arm's length, as with the jack-plane. The shaving of this plane, though finer, is so much broader than that of the jack, that it requires as much force to push it forwards.
The long plane is set very flue, for finishing work which is to be very straight ; it is twenty-six inches long, three and a halt broad, and three inches and one-eighth in height.
The shooting plane, or jointer, is the longest, and most correct plane used; it is employed after all the others, chiefly in shooting the straight-edges of boards which are to be jointed together; it is generally made two feet and a half long, three inches and three quarters broad, and three and it half high ; it is used like the others, but with great care to move it steadily from one end of the work to the other, without pressing it down, as that might spring the plane, or the work, and cause the iron to cut when the work was something hollow, whereas the object is to make a perfectly straight edge. The face of this plane must be kept quite true, and therefore it is a great object to make it of a fine piece of clean-grained, hard beech, well seasoned, that it may not warp, or vary, by the weather.
The smoothing plane is very short, without any handle, Its sides are curved, so that it very much resembles a coffin ; it is seven inches and a halt' long, three broad at the mouth, and two inches and three quarters in height; it is used for finishing work when put together, and to give the greatest degree of smoothness to the wood, for which pur pose it is set with as fine an edge as possible.
_Rebating planes are used for cutting out rebates : these are a kind of semi-grooves upon the edge of a board, or other piece of wood. formed by cutting down or reducing a small part of the breadth of the board to half, more or less, of the general thickness: by this menus, if a rebate be cut on the upper side of one board. and the lower side of another, the two may be made to overlap each other, a ithout making them any thicker at the joint. 1Zebates are also used for ornamenting Inouldings, and many other purpo:es in joiners' work. The planes for cutting them arc of different kinds, some having the cutting edge at the side of the iron and of the stock, others at the bottom edge of the iron the thee of the stock, and others cutting in both these directions ; the former, being used to smooth the side of the rebate, are therefore called side-rebating planes ; whilst the others are used for smoothing the bottom. There is also a third sort, called jillisters, used for sinkieg, or cutting away the edge of a piece of wood to form the rebate, leaving it for the others to smooth the surfaces when cut. The rebate planes are
about nine inches and a half long, and of various widths upon the face, from halt' an inch to an inch and three quarters, in all cases they have the mouth and the edge of the iron corning out at one edge of the face, and the side of the iron also exposed at one of the upright sides of the stock, whether it is formed with a cutting-edge there or not ; this exposed side is either on the right or left, and they are named accor dingly. In all cases, they throw the shaving out on the side, instead of the top of the stock. The cutting-edges and mouths are generally situated obliquely across the face, instead of being at right angles to the length of the plane, as in others.
The moving fillister is a rebating plane, which has a ruler of wood, called the fenre, fixed upon its face by screws, in the direction of its length, and exactly parallel to the edge of the face ; it therefore covers part of the length of the cutting-edge, and can be fixed at any required distance from the edge, to leave more or less of the cutting-edge exposed, and this quantity will be the breadth of the rebate it will cut ; because when it is used, the edge of the fence is applied against the edge of the piece to be rebated, and thus gauges the breadth its iron shall cut away. The cutting-edge of this plane is not situated at right angles to the length of the stock, but has an obliquity of about flirty-five degrees, the exposed side of the iron being more forwards than the other. By this obliquity, when the plane is worked it has a tendency or drift to run farther into the breadth of the wood, but as the fence, sliding against the edge, prevents this, the drift always keeps the fence in contact with the edge, without the attention of the workmen ; it also causes the iron to cut the bottom of the rebate smoother, particularly in a transverse direction to the fibre:, or where the stuff cr is cro:s-rained, than could otherwise be done, when the steel face of the iron is perpen dicular to the vertical sides of the plane. The principal use is, however, to contribute with the form of the cavity to throw time shaving into a cylindrical form, and thereby make it issue from one side of the plane. The iron is what is called shouldered, that is, the lower part, or shoulder, where the edge is, has double the Width Of the upper part, which is received into the mortise, and jambed fast by the wedge. It is the edge of this wide part only which is exposed at the side of the stock. Besides this principal iron, there is another small iron, called the tooth, which precedes the other, to scratch or cut a deep crack at the width of the rebate, thus making the shavings, which the iron cuts up from time bottom, separate sideways from the rest of the wood. This tooth is inserted in a vertical mortise through the stock, between the fore end of the stock and the iron. The lower end of this little iron is ground with a basil on the inside, so as to bring the bottom of the narrow side of the iron to a very convex edge ; it is !listened by a wedge passing down before it in the mortise in the stock. The use of this tooth is principally for cutting the wood transversely When wrought across the fibres, and, by this means, it not only cuts the vertical side of the rebate quite smooth, but prevents the iron from rag ging or tearing the stuff. The iron between the fence and the edge of the thee of the place, must project the whole breadth of the uncunvered part of the thce, otherwise the wood of the plane will bear it up, and prevent the plane sinking as it cuts away the rebate, and the edge of the tooth, or little iron, should stand ont a little thrther on the side of the plane than the iron. The depth of the rebate, which this plane will cut, is regulated by a stop fixed on the out. side of the plane, at the intended height, above the level of the Eice : then, when the plane has penetrated or sunk the intended depth of t he rebate, the stop conies to bear upon the solid of the wood beyond the rebate, and bears it off from cutting any longer. The stop is a piece of brass, which moves in a vertical groove made in the side of the stock, between the iron and the fore end of the plane ; in this it is moved up and down by a screw, which is inserted in a rerticaI perfora tion from the top of the plane to the groove, and passing through a part projecting from the stop into the groove : the upper part of the screw is fiwined to a thumb-nut, to turn it round by, and it is so confined by proper collars, that it can neither move up nor down ; but being turned, the inclination of the threads w ill rise or titII according to the direction in which the thumb-screw is turned, and cause the stop to move up and down in the groove on the side of the plane, thus regulating it at pleasure to the depth to which the rebate is required to be sunk.