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While bench planes begin at the right end of the board (for right-handers), plows and moulding planes begin at the left. You make a few short strokes at the end of the board to get the groove started. Then you lengthen each stroke until you are plowing the entire length of the board. You start the cut at the left end of the board (this is the method for right-handers) with a few short strokes and then make each stroke longer and longer until you are plowing the entire length. Why? The tool will wander less this way because the already-cut groove will help guide the tool. If you try to plow the entire edge in one mighty stroke, changes are that the grain direction of the board will push your fence away from the work and then you will be weaving instead of grooving.
The other key point to remember with plow planes is that each of your hands has a different job. The hand on the fence pushes the fence against the work – nothing else. The hand on the tote pushes the tool forward – nothing more. Be sure to allow this arm to swing completely free – this will keep you straight. Details on the Veritas As far as improvements go with the Veritas, the best place to begin is with the irons. The stock tool comes with a ¼” iron, which is the most-used cutter for making grooves in rails and stiles to hold a door panel and for grooving the parts of the drawer to hold a bottom panel. You can buy four more cutters (1/8", 3/16", 5/16" and 3/8") for an additional $59 or buy them individually. All the irons are made from hard-wearing A2 steel, and the unbeveled face of the irons are flattened on Vertias’s rotary lapping machines. This process makes polishing the unbeveled face a quick operation. I sharpened a complete set of cutters – from the wrapper to ready-to-plow – in about 30 minutes. All of the irons come ground with a 35° primary bevel – the traditional angle for this style of bevel-down tool. This steep and blunt angle gives you a more durable edge and keeps the cutter from vibrating – plow planes don’t have as much bedding as a bench plane. So when you sharpen the iron, don’t add too much of a micro-bevel. Anything more than 40° threatens to violate the clearance angle of the cutter, which will prevent the tool from cutting.
The depth stop on the Veritas isn’t completely flat – the edges are relieved a bit. This gives you a softer landing when the depth stop contacts the work. You’re less likely to mar your work with the leading or trailing edge of the depth stop. There are lots of other small improvements to discuss. The depth stop is different than a traditional metal plow. The edges are relieved to prevent the stop from scratching the work. Plus, the knob for the depth stop has a wave washer beneath it, which prevents the depth stop from dropping out of the tool when you loosen the knob. I did have one quibble with the depth stop. On the second plow plane I tried from Veritas, the stop would slip during use, no matter how tightly I cinched the knob. I’ve had this problem with other brands of plows, and Veritas officials said it can happen to their plow when the groove that the depth stop slides in is too finely milled. The fix is to rough up the post of the depth stop and its groove with some sandpaper. About a dozen strokes with #100-grit paper did the trick. The depth stop has yet to slip again.
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