During Stanley’s golden years of hand plane production, the company managed to fill just about every conceivable niche known to exist, and perhaps invented a few new ones. Stanley’s hand plane offerings were diverse, ranging from planes designed to hog off thick shavings, to those that could fine tune a joint for a perfect custom fit. Many of the planes used to fine tune joints were often small, relatively delicate tools, that usually incorporated their own unique characteristics. As always, some worked better than others.
Stanley #79:
The plane depicted below is a side rabbet plane. Its sole function is primarily to widen dados, grooves and rabbet joints. With its thin sole, it can fit into the narrowest of dados, etc., and if set up properly, will remove the slightest shaving from the joint’s side wall. Personally, I’m famous for undercutting joints. They’re almost always a little bit too tight, too long, too thick; and I end up “creeping” up on the final fit by making little adjustments and fine tuning the parts. Rarely if ever do I cut a joint that mates perfectly with the first attempted fitting. This is exactly the sort of plane that I find to be extremely handy.
What made the #79 unique was its design to cut in both directions on the same side wall of a joint, hence, two irons are mounted on the same face and same edge of the plane itself. The tool can be pushed or pulled in either direction without having to move or reposition the work piece. It seems like a handy feature. That being said, if the non-cutting iron is set to make a cut, it is consequently being dragged across the wall of the joint, possibly “throwing off” the accuracy (angle) of the iron that is being engaged going in the opposite direction. Basically, the iron not in use needs to be retracted back beyond the body of the plane so it is not being dragged and potentially misguiding the iron that’s engaged in the cut. That kind of defeats the convenience of setting both irons on the plane so the user can go in either direction quickly. By repositioning the small “shoe” at the leading edge of each iron, the plane can be converted for bull nose work, or with the removal of the shoe, can cut into the corner of a stopped dado. That's a nice feature. Stanley also made individual side rabbet planes, the #98 and #99, that were designed to cut in one direction or the other. They were two separate planes, and probably a better idea in the long run. However, in Stanley’s never ending attempt to fill a niche (real or not), the #79 was born. Its production overlapped the #98’s and #99’s production run by sixteen years. Don’t get me wrong, side rabbet planes are very useful, but trying to create one that cuts in both directions, may not have ultimately saved the final user any time and/or effort. Still, other companies also tried too, most notably Sargent, with its #81. We’ll cover the Stanley #98 and #99, as well as the Sargent #81, in future posts.
The number #79 was produced from 1926 to 1969. It was traditionally nickel plated, however, during WWII, some were finished with black japanning. The japanned versions are somewhat rare. Early versions of the #79's main body, like the one depicted below, were cast with a semicircular cutout section. Later versions produced from approximately 1952 to 1969 were cast straight across the top and had a small hang hole in them. Stanley also added a stamped steel depth stop to the back of the plane about the same time that the #79’s semicircle cutout was eliminated. I occasionally see #79 side rabbet planes for sale at tool shows and online auctions. Although side rabbet planes are very useful, and almost necessary when making fine furniture or cabinetry, because of their limited function, they’re not tools that most basic DIYers ever needed. Consequently, they don’t show up at garage sales and/or flea markets too often. If you’re thinking of adding a side rabbet to your collection of tools, the #79 might be a good choice, provided you understand that its two iron feature is only of limited convenience. Still, from an economic point of view, it’s probably a little less expensive than trying to find a Stanley #98 and #99. As always, do your homework. The #79 has several little pieces that can get lost or damaged. Make sure you buy a complete plane. Interestingly, several of the small pieces found on the #79, were interchangeable with those on the Stanley #98 and #99. With the exception of the #79, #98 and #99 main castings, several of their respective parts to include the thumb screws, iron clamps, irons, shoes, and shoe screws are interchangeable.
Jim C.
