How to Use a Rabbet Plane

(This post was originally published in December, 2010. Few changes have been made.)

There are many ways to make a rabbets: moving fillister, plow/chisel, shoulder plane, table saw, etc. Know that you will need to be comfortable with, at least, one of these methods to use hollows and rounds successfully. I often choose using only a rabbet plane for most of the moldings I make. 

A rabbet plane is an easy plane to set up. There are no depth stops and no fences, which is an enormous advantage. A rabbet plane is the single tool you will use for adding all rabbets and chamfers that we've previously seen.

An unfenced rabbet is ideal for what we'll be discussing. It's the difference between one tool and two.

How does one go about making such a rabbet?

The luxury of this demonstrated process is that when it comes to cutting the 2nd rabbet or 7th, there is nothing to adjust. You only need to mark the rabbet with your gauge.