Hello,
my next tool purchase will be either a slick or a rabbet plane... which one would you suggest... I know I like the rabbet plane for tenon paring but almost never used the slick in my classes...
thanks for your advice
Alexis
Depends on your needs and style. Knew one guy who used his slick all the time for very quickly removing material. He seldom used his plane. Another guy I knew used his plane all the time, but never used a slick. The first guy was a "let's get it done" type person, the second guy was slower and more careful.
I'd vote for the plane myself.
A plane will most likely cost less, but it has it's limitations. Such as you can't use it in a mortise.
A slick will cost more, but you can use it in more situations.
As mentioned above, some people use a slick for just about everything that they can.
Others don't.
I didn't use a slick for many years, but since getting one I have found it very useful and use it quite a bit.
Jim Rogers
As mentioned by Jim, the slick is very useful in a mortise where a plane can't go. I think I use my my slick though on only about 1/3 of the mortices that I've made. My 1.5 or two inch chisel is just about as good and is in hand. Plus the way I sharpen my chisels better fits my smaller ones. Guess I need to upgrade that part of the business because a sharp tool is key to this work.
I have a fairly cheap Stanley 10.5 rabbet. I use it a lot on tenons, almost all of them. I think its easier to use when the wood has dry out than a slick. Plus it gets into the corners.
I vote for the rabbet first.
Cost can go either way. Lie Nielson made a very expensive rabbet, I think its about the size of a # 10 Stanley and over $300. Barr makes a slick, but I don't know what they cost now. Over two hundred I would guess. You can see if there is a web site for them.
I've used both, the plane is great for flat, the slick is great for slightly hollowed.
The one plane to have is definitely the Lie-Nielsen No. 10-1/4 Bench Rabbet.
Otherwise a pair of old wooden rabbits with handles offset opposite directions will help preserve your knuckles.
I fall into the slick and "get it done" category. That doesn't mean I don't care, though. Either way it need to be sharp.
I recently had the chance to use a Barr slick. I liked how sharp it was, but it lacked the detailed curves needed to execute a clean cut. I would work the bottom of the blade so it was not as flat and put a radius on the front cutting edge. It is the knuckle thing that pushes me away from the hand plane side of the work. If I have a long tenon I use a hand plane. I must admit, I also don't have a rabbet plane therefore it is hard to give a unbiased opinion.
Tim
That's a tough call. You will eventually end up with both ;D. I have the fore mentioned Lie-Nielsen Rabbet plane and it is one sweet tool! I also would not be with out my Slicks either, each has its place. You can quickly and accurately flatten a tenon face with the Slick needing only a few strokes of the Plane to split the line, clean up the corner and chamfer the end. Hmmm to answer the question I would say Slick first (an old one).
kfhines