What is a grooving or plough plane?

13th August 2021


	What is a grooving, or plough, plane?


	Shop for Woodworking Hand Planes


			What it’s used for
			Narrow grooves A grooving plane, or plough plane, is used to cut grooves in wood. Grooving planes are designed to take very narrow irons, some as little as 3mm (1/8″) across. They are traditionally used for making grooves to fit drawer and box bottoms and cabinet backs, and in frame and panel construction.

			Dados They are also used to cut dados (housings). A dado is a channel across the grain, whereas a groove is a channel along the grain. A good example of a housing joint is where a dado is cut in the upright side of a shelf unit to accommodate the end of the shelf.

			Tongue and groove Before power machines took over, special grooving planes were used for cutting tongues and grooves for joining boards together.

			Tongue and groove is a method of joining two planks of wood together along their edges. A groove is cut along the centre of one edge, and a tongue is made on the mating edge. Sometimes the same plane can be set up for cutting either tongues or grooves; other tongue and groove planes come in pairs – one for making the tongues, the other for the grooves.

			Characteristics
			One plane cuts several widths Many grooving planes – both metal and wooden – can accommodate irons of different widths, so the same tool can be used to cut grooves for a variety of applications, from drawer-bottom fitting to joints in shelf units and furniture.

			Guide rails They have adjustable guide rails, or fences, which slide along the edge of the wood being grooved, so that the cut is kept straight at a set distance from the edge.

			Number
			Versions of the grooving plane made by Stanley were allocated Stanley model numbers, some of which are still used today by Stanley and other plane manufacturers. There are precious few new plough planes available today, but availability of second-hand ones on auction websites is excellent, including the No. 43.

			The No. 48 is for tonguing and grooving.