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At first glance, plow planes seem to be rather limited in
what they can do. Grooves—is that it? Strictly speaking, that
is it, but time spent using hand tools to do traditional joinery
will soon convince you how important grooves are. Plus, you
can stretch the definition of a groove, if you care to. So
how can you get the best out of your plow plane?
First,
make sure the cutters are sharp. Just like any other hand
tool, plow planes benefit from a sharp edge. They can be safely
treated like a chisel, apart from the bevel angle. To retain
some strength at the largely unsupported cutting end, the
general advice is to use a sturdier 35° angle.
Second,
set up the plane correctly. For instance, if the cutter isn't
flush with the outside edge of the skate, it will just stop cutting after the first shaving. The skate will act like
a depth stop. You should also ensure the fence is parallel
to the body of the plane to avoid binding.
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