Getting Started with the Veritas Box Maker's Plow Plane

Getting Started with the Box Maker's Plow Plane

The Veritas Box-Maker’s Plow Plane is just the right size for cutting grooves to fit drawer and box bottoms in small-scale work. It can also cut rabbets and small decorative beads.

A right-hand box-maker’s plow plane being used to cut beading on the edge of a piece of wooden stock.

What should I do first?

Disassemble the plane by removing the fence and guide rods. Clean all machined surfaces with a rag dampened in solvent/degreaser. The rust preventative you’ve removed should be replaced with a silicone-free surface treatment such as Boeshield T-9 or Veritas Tool Wax. Put some on the guide rods as well to ensure the components slide smoothly.

Image left: Cleaning the skate of a Veritas box-maker’s plow plane by using a cloth to apply degreaser. Image right: Applying a light coating of tool wax to the fence guide rods of a Veritas box-maker

How do I sharpen the blades?

Begin by polishing the back, working your way up to your finest stone. Often, this is enough to get going, especially in softwoods. For straight blades, we recommend a honing guide because of the consistency it provides, and it makes working such short blades much easier. Beading blades are trickier; use a progression of slip stones. Keep a light touch to avoid altering the blade’s shape.

Image left: Using a water stone to polish the back of a Veritas box-maker’s plow plane blade. Image middle: Sharpening a Veritas plow plane blade with a water stone and a Veritas side-clamping honing

To install a blade, back off on the blade guide knob and install the blade bevel down on the bed. Because this plane lacks a depth adjustment, you can use a thin shim (such as a playing card or three sticky notes) under the toe of the skate to help set the blade projection. Gently tighten the blade guide knob, which ensures the blade side is registered against the machined side of the bed. Tighten the lever cap screw. Finger-tight is sufficient.

Setting blade projection on a box-maker’s plow plane, using a playing card as a shim under the skate.

How do I set the fence?

Loosen the fence locking screws with the 1/8" hex key and slide the fence until the distance from the face of the sub-fence to the edge of the blade is the required dimension. For rabbetting, the blade is recessed within the sub-fence pocket. Retighten the locking screws.

Setting the fence of a Veritas box-maker’s plow plane.

How do I set the depth stop?

For plowing grooves or rabbeting, you’ll need to set the depth stop to a specific measurement. You can use a ruler, but it’s much easier if you have something with a stop that registers on the skate, such as a combination square.

Registering a combination square against the skate of a box-maker’s plow plane to set the depth stop.

Now it’s time to put your plane to work. In our next tutorial, we’ll cover the body mechanics and techniques for making clean, accurate cuts.

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