I finally scored a Record 042 shoulder plane, which came in from a seller who had seen my website.Very pleased that my home-made website actually works and buoyed with childlike enthusiasm, I thought I’d post a few pics.
The Record 042 is specifically designed for cutting rebates, or ‘rabbets’. It’s also very useful for cleaning up tenons and for any other joints that need to be kept very square. This is due to the fact the tool’s square sides can be laid flat as you cut against perpendicular edges. It can of course, be used in the left or the right hand. The iron of the tool not only projects by some 10-thou through the mouth of the plane, but should also be set to project by around half that, from either side of the plane. With this set correctly, movement of the tool means you cut square on all three sides.
This particular model was manufactured post-1938, as the ‘Made in England’ casting would have previously read ‘British Made’ before 1938. The plane is 8″ long with a 3/4″ wide sole. It’s a classic design and modern shoulder planes from well-known tool makers show that the design has lasted. Lie Nielsen’s shoulder planes for one, are basically Record 042’s with mouth adjustment. The Record 072, 073 and 074 do have mouth adjustment. I’m going to spend some time adjusting and honing this blade to get the right projection. I think I may even have to get a new blade, we’ll see how it goes.