May 092007
A while back, one of our customers e-mailed me about upgrading his Anant #77 Rabbet Plane. He wanted to know if there was a better quality plane blade that would fit, even suggesting that the blade for the Clifton 3-in-1 plane might work. Well, I knew that neither Lie-Nielsen nor Hock offered blades to fit the 77. I went to try out the rabbet plane blades that we stock. Sure enough, the Clifton 3-in-1 plane blade fits the Anant #77 rabbet plane. Unfortunately, it is thicker that the standard Anant blade. As a result, you have to modify your plane to make it work.
Take a file to the tip of the blade retention screw (see diagram) and remove enough of it so that you can fit the thicker blade in the plane. Viola! Better edge retention, less chatter in just a few minutes.
Blair