custard
Established Member
I should say at the start that I'm not a tool collector, nor do I necessarily value old tools above modern. But when an old tool comes along that serves a genuinely useful purpose I'm happy to acknowledge it. And on that basis the now defunct Stanley 386 is a much used bit of kit in my workshop.
I make a lot of pieces with splayed legs and top-to-bottom leg tapers, it's a simple way of adding value and giving a modern twist to fairly basic items of furniture. These are the aprons and legs for a pair of Walnut side table with a 4 degree double splay. It does require however that the top and bottom edges of the aprons are "coopered" so that they'll be parallel with the floor.
The problem is that when I'm making pieces with angles I like to leave the machines set at that angle throughout the duration of the build. So even though I could bevel the apron edges with a rip cut on the saw table, by setting the planer fence to 94 degrees, or with the tilting spindle on a spindle moulder, I wouldn't want to effectively take these machines out of commision. So setting the fence on the Stanley 386 to the appropriate angle is a great solution, it delivers real accuracy and still allows me tackle other projects at the same time. Here it's attached to a plane with a 20 degree back bevel, so it can effectively plane in either direction without tear out.
Incidentally, the workshop where I trained made it a point of policy that if you were making a piece with critical angles you always made a master MDF template of the angle in both acute and obtuse variations (as shown in this photo), so you could consistently and repeatedly re-set your adjustable bevel gauge throughout the job. I still do that on big jobs, but for small jobs I use the little Veritas bevel setter shown here, where you can lock an arm down to the chosen angle and use that as the "master" angle. I wouldn't trust it over the course of a 500 hour job, but for a day or two of referencing it's reliable enough!
I once tried a colleague's modern Veritas adjustable fence, but I didn't find it quite as sturdy as the Stanley 386. Maybe just my impression but in many years of regular use I've never known the Stanley 386 to slip on the plane or shift out of adjustment. Plus the 386 will attach to pretty much any Bedrock or Bailey pattern plane and can be removed and re-attached while still preserving an angle with precision.
A final little tip when "coopering" an edge. Strike a few pencil lines across the edge (where the red arrow points to), and when they disappear you know you're done and should stop planing, plus you can adjust your planing strokes so they all disappear together on one final stroke, which ensures you're not introducing any wind error to the workpiece.
All in all the 386 is a cracking little tool and if you find one in decent condition at a fair price you should grab it!
I make a lot of pieces with splayed legs and top-to-bottom leg tapers, it's a simple way of adding value and giving a modern twist to fairly basic items of furniture. These are the aprons and legs for a pair of Walnut side table with a 4 degree double splay. It does require however that the top and bottom edges of the aprons are "coopered" so that they'll be parallel with the floor.
The problem is that when I'm making pieces with angles I like to leave the machines set at that angle throughout the duration of the build. So even though I could bevel the apron edges with a rip cut on the saw table, by setting the planer fence to 94 degrees, or with the tilting spindle on a spindle moulder, I wouldn't want to effectively take these machines out of commision. So setting the fence on the Stanley 386 to the appropriate angle is a great solution, it delivers real accuracy and still allows me tackle other projects at the same time. Here it's attached to a plane with a 20 degree back bevel, so it can effectively plane in either direction without tear out.
Incidentally, the workshop where I trained made it a point of policy that if you were making a piece with critical angles you always made a master MDF template of the angle in both acute and obtuse variations (as shown in this photo), so you could consistently and repeatedly re-set your adjustable bevel gauge throughout the job. I still do that on big jobs, but for small jobs I use the little Veritas bevel setter shown here, where you can lock an arm down to the chosen angle and use that as the "master" angle. I wouldn't trust it over the course of a 500 hour job, but for a day or two of referencing it's reliable enough!
I once tried a colleague's modern Veritas adjustable fence, but I didn't find it quite as sturdy as the Stanley 386. Maybe just my impression but in many years of regular use I've never known the Stanley 386 to slip on the plane or shift out of adjustment. Plus the 386 will attach to pretty much any Bedrock or Bailey pattern plane and can be removed and re-attached while still preserving an angle with precision.
A final little tip when "coopering" an edge. Strike a few pencil lines across the edge (where the red arrow points to), and when they disappear you know you're done and should stop planing, plus you can adjust your planing strokes so they all disappear together on one final stroke, which ensures you're not introducing any wind error to the workpiece.
All in all the 386 is a cracking little tool and if you find one in decent condition at a fair price you should grab it!
