§ 70. To rebate a Piece of Stuff.
First, when the rebate is to be made on the arris next to you, the stuff must be first tried-up on two sides; if the rebate is not very large, set the guide of the fence of the moving fillister to be within the distance of the horizontal breadth of the intended re­bate; and screw the slop, so that the guide may be something less than the vertical depth of the rebate from the sole of the plane; set the iron so as to be sufficiently rank, and to project equally below the sole of the plane; make the left hand point of the cutting edge flush with the left hand side of the plane: the tooth should be a small matter without the right hand side of the plane. Proceed now to gauge the horizontal and critical dimensions of the rebate: begin your work at the fore end of the stuff; the plane being placed before you, lay your right hand partly on the top hind end of the plane, your fore fingers upon the left side, and your thumb upon the right, the middle part of the palm of the hand resting upon the round of the plane between the top and the end; lay the thumb of your left hand over the top of the fore end of the plane, bending the thumb downwards upon the right hand side of the plane, while the upper division of the fore-finger, and the one next to it goes obliquely on the left side of the plane, and then bends with the same obliquity to comply with the fore end of the plane; the two remaining fingers are turned inwards: push the plane forward without moving your feet, and a shaving will be discharged equal to the breadth of the rebate; draw the plane towards you again to the  place you pushed it from, and repeat the operation. Proceed in this manner until you have gone very near the depth of the rebate; move a step backward, and proceed as before; go on by several successive steps, operating at each one as at first, until you get to the end; then you may take a shaving or two the whole length, or take down any protuberant parts.

In holding the fillister, care must be taken to keep the sides vertical, and consequently the sole level: then clean out the bottom and side of the rebate with the skew-faced rebate plane, that is, plane the bottom and side smooth, until you come close to the gauge lines: for this purpose the iron must be set very fine, and equally prominent throughout the breadth of the sole.

If your rebate exceeds in breadth the distance which the guide of the fence can be set from the right side of the plane, you may make a narrow rebate on the side next to you, and set the plow to the full breadth, and the stop of the plow to the depth: make a groove next to the gauge line: then with-the firmer chisel, cut off the wood between the groove and the rebate, level with the bot­tom; or should the rebate be very wide, you may make several intermediate grooves, leaving the wood between every two adjacent grooves of  less breadth than the firmer chisel, so as to be easily cut out; having the rebate roughed out, you may make the bottom a little smoother with the paring chisel; then with a com­mon rebate plane, about an inch broad in the sole, plane the side of the bottom next to the vertical side, and with the jack plane take off the irregularities of the wood left by the chisel: smooth the farther side of the bottom of the rebate with the skew rebate plane, as also the vertical side: with the trying plane smooth the remaining part next to you until the rebate is at its full depth. If anything remain in the internal angle, it may be cut away with a fine set paring chisel; but this will hardly be necessary when the tools are in good order.

When the breadth and depth of the rebate is not greater than the depth which the plow can be set to work, the most expeditious method of making a rebate, is by grooving it within the gauge lines on each side of the arris, and so taking the piece out without the use of the chisel: then proceed to work the bottom and side of the groove as before. By these means you have the several methods of rebating, when the rebate is made on the left edge of the stuff: but if the rebate is formed from the right hand arris, it must be planed on two sides, or on one side, and an edge as before; place the stuff so that the arris of the two planed sides may be next to you. Set the sash fillister to the whole breadth of the stuff that is to be left standing, and the stop to the depth, then you may proceed to rebate as before.

§ 80. To rebate across the Grain.
Nail a straight slip across the piece to be rebated, so that the straight edge may fall upon the line which the vertical side of the rebate makes upon the top of the stuff, keeping the breadth of the slip entirely to one side of the rebate; then having set the stop of the dado grooving plane to the depth of the rebate, holding the plane vertically, run a groove across the wood, repeat the same operation in one or more places in the breadth of the rebate, leaving each interstice or standing-up part something less than the breadth of the firmer chisel: then with that chisel cut away these parts between every two grooves, but be careful in doing this that you do not tear the wood up; pare the bottom pretty smooth, or after having cut the rough away with the chisel, take a rebating plane with the iron set rather rank, and work the prominent parts down to the aforesaid grooves nearly. Lastly, with a-fine set skewed rebating plane, smooth the bottom next to the vertical side of the rebate ; the other part of the bottom may be taken completely down with a fine set smoothing plane: in this manner you may make a tenon of any breadth.

From Peter Nicholson’s “Mechanic’s Companion.”

I always hear the word “stuff” in George Carlin’s voice.