A simple, shop-made hand tool consisting of a wooden block with a single chisel blade wedged through it at an angle. The blade protrudes slightly below the sole of the block. Woodworkers use it to scrape and level the bottoms of trenches, dadoes, and hinge mortises to a consistent depth, acting as the predecessor to the manufactured router plane.
Heard on the job
Grab the old woman's tooth and clean up the bottom of that dado so the shelf sits flush.
Insider tip
You can easily make one from a scrap block of hardwood and a spare chisel, using a wooden wedge to lock the blade at the desired depth.
Also heard as
- router plane
- hag's tooth