The 043 Plough Plane is another of Record’s original and excellent designs. Many folk deem it the ‘best ever’ hand tool for grooving drawer bottoms. Grooving solid timber up to about a ¼ inch width is it’s sole aim in life. If you need something wider, or further from the edge, then you need to move up the scale to a 44 or 50. The 43, meanwhile, goes on and on working one handed, doing the job it was designed for.

This is a direct descendant of the 040, which is as identical as it can be with only one fence rod. I have noted several stages of development. The body casting and fittings remain the same, though the plating may have varied. Early models have thumbscrew type screws, which are easier to use, though doubtless more expensive to produce. Next we have coarse knurled screws. These of course can be made at a single setting on a lathe. The latest versions have moved to a finer knurled screw (less pressure = less wear on the lathe, and quicker to make)

All work equally well, and they are so simple that there is nothing to beware of other than the usual loss of plating, wear/damage to adjustment screws.