GG,
Short: works great! for 90% of the rabbets I make (up to 1.5 in
depth or width) It's faster and easier than using a plane. Only
a few improvements needed.

pic at:

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/8907/tools/dovtprsaw.jpg

Long:
I finally got around to making the blades for the rabbet saw.
I used 7 TPI for the rip and 11 for the xcut. Making a rabbet
is fast and easy. Set the depth of the blade and the width of
the rabbet with the fence, the piece is flat on the bench. I
start with the whole fence referencing against the piece. The
first passes requires a light touch, finding the right position
for the left hand (holding the body of the saw) and the right
amount of downward pressure. Once the blade starts to kerf-in you
can really go at it! Reach the depth of that cut, turn the piece
on it's side, adjust for depth and width, and down it goes! It's
almost a surprise when the waste piece falls off on the last stroke.
The cuts are smooth and the shoulders square, maybe a little side
filing to eliminate completely the tooth marks.
Look at it this way: it's faster to remove material for two saw
cuts than to remove -all- the waste with a plane. I don't think
that for small, short, rabbets there is a big difference than with a
plane.
What I find really different is the ease of getting great results: no
sloping shoulders, no dips or curves. Once the saw starts to kerf-in
straight it remains straight with a lot less attention than with a
plane.

The only problem with this design is the height of the fence. The
blade has a cutting capacity of 1 1/2 deep but the fence is only 7/8
thick. When cutting on the edge of the stock (for the width of the
rabbet) I have to start with a setting of 1/4 deep, get a kerf than
lower the blade to the final depth. I'll probably replace the wear
strip by a 1 3/4 in. strip which will be sufficient for 99% of the
rabbets I'll need. I don't think the handle offset towards the blade
is needed. In fact, I should have offset it towards the other side to
provide clearance for the hand between the handle and a deep blade when
it's set shallow. The fence and the left hand provide a really positive
guide to negate the effects of the offset line of force.

I wonder why the rabbet saw fell out of use. Easier to
sharpen a plane iron than a saw?

If other Galoots experiment with rabbet saws, other designs or
improvements, please let me know.

Louis Michaud