I thought I'd consult the carpentry side of the world:

  George Ellis, Modern Practical Joinery.  3d ed.  London:  Batsford,
1908.

Mr. Ellis has this to say about rebates (rabbets to the Non-Jeffs, but Mr.
Ellis was Vice President of the British Institute of Certified Carpenters,
among other distinctions):

Rebating or Rabbiting [yes, spelled as in Watership Down].  Rebates are
produced by first marking their dimensions with a marking gauge, then
either fixing a temporary fence to one of the lines to act as a guide for
the rebate plane, as shown below or by ploughing a groove to one of the
lines, and chipping away the remaining wood with a firmer chisel, and
finishing off to a regular surface with the rebate plane.  Wide rebates
such as the one shown in the door jamb, f. 1 below [omitted from this fine
ASCII text], may take two or more grooves to break up the width of the
core, and these are finished off with the badger plane or panel ditto
[badger plane:  wooden plane with skew iron flush with one side, "useful
for finishing rebates, but too cumbersome to cut them," perhaps Jeff would
know of these, but I sure didn't].  Narrow and special rebates, such as
those on the backs of sashes, are worked with the Side Fillister and the
Sash Fillister.

So Ellis sort of corroborates Denning:  Ellis is a carpenter, and he
doesn't say "oh, by the way, the fillister plane is inconvenient for
hardwoods."  So he is perhaps one of those ignorant joiner savages of
Denning's text.  But on the other hand, he suggests that the fillister
plane is used for "narrow and special rebates," and that jointers cut
other rebates using the same tools as those sophisticated cabinetmakers.

Just to confuse us further, he includes what looks awfully like a Stanley
#78 as "a combined fillister and rebate plane of American make.  This has
an adjustable fence and two beds for the cutting iron, which may be used
either on the front when rebating, or on the rear when fillistering."

He also has drawings of sash and side fillister woodies where the bedding
angle is definitely higher than common pitch.  His other drawing seem
pretty accurate (e.g., all the Stanleys look like 45 degree beds), so I'm
willing to believe that the drawings represent reality.

It's clear from Ellis' text elsewhere that he fully expects to be working
in hardwoods much of the time (granted, most joinery is going to be done
in softer hardwoods, compared to the Really Hard Hardwoods beloved of
masochistic galoot cabinetmakers).  He does talk about the suitability and
popularity of various hardwoods, and his list of hardwoods popular for
furniture and those useful for joinery are mostly identical.  So maybe the
distinction is simply that joiners are going to stick a bazillion feet of
sash at one time, and cabinetmakers aren't (the section on rebates and the
use of fillister planes thereon is right before the section on sticking,
come to that).

There you are.  More semi-confusing testimony from the past (and from
beautiful scenic turn of the century London, at that).

But now when you whip out your Stanley #78 (combined rebate and
fillistering plane of American make, Jeff), you can sing the happy
rabbeting song when working in what Patrick's B&G refers to as the
bullnose position, and the happy fillistering song when the iron is in the
back seat.  "A fillistering, a fillistering, a fillistering we shall
go..."

Go figure.

Ellis also has beautiful pictures of Powered (but mostly not tailed--see
Patrick's B&G on belting planes for details) Apprentices.  And he's mighty
afeared of those powered planers, whose blades whirl so fast as to be
invisible (smart man, that).  He does have one tailed apprentice, a
"Portable [hahahaha... you should see this monster] Electric-Motor Surface
Planer."  So there you go.  Actual Old Tool Tailed Apprentice.

Portable:  adj.  Not actually bolted to the floor.  Equipped with Big
Steel Wheels which may Actually Revolve.  You and twelve of your strongest
friends could move it.  You, twelve of your strongest friends, and a chain
hoist could lift it.  Start collecting these today, and out-weigh those
post-drill collecting upstarts (your house won't just tip over, it will do
two back-flips and sink permanently out of sight when you get your second
"portable" electric planer).

  --Martin