Work Holding, planing stops etc

[DTR]

Evening all,

I'm going to embarrass myself with this thread. Most planing I do against a single stop, or at best pinched between two dogs, which is fine for most jobs. I've tried Richard Maguire's batten + holdfast but for some reason I can't get that to work. I've also experimented with a copy of the Veritas Wonder Dog that I knocked together from offcuts (for legal reasons it will henceforth be referred to as a the Special Fido) but I found that a bit of a faff.

However I have a problem rebating or ploughing narrow and thin stock. Due to the sideways force needed to keep the fence up to the stock, planing against a single stop isn't adequate. The work cannot be held in a vice because the vice jaws will get in the way of the plane's fence. Likewise it can't be pinched between dogs because the plane's fence will hit the bench top. I must be missing something obvious because it's a common enough job :? How do you guys and gals do it?

 

[rwyoung]

Sticking board.

 

[DTR]

I was wondering that... do you have different width boards for different width stuff?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

You can 'wangle' a sticking-board equivalent by clamping a board to the bench top parallel with the front edge of the bench, so that the workpiece when butted against it just overhangs the front edge by enough to ensure the plane's fence bears true against it. The usual planing stop can be used to stop the workpiece moving end-wise, or if the face vice gets in the way of the plane, a screw driven into the bench surface and left proud by about half the workpiece thickness will do (or any other dodge that comes to mind).

 

[rwyoung]

I was wondering that... do you have different width boards for different width stuff?

Yes and no.

Uber simple versions with fixed fence, yes make a new board for different tasks or make spacers and set the fence further in.

No, make the fence depth adjustable with slots and screws and whatnot.

 

[DuncanA]

I've found a matched pair of bench hooks can come in handy for this sort of stuff (possibly with some packing in any space between the hooks to prevent any flexing when planing longer stuff). It's best if you're able to line them up with the ordinary bench stop. For thin stock you might also need some extra scrap wood for packing to raise up your wood up and allow clearance for any fences etc.

Or, depending on how you feel about your bench top, you can just screw or nail on a temporary batten to plane against.

 

[Jacob]

I....
Or, depending on how you feel about your bench top, you can just screw or nail on a temporary batten to plane against.

Or ditto to a bit of scrap mdf board clamped to the bench top.
And you should be able to screw/pin to a bench top if necessary. Mines full of holes but it takes many years before this becomes a problem.

 

[Benchwayze]

DIR.

I drilled three 3/4 holes across my old bench-top. A strip of timber about 6mm thick, with 3//4"dowels to match the holes worked fine.
I've tried the vice-held planing stop too in the past, but the forces are too great, unless you have a thick stop, which isn't 100% useful.
For my next bench I am going to epoxy some all thread into the edge of the bench, and use a notched plywood board that slips over the threads. With Bristol levers to hold it at varying heights, I'll have an adjustable stop that runs the full width of the bench.

I have even used double-stick carpet tape, on the principle that if it will hold for routing, it will do so for planing. I can't do that now, as my bench-top is too battle-scarred!

Been thinking! For the occasional job, how about a 24" square of MDF, with a 3x2 batten along one edge. Stick the batten in vice, and then you have a sacrificial surface you can nail into. If this raises the job too much, just stand on another piece of 25mm MDF?

For the rebating...
To stop the plane-fence fouling, could you run a rebate into a piece of 3 x 2 and hot-melt glue the strip you are working on into that rebate? Stick the 3 x 2 in the vice.



HTH

 

[DTR]

Great stuff, thanks guys

 

[Trafalgar]

Evening all,

I'm going to embarrass myself with this thread. Most planing I do against a single stop, or at best pinched between two dogs, which is fine for most jobs. I've tried Richard Maguire's batten + holdfast but for some reason I can't get that to work. I've also experimented with a copy of the Veritas Wonder Dog that I knocked together from offcuts (for legal reasons it will henceforth be referred to as a the Special Fido) but I found that a bit of a faff.

However I have a problem rebating or ploughing narrow and thin stock. Due to the sideways force needed to keep the fence up to the stock, planing against a single stop isn't adequate. The work cannot be held in a vice because the vice jaws will get in the way of the plane's fence. Likewise it can't be pinched between dogs because the plane's fence will hit the bench top. I must be missing something obvious because it's a common enough job :? How do you guys and gals do it?

Nail a thin hardwood batten to the top of the bench as a side stop. Infinitely positionable. Keep a handful of thin battens around the shop for just this purpose. Hit them in a spot or two with spray paint so you won't throw them out by mistake.

 

[RKrush]

You could use a sash clamp on the board lengthways, and then hold the sash clamp in the bench vice.

This what I do all the time as my current bench has no dog holes.