Board moving while planing - tips?

[mtr1]

I thought I had more pic's of simple jigs for planing small pieces, just went through my photobucket account and can't find the one I was looking for. I will attempt to describe...

Flat board about 20" x 4" x 1" with a wedged shaped slot cut about 1/2" down into the flat face, wedge cut so that you have about 1" overhang either side. Hammer in to the height you require, job done. Took me longer to type that, than it should take to make.

Or I do have a pic of another simple jig for planing...




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[Benchwayze]

For planing thin, short pieces, I use double-sided carpet tape, on a chunk of flattened timber, that I can put in the vice, or against the bench stop. The only disadvantages are residue (sometimes) and having yet another consumable to buy.

 

[GLFaria]

Why not just use very low (as low as necessary) bench-dogs? I can think of, for example, a thin square of wood, or PVC, or even metal, screwed on top of a wood dowel. One could have pieces of different thicknesses so they could be used according to the work (sorry if this sounds like an elementary question, I am quite elementary myself when it comes to woodworking)

 

[David C]

For very thin stuff, I fix the starting end to MDF or flat plank, with one or two drops of superglue gel.

The work is now in tension when being planed, and I have gone down to 1 mm and could do less.

David Charlesworth

 

[Phil Pascoe]

1mm or less! Must be a sod when you try to plane the superglue off the other side!

 

[David C]

No, the end centimetre gets sacrificed. #;-)#

David

 

[Jacob]

Why not just use very low (as low as necessary) bench-dogs? I can think of, for example, a thin square of wood, or PVC, or even metal, screwed on top of a wood dowel. One could have pieces of different thicknesses so they could be used according to the work (sorry if this sounds like an elementary question, I am quite elementary myself when it comes to woodworking)

Well yes that is how you do it. If you haven't got a suitable stop/dog you tack on a bit of scrap to suit. Tack to a scrap board if you want to keep it as a jig. Or clamp on a bit of scrap - usually a wide bit of board (ply?) so that the clamp isn't in the way of plane.
Or Dave's glue suggestion if it's very thin.

 

[Paul Chapman]

For very thin stuff, I fix the starting end to MDF or flat plank, with one or two drops of superglue gel.

The work is now in tension when being planed, and I have gone down to 1 mm and could do less.

Great idea - must try that

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Trafalgar]

Why not just use very low (as low as necessary) bench-dogs? I can think of, for example, a thin square of wood, or PVC, or even metal, screwed on top of a wood dowel. One could have pieces of different thicknesses so they could be used according to the work (sorry if this sounds like an elementary question, I am quite elementary myself when it comes to woodworking)

It's just so much easier to tape, tack, or glue a thin workpiece to a planing board (which itself can be tacked down to the benchtop in the most convenient location for the planned operation, (i.e. exactly where you want it, not as dictated by the dog and holdfast holes you may have drilled years before). One sacrifices less than one inch of material from one end of the workpiece in this scenario. The problem with holdfasts is that they don't, well, always hold fast. The holdfast itself has to be expertly made and they all seem very sensitive and have a tight range of benchtop thicknesses within which they will work reliably - until a few of the holes become a little elongated. Over the years, some positions become unusable and these are obviously usually your favorites. And, that's a whole lot of metal sticking up above the bench not always convenient to work around.

Plan as you might with dog holes and holdfast holes, there is nothing as flexible as an old coffee can full of small brads of various sizes along with a 12 oz. hammer. If you make your top out of softwood that is on the resinous end of the spectrum then the brad "holes" are somewhat self-healing. Remember that nails and brads just push material to the side (compress the wood), it is not removed altogether as in drilling.

With planing boards, stops, and battens one really needs to avoid overly elaborate 'jigs.' For Pete's sake don't make them out of a hard species difficult to drive a brad or finish nail through. Softwood is your friend here, yours and your tool's friend. You also lose a pretty fair amount of flexibility if your planing board, stops, and battens have to be held in existing dog and holdfast holes unless you drill out an inordinately large number of 3/4" holes and such.