Drilling my #7 jointer for a fence

[jim_hanna]

I've got fed up trying to hold a jointer fence onto my no #7 with clamps, it always felt unstable and unbalanced. I'm an occasional hobbyist when time permits so I find a fence useful.

So I decided to commit sacrilege and drill and tap my plane. Hopefully I won't be judged too harshly since my plane is not a vintage heirloom, just a modern Axminster own brand Soba.
I didn’t feel so bad when I found pictures here of a Bedrock #608 with the same drill holes.


It drilled and tapped easily, two M5 screws hold a piece of ply rigid and square. I'll drill the ply for a couple of bolts to hold on the inner fence, which could be of different depths to match the workpiece or bevelled at a required angle.

First fit

First fit, checking that the bolts hold the ply square to the base.

After a bit of trimming

Sacrilege

 

[deema]

A jointer fence is an unusual attribute, it's IMO counter productive to what your trying to achieve.

If the blade is perfectly straight across and is perfectly aligned to the bottom of the plane, then yes, it's possible that the fence will help to achieve a perpendicular surface. However, to sharpen a blade without introducing a slightly convex shape is extremely difficult and for most people undesirable. Equally the ability to set a blade absolutely parallel to the bottom of the plane should the blade be absolutely straight across is again very difficult and time consumming to achieve.

With a slightly covex blade and a fence you will plane always adjacent to one side of the plane, on a portion of the blade that is angled. As a consequence you will not achieve your desired perpendicular surface. To achieve this you need to plane with the centre of the plane running down the centre of the stuff being worked on. You will find as we all do that holding a plane parallel is almost impossible, and you will naturally tilt the plane one way or another, and funnily enough it will be a fairly constant angle that you will always impart. With a curved blade you simply move the plane over a bit towards the high spot until you achieve a perpendicular surface. A few passes and measurements once you realise how the plane is working and you will soon achieve a perpendicular surface without the fence.

For jointing boards, simply clamp the two boards with the top faces together and plane the edge to be glued. Any slight lean won't matter as when you put the boards together the lean on one board will be reversed on the other achieving a perfect joint.

The only time IMO a fence can be useful is for making for instance raised panels by hand where an angled fence is beneficial to maintain a consistent chamfer.

 

[undergroundhunter]

I agree with deema, IMHO its much easier to plane a couple of shavings and then check with a square adjust as needed. After a while you will be able to get reasonably close by eye then just use the square for the last bit. The other issue with a fence like the one you have fitted is that the blade does not run all the way to the edge of the plane so the will be aprox 1/8" that you cant plane, to then plane the 1/8" you need to move the plane over making the fence redundant.

Matt

 

[PAC1]

Jim
It is definitely not sacrilege to adapt tools so that they are more efficient for your use and as you say it is only a Axi own brand. Far better to adapt a tool and give it a new lease of life then leave it to rust in your tool box.
The 1/8th gap between blade and fence is easily fixed by a 1/8th ply being added to the fence or rebating the top part.
However, I am interested in understanding why you wanted a fence on a jointer?

 

[Eric The Viking]

The other issue with a fence like the one you have fitted is that the blade does not run all the way to the edge of the plane so the will be aprox 1/8" that you cant plane, to then plane the 1/8" you need to move the plane over making the fence redundant.

Matt

It's a matter of seconds to glue a spacer pad to the inside of the fence, to bring it out to somewhere over (under?) the blade. I had a plywood fence that I used with my #5 years ago like that, usually held on with a G-clamp.

To be honest, I agree on the rest of your post. It was useful to have the fence, but mostly to stop the plane falling off the edge of thin boards (my technique was rubbish). Two things got round the issue, mostly: more practice, and better sharpening - not only does the plane work better but it's more controllable when it's sharp.

Even so, I was using my #7 recently, for the first time in ages (on a length of 1" thick skirting) and was back at the same problem - having real fun going in a straight line along the board . Normally I'd run a guiding finger along the side, but given the back was rough and splintery, this would've been foolish. The "fix" in that case was to use a #4 instead!

Which raises an interesting issue: with smaller planes I often skew them when going over difficult grain or taking a very fine cut. I've never come across jointers with skewed irons, but you'd think it would have been helpful, as realistically you can't use a #7 on the skew on the edge of a board. Were they ever made like that and if not, why am I being daft?

E.

 

[jim_hanna]

However, to sharpen a blade without introducing a slightly convex shape is extremely difficult and for most people undesirable. Equally the ability to set a blade absolutely parallel to the bottom of the plane should the blade be absolutely straight across is again very difficult and time consumming to achieve.

I didn’t really understand this, I don’t want to start a sharpening debate but I’ve never had a problem sharpening a blade straight and square when I’m using a honing guide, and again I’ve never found a problem setting the blade straight across with the lateral adjustment lever.

The other issue with a fence like the one you have fitted is that the blade does not run all the way to the edge of the plane so the will be aprox 1/8" that you cant plane, to then plane the 1/8" you need to move the plane over making the fence redundant.

The fence is in two parts, the part I’ve shown is the first stage fixed to the side of the plane. It’s easier to get a square edge underneath the plane by using two parts than trying to pare a square rebate. To this first part I can either fix a long fence like this (not a great pic and I haven’t made a cutout for the blade yet, which is why I didn’t include it in the first post)

Or I could add a short protrusion just forward of the blade which would let me skew the plane while keeping it upright as suggested here

However, I am interested in understanding why you wanted a fence on a jointer?

The link above and here and here and the fact that Veritas sell a jointer fence suggests there is a need for a jointer fence. As I said I’m an occasional weekend hobbyist, I need all the help I can get and learned techniques, which are appropriate and second nature to someone performing the task often, are difficult to acquire in an occasional one hour slot.

It is definitely not sacrilege to adapt tools so that they are more efficient for your use and as you say it is only a Axi own brand. Far better to adapt a tool and give it a new lease of life then leave it to rust in your tool box.

I agree entirely, tools are made to be used and not admired. Collectors look away now.

A vintage Stanley 50, in original box. Not mint but perfectly usable with a full set of cutters. Trouble is the fence on a 50 is very short, even Alf ( the combination plane expert) said so here, and Mr Stanley didn’t go to the trouble of providing holes to mount a sub-face. No problem, drill your own.

Regards

Jim

 

[PAC1]

Jim, Thanks and spot on adapt all you need.
As for fences, my view is a fence on a plane restricts its use mainly because I tend to skew the plane around to suit the grain, wood or just to make it easier. I know fences are sold but they are like stabilisers on a bike once you can do it they get in the way and you want rid of them.

 

[jim_hanna]

Some more pics. A long fence made from an oak offcut.

As well as the long fence I made a short fence with a rounded leading edge which attaches to the side fence just forward of the blade.

Keeping this pressed against the vertical face of the board I can be sure that the cut remains square even on the narrowest of boards and I can skew the plane slightly sideways if required. (difficult to see but the plane is skewed below)

Some may view this as training wheels on a #7 jointer but it's very effective and I don't see much difference between this and the fences on side-rebate or edge planes.

Slightly cheaper than the Veritas jointer fence (currently £ 31.54 from Axminster), costing me exactly nothing.

 

[Racers]

Don't worry about what other people think if it works for you then go for it.
Not many people would have the nerve to drill their plane.

Pete

 

[bridger]

I use a fence on a jointer sometimes. When I have a board edge to straighten that is long enough that I will need several strides to complete it, especially if the edge is narrow I have difficulty avoiding tipping the plane slightly. I have also used it for edges where I must plane in situ, including overhead.

I find that the combination of a *slightly cambered* iron and a fence on a jointer to be graceful in use. If the iron is ground straight the lateral adjuster changes the angle between the fence/sole of the plane and the cutting edge. However, with a slight camber the lateral adjuster changes the position of the deepest point of the cut relative to the fence/sole. Use the adjuster to center the cut rather than change angle.

The gotchas are that the offset between the working face of the fence and the part where it attaches to the side of the plane must be greater the more camber. But you don't want very much camber on a jointer anyway, so no problem really. A few thousandths camber assures that the faces glue up tight. More than that and you begin to compromise the glue joint at the center of the board (where it matters least, but still...)

 

[AndyT]

Jim, I think your short fence idea is a good one, giving you help with the right angle but still allowing you to skew the plane where needed. Better than a commercial metal fence, and at a much better price.