Secure a board to be planed.

[Osvaldd]

Forgive me if this was asked before, I have no idea how to word it in the search tab. Dog hole alternatives? :?
I just finished my workbench, flattened the top, about to start a new project. Want to plane a board that's too wide and too thin to place it in a vice. Was wondering what is the common thing to do here?
I don't want to drill dog holes in my bench, I also don't have a tail vice.
Before I had a dedicated bench I did all my woodworking on a plank of wood on a pair of trestles , I would just put a woodscrew as needed to hold wood pieces in place while planing. Any better alternatives?

 

[Osvaldd]

I just found this Paul Sellers video, watching it now.

https://youtu.be/SozekTvPpJM

 

[fezman]

Hi Osvaldd

I use a planing board similar to this (mines longer and thinner)

I attached a couple of blocks underneath to allow me to secure it in the vice and along the length of my workbench - works great

This is the one i made

Ian

 

[AndyT]

Take a strip of wood or plywood thinner than the board. Screw one end into a block of wood, at right angles. Hold the block in the vice. Use the thin bit as a wide stop for planing.

 

[Droogs]

google "planing stops" and select images tab and you will see a whole plethora of different ways to hold on to wood

cheapest is just put a screw in the bench and adjust the height as needed as to whether any of the other methods are "better", that's up to you

 

[thetyreman]

another trick is masking tape, super glue and accelerator, it's really good for very thin stock, you put strips of masking tape on your piece of wood and the bench then dabs of glue and the accelerator and it temporarily sticks it down, can easily be reversed, first saw it done by crimson guitars many years ago.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Hi - attached is worth a quick peep on this topic. https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/th ... ten-video/

I really like Richard Maguire’s blogs and videos and have found the batten idea really useful.

Hope it helps

 

[rafezetter]

The downside to a planing stop like fezmans is that you can only plane diagonally from one side - having just planed some cupped wood back to flat for my vice jaws, being able to hit it diagonally from both sides was a plus - which is only really possible if you use a planestop as AndyT suggests and the vice is closer to the corner of the bench.

It might not be accepted technique to plane diagonally from both sides, but for me I found it stopped the tendancy to plane a wedge shape; too thin one side, too thick the other.

I think Richard Maguires version is a great alternative - but obviously means dog holes.

Might I ask why you are so averse to adding them Osvaldd?

 

[ED65]

Forgive me if this was asked before, I have no idea how to word it in the search tab. Dog hole alternatives? :?

Face planing might be one of the best search terms to use.

I don't want to drill dog holes in my bench, I also don't have a tail vice.

Well both are optional, but any particular reason for no drilled holes? They're hugely versatile, dogs of more than one type, various jigs and stops and holdfasts can all use the same holes.

Before I had a dedicated bench I did all my woodworking on a plank of wood on a pair of trestles , I would just put a woodscrew as needed to hold wood pieces in place while planing. Any better alternatives?

Nothing wrong with that method even on a formal workbench. Two stout brass screws rather than one, in well countersunk holes so they can be driven below flush when not in use. I think Charles Hayward recommends that method as one of the simplest planing stops, although the idea predated even him (first used in the 19th century I'm sure).

There are numerous other things explored in Robert Wearing's books if you have either of the jig ones or "The Essential Woodworker".

If you want something instantly without any need to build or store anything you can just clamp a thin piece of wood across the width of the bench to plane against. I've done this dozens and dozens of times with just the one thin, narrow piece of softwood lath so it doesn't have to be anything particularly robust. It's useful to slightly undercut the leading edge, to help prevent the workpiece climbing over.

 

[transatlantic]

I'd highly recommend drilling holes into your bench. So many uses!

If you really don't want to though, you can just clamp a lengh of timber to your bench, and use that as a stop. It will need to be thinner than the board you're planing (12mm Ply works well), and long enough so that your plane doesn't hit the clamp.

You can also explore wedges.

 

[samhay]

For a Nicholson style bench with an apron, the space under the top is largely unaccessible unless you build a drawer. You might as well embrace the dog hole as then at least you can use this space for something - holdfasts.

 

[Ttrees]

If you really don't want to drill holes then a planing stop in the vice would be my choice.
And I would make another stop of some description that sits into the tool well.
That's presuming your bench will be long enough to do so with the vice there.
You could always use the other side for longer stuff, with a shelf for the toolwell and some dogs in the end.
The vice stop could be incorporated into the design.

 

[Osvaldd]

Seems like I'm going to have to look for holdfasts now. Do they pop up at carboot sales?

 

[AndyT]

Seems like I'm going to have to look for holdfasts now. Do they pop up at carboot sales?

No. Workshop Heaven has them - and are offering half price international shipping at the moment.

 

[MikeG.]

Why would anyone use a holdfast for planing? That seems a nuts idea. When planing, you need the top of the workpiece free and accessible. A holdfast ensures that it isn't free and accessible. I don't get it.

For planing, you use a stop. If you don't want holes in your benchtop for some reason (I can't think of any), then you've got no choice but to mount the stop on the end of the bench. It won't be so strong, but there are dozens of ways in which to do it successfully. A board mounted in a vice has the downside of not being flush with the surface of the bench, meaning if you are planing a long board you will have to provide additional intermediate supports. Also, it is just another thing you are going to have to store, and go and fetch when you need it.

Keep things simple! Use a planing stop.

 

[samhay]

Agreed, holdfasts are of limited use in planing boards. Some type of planing stop such as a dog or a batten held by a holdfast is all you need. However, my point, which probably want clear, is that if you want to use dogs, you need holes, and holes then also allow you to use holfasts, which are useful for other things.

 

[Rich C]

I clamp a sash cramp into the vice and the use that to hold the board usually. Allows for full access to the surface of the board without needing holes.

 

[MusicMan]

The Richard Maguire method of holding a board for planing is very good. It uses one dog at the end of the work, with a notched board held in a holdfast - the holdfast is not on the board itself. It's easy to hold a thin board, and the planing action wedges it tighter. Best watch the video rather than try to explain it.

 

[Bm101]

I use them all the time Mike (albeit lets be honest at my beginner level, I don't pretend for a second to offer advice only my ltd experience.) I plane against a stop, but I also use holdfasts in any number of ways to hold wedges and so on. A 2' length of thinnish stock sits under my bench with a couple of V's cut out of it. I have seen it called a larks foot I think on the English Woodworkers Website. Put your timber up against the stop, wedge the foot on a corner and use a holdfast at the back, well away from your plane. Job done. 5 second fix to work holding.
Not pretending this is a better solution to anything else but it's certainly very quick and flexible. Like any system I'm sure it has it's drawbacks and detractors.
Cheers
Chris

 

[Bm101]

Apologies to Musicman and others I somehow saw MikeGs post as the last one. Apologies for any repetition.