plane till question

[mike johnston]

I have aquired enough hand planes to warent there own place in the shop. (I wish someone could show me how to use them) I have built a couple of clam shell cabinets, and have decided to use one as a plane till. I would like to store the planes nose down and angled forward a few inches, with a wooden clip holding the nose. But rather than a clip holding the tail I was wondering if I could use a rare earth magnet of proper strength to hold the tail tight. Are there any long term effects of magnets on metal? Do rare earth magnets loose there strength? Is this idea crazy talk? Has anyone tried this?

Thanks Mike

[Mark Godlesky]

Mike,

Go ahead and use the magnets. They may magnetize your planes slightly but will have no practical effect on them or their operation.

I believe others on this site have done as you propose.

[Tom Winship]

I built a similar one without clamshell, just tilted forward a couple of inches at the bottom. Mine was nose up, so that when it is easier to reach for. I also used a wooden nose block as you suggest. I have seen plans in FWW where they even use string (or chord) to loop over the nob. Whatever you do, don't do as I did and make it out of oak and leave it unfinished. After about a month of non-use, I pulled one out one day and there was heavy surface rust on the bottom or wherever it had touched the oak.
Tom

[Darnell Hagen]

Magnets will loose their strength if they're dropped, exposed to temperature swings, or kept in a state of attraction to other magnets. I don't think they'd be a problem in this case.

[Jim Koepke]

My only comments are that I like the knob up for the same reason as Tom.

As to using magnets, they will surely work. In my shop there is also some metal working being done at times and I would worry about stray iron filings and what they could do if the adhered magnetically to a plane bottom.

jim

[Chris McKimson]

Mike, I did the same thing. I made the till first so I'd know how big to build the box. I've updated the till since with round self sticky pieces of felt from Lowes that fit perfectly. The till holds the planes just great.

http://mainframe.smugmug.com/Other/tools/IMG1345/262516920_hiyKB-S.jpg

With planes.

http://mainframe.smugmug.com/Other/tools/IMG1343/262516820_uBu5v-S.jpg

[Jim Paulson]

Thanks Chris,

I really like the design you came up with and I'm wondering how you mounted this on the wall. I built a chisel cabinet with layered magnetic strips that served my purposes. I saw one years ago in FWW and it worked well. Where can you get magnets like the ones you used?

Mike,
I too am now leaning toward a cabinet design that I can close up when I'm not in the shop or if I want to be selective about displaying my tools. I like the idea of storing the planes so they can be found when I need them using a ramp and a cubby holes.

Thanks,
Jim

[Dave Matson]

The latest FWW tools and shops issue (#209) has a design for a plane till where the author uses leather bootlaces to hook onto the the knobs of the plane as they are stored vertically. Its a very simple design.

Google "Keep Planes Close at Hand" to see a preview.

[paul cottingham]

The latest FWW tools and shops issue (#209) has a design for a plane till where the author uses leather bootlaces to hook onto the the knobs of the plane as they are stored vertically. Its a very simple design.

Google "Keep Planes Close at Hand" to see a preview.

And it works great, I might add.

[Roy Wall]

Mike, I did the same thing. I made the till first so I'd know how big to build the box. I've updated the till since with round self sticky pieces of felt from Lowes that fit perfectly. The till holds the planes just great.

With planes.

http://mainframe.smugmug.com/Other/tools/IMG1343/262516820_uBu5v-S.jpg

Gulp........Nice Collection Chris!

[Chris McKimson]

Mike I got the rare earth magnets at Woodcraft. The idea is to place the till within the tool cabinet a couple of years ago in FWW by Jan Zoltowski. I wanted to use a plane till instead of the storage on top but still made a couple of rows of cubby holes for the rabbets, skews, etc. Figured a couple of brads until the glue dries ought to hold it. :) Just kidding. I've been a bit sidetracked the last 8 - 10 months with a heart problem and though I have the pieces of the cabinent finished I haven't assembled it yet.

Collection? Collector? Ok I admit it. :eek:

[Jim Paulson]

Chris,

Take care and best wishes on your recovery. I'm sure many of us would like to see pictures when you get the cabinet built too.

Jim