Other options for a Plane Tote?

[Mike Olson]

I now have 3 planes that i really like and they have the tote handles on them. but, my hand is to big for the stock totes. my pinky finger goes numb after a couple minutes of use and i don't have enough room to stick my index finger out like i do on my hand saws.

Also, since the handles are right under the irons i don't think i'll have enough room to lengthen the totes because my fingers would then be right against the iron. Has anybody modified a plane to have a different or bigger handle? i'm thinking for my two transitionals i'll remove the tote and put something else on so i can grip the body of the plane. for my metal plane i don't know what to do.

Thanks for any ideas you can offer.
Mike

[Sam Takeuchi]

You don't have enough room to stick your index finger out? Can't you just extend it and have your index rest on the side of frog/blade? Unless you are using #1 or #2 sized plane, I would think you should be able to fit your hand there unless your hand is really, really, really large.

Also what size of plane are you using here?

[Rick Erickson]

I'm with Sam on this one. I'm not sure I own a plane that I can fit my entire hand around. The index finger has to be extended. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you don't have room.

[Jim Koepke]

Knowing what size plane is under discussion would be helpful.

Because of an old hand injury, it is often uncomfortable for me to hold a plane in what may seem to be the obvious manner. Instead of gripping the tote, my hand is around it in the way one would have to handle a Krenov style plane.

Otherwise, my pinky is often extended and my index finger is wrapped around the top of the blade or tucked up under the frog.

On many of my larger planes the tote has actually been modified to provide more comfort for my pinky finger.

Pictures would be a help to see what you are doing.

I will try to remember to take some to show my methods and changes.

jim

[David Gendron]

I don't want to tell you that you are doing something wrong. Here are some pictures to show how I do with my some what big hands! So in the first picture, under my hand, is a#3 plane and in the following pics you can see two different way I use to hold the plane wile working.

[Jim Koepke]

Great shots David.

Pretty much the same as I do only my pinky is short enough to be on the inside of the plane.

jim

[Brian Kent]

Jim and David, that is helpful to me. I had never thought of wrapping my hand around the whole plane like David's last picture.

Mike, the top back point of the tote is often a problem for me. I poke uncomfortable into my hand. When I am refurbishing an old user, I sometimes rasp, file, and sand that part until it has a bigger curve and fits better.

Lee Valley tools fit my hand better than Stanley or Lie Nielsen. I wonder about using one of their totes? I would call and ask first if these could be used on other planes.

Also, I have seen plane tote plans from Lee Valley but now I can't find them. You might make a replacement or use them as a guide for reshaping he totes you have. (Check first what the others are saying about hand position, since you might not have a problem).

[jerry nazard]

How about a rear bun instead of a tote?

[Mike Olson]

Here are the three that i'm wanting to modify. so far I'm using the Sears one the most because everything has been sharpened and flattened.
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I tried to have my pinky down on the side but it rubs on the wood which doesn't feel to good. The blade is rather wide so i can't rap my finger around the top of the iron, and the hook on the top of the tote keeps me from raising my whole hand far enough and due to the iron location a longer tote would not even fit.

My transitionals are the ones I'm thinking about putting something close to a bun on instead of the tote. Something about as wide as the plane that i can hook the part of my hand between my thumb and index finger under to prevent slipping. I'm thinking about grabbing some of my son's play-doh to make a mold.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=139691&d=1264392039

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=143840&d=1267554221

I might try that last photo where just the thumb is on the tote and the rest of the hand grabs the iron...

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

Can you make a new tote that has the screw hole about a quarter or 3/8" further forward (so that the bulk of the tote is further back) so that you get more clearance in front of the tote? That'll allow you to make the tote taller, wider and thicker as well. The back of the tote will hang off a bit, but for your transitionals, you'd probably be able to inlet it a bit to fit the metal. Kinda like an infill, but without the large mass of wood. Just a thought; I'v never tried it so take it for what it's worth! :D

[Jim Koepke]

Here are a few images taken today of different totes and my way of dealing with them.

First is a tote on a type 6 compared to a tote from a type 11. On the left is the type 11 tote which is actually on a type 9 plane and both the top and bottom crooks have been opened up to accommodate my hand. It is probably one of my most comfortable totes.

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The type 6 tote is not comfortable to grip with all fingers. This is shown on a #4-1/2.

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This grip is shown on a type 6a #8 plane and usually only has two of four fingers wrapped around the tote.

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The type 11 tote has been opened up top and bottom to be more comfortable for holding with all my fingers.

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Here are two #5s, the one of the left has a tote that is from the 40s or 50s and is just a little bigger than the type 11 tote. The type 11 tote has been modified quite a bit. The newer tote has only been filed and sanded at the lower crook to make more room for my pinky.

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Here are a few different ways I use for gripping #3 & #4 size planes. If I am doing a lot of work with a single plane, my grip will be changed every few minutes to avoid repetitive stresses.

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Hope this is useful for you Mike and also for others.

jim

[george wilson]

I have very big hands. I think that the various pictures should be very helpful.

Once,I showed the Master Gunsmith a backsaw I'd made. He said he couldn't get all his fingers in it. He could after I showed him the CORRECT way to hold it! Guess the gunsmith didn't use a backsaw.

[Bruce Haugen]

is that you're holding them with the wrong hand!:D

[Jim Koepke]

Jim, the reason it's so hard to hold those planes is that you're holding them with the wrong hand!:D

That is because to use the camera left handed it has to be held upside down. I do plane and saw from both sides, but am predominately a righty.

It makes me think of a picture of a two handed adjustment I needed to photograph for a manual at work. No tripod was available so a co-worker was asked to lend a hand. Since my left hand was in the picture, I asked him to hold the allen wrench with his left hand. It was kind of fun watching people trying to duplicate the picture. Most people got it pretty quickly.

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jim

[James Taglienti]

H-O-L-Y crap you guys got some big hands. Do you even have to wear baseball gloves when you play?

I am jealous of my wife who can comfortably grip a #2, and actually gets to decide where on the tote to put her hand for most other planes. I'm not jealous of how topheavy she gets when i put a #8 with a jointer fence in her hands. I guess it's a trade off.

I also am unable to get a 4 finger grip on a lot of my planes. But there really are a few decent places to rest a finger. For some reason the outstretched pinkie kinda hurts I have a couple fractures on that hand. But I can always find a decent place to grip the plane. It's not like it's some gadget-covered flight control joystick that requires every bit of your hand to be touching it. 90% of it is all palm, for me.

[Mike Olson]

I flattened a few boards last night to try out the different grips.

Hooking the thumb on the tote and wrapping my hand around the plane iron is the most comfortable for my fingers but my thumb got tired pretty fast.

I ended up using the Stick the index finger around the iron and poke out the pinky finger. that seemed to let me plane longer without my hand getting tired, but i still had to watch my pinky to keep it off the wood when using my metal plane. the Transitionals were great for the index and pinky hold out.
:):)
Thanks for all the examples. now i just have to train my hand to grip them the right way every time.

Mike