Fastening stock for planing

[Joerg Bullmann]

Hi there,

I have been watching Bob's work bench and marking gauge video podcasts in the Logan Cabinet Shoppe and there is one thing that struck me when I saw him planing stuff. Very often he just puts the stock on the bench resting against a stop or a board without further fixing it in place and he then planes away on it in the direction towards the stop.

Now I have very little knowledge in all this but I am wondering whether completely fastening the stock on the bench (so it cannot move anywhere) makes the task of planing a bit easier, particularly for the beginner. Have not tried it myself, but will.

What do people normally do?

Cheers,
Joerg

[Mike Brady]

Your conclusion is correct, Joerg. Planing against a stop is a learned skill. It is a factor of good tools, good edges on the tools, and good planing technique. The wood being planed is also a factor. In a production situation, it is a time-saver also. Personally, I like the facility of a good vise whether it is the front vise or an end vise bearing against a bench dog. I built my bench with this in mind and take pleasure in its ability to securely hold work pieces.

[glenn bradley]

I have a stop on the short dimension of my bench for just such purposes. I also have a stop that drops into the dog holes along the long dimension.

[David Weaver]

I do not confine the wood in all directions, at least not by force. When you put more than minimal pressure on the wood in any direction, it flexes, and you do not get it flat.

If planing across the grain and with the grain on a rough piece of wood, I will put stops in two directions, possibly three (but not with any pressure on any of them). If I have a nice cutting plane, I like to start rough boards with planing straight across, and then two diagonals in an x pattern, but with one of the cuts back across the grain. It's rare that after taking through straight shavings after that, that the wood needs anything else or check for wind.

[john brenton]

As far as what people normally do, I would say that most people secure it in a tail vise. I use a plane stop and pins but only out of the lack of a tail vise. I would prefer a tail vise, but I'm not racing against the clock to meet any deadlines. Reaching to the right to turn a vise isn't going to kill me.

[Terry Beadle]

When working a panel flat, I like to use a row of bench pins for the horizontal block. My bench has two rows of pins spread about 10 inches apart and spaced the full length of the bench. Then on the side that has no pin blocks I use my bench hook to trap the panel. This is only for the initial heavy flattening with a mediam cambered jack plane doing the work.

Then I grab a Record 07 with Clifton blade and stay set to do the final flattening.

I do have a tail vice but I find it's not always as quick to set up but that's just me. Also my tail vice is a cheapo so I don't try to press my luck with it.

[Jon Toebbe]

I've found planing against a stop gives me great feedback on my technique. If the board starts skittering away from me, I either need to change the way I'm putting downward pressure on it, or take the iron to the stones for a quick touch up. Clamping a board between dogs lets me get away with sloppy technique and duller irons... both of which increase the amount of work in the long run.

Since winter precludes the use of my "shop" (porch), I'm putting together a Japanese planing beam -- just some glued-up cedar 4x4s with a planing stop and short legs attached with sliding dovetails. I've been using a 3/4" thick pine offcut butted against the baseboard as a temporary planing stop to true up the boards. It looks and feels a little funny, but it works pretty well. And plane shavings clean up off the carpet much more easily than sawdust. :)

[Pam Niedermayer]

...I'm putting together a Japanese planing beam -- just some glued-up cedar 4x4s with a planing stop and short legs attached with sliding dovetails. I've been using a 3/4" thick pine offcut butted against the baseboard as a temporary planing stop to true up the boards. It looks and feels a little funny, but it works pretty well. And plane shavings clean up off the carpet much more easily than sawdust. :)

One of the coolest things about a planing beam is that when you tilt it slightly, gravity works as an extra stop.

Pam

[Zach Dillinger]

I'm happy to work against a wide planing stop that is held in my leg vise. When traversing, I use thin battens, held in with my holdfasts. I like this method very much. It works well, I can change boards quickly when working on a project and it doesn't permanently attach anything to my bench that might get in the way later.

[Jim Koepke]

For edge planing my vise is often used. For face planing, it is almost always against a stop.

If there is a lot of face planing to do a batten is clamped to the skirt on the end of the bench.

Sometimes the tail vise gets used, but that is seldom. One has to be very careful to not bow the work when doing that.

jtk

[Russell Sansom]

I will put any board I can in the tail vise. To me, a single stop in the back is a compromise. It's rare that I simply want to plane straight down the board. For best stock removal, best finish, change-up for a set of muscles, etc., I will want to swipe a little or go diagonally. If clamping between dogs distorts the board so that it won't do what I want with it, I'll build a quick trough or constraint for it. People talk about bowing the board with a tail vise and I wonder if this is actually a problem or it's something they heard as a precaution. The only times it's a problem for me is with 1/8" in soundboard material. In cases like that, something else has to be devised. A planing stop won't work either ( the board can snap in two ).
On the other hand, if I have to do 20 of something, I'll either build a quick jig to hold them or just go against a stop. The clamping, unclamping takes its toll in that case.

[Johnny Kleso]

Here is the deal..
Wide, Long Warped Board? You need a tail vise and shims to stop the board from wobbling..

Boards flat on the bench side, Planing Stop works just fine..

If you make a bench you will want THREE dog holes just to the right of your front vise if you have two row of dogs bench..
The two dog holes near the front you want maybe 2"-3" apart.. you use those two as a planning stop for narrow boards..

[Jim Koepke]

This is another one of those situations where what works for one person's projects and materials may not work for another.


People talk about bowing the board with a tail vise and I wonder if this is actually a problem or it's something they heard as a precaution.

It doesn't happen with thick stock, but some thin stock will even bow against a stop. Then it is held at the tail with a clamp and the front end is planed. My projects use a lot of fir. Even at 3/4" it has a tendency to bow if it is held too tight in a vise.

Sometimes I use wedges against the sides.

It also depends for people if they are working with a lot of rough lumber they will do things different than if the lumber comes relatively smooth.

jtk

[Steve Branam]

I have been watching Bob's work bench and marking gauge video podcasts in the Logan Cabinet Shoppe and there is one thing that struck me when I saw him planing stuff. Very often he just puts the stock on the bench resting against a stop or a board without further fixing it in place and he then planes away on it in the direction towards the stop.


Most times I'll plane into two battens acting as stops, restraining the board on one end and one side. The battens have pegs that drop into dog holes. You can see pictures of this at http://www.closegrain.com/2010/09/portable-workbench-part-3.html, along with several other non-vise setups. I like Bob's split-top stop holder, that's a nifty method.

Planing this way does take a little practice to get down, because you're steering the planing force to hold the wood in place as well as remove shavings. Sometimes a piece just gets more awkward than it's worth, so more secure clamping is better. But it's a skill worth developing, because it's fast, especially if you have to re-orient the piece a few times as you work, or flip it end over to work the other side.

Partly I like to know how to do it this way just for the simplicity. I try to use as simple a setup as is practical for a situation. Less stuff to fiddle with.

[Jim Matthews]

I make a compromise between "free holding" and surface clamping with the Veritas bench pups.

A similar arangement could be made with thin, flying wedges at the near end.

The best part about free holding is the speed with which you can reposition boards, but I'm SLOW.

[Larry Marshall]

What do people normally do?



You asked specifically about beginners and it may be easier for a beginner to plane with a board clamped in place. But most who are fluent with hand planes prefer not to tie down boards when they plane their faces.

The reason is two-fold. The first is that clamping a board between a dog and an end vise can compress/distort the board and if you're trying to flatten it, this is counter to the purpose.

A more important reason, however, is that planing faces often requires that you reorient the board and so you waste a lot of time clamping and unclamping with nothing gained. It takes very little practice to get used to planing into a stop and not having the board move on you.

Like Bob, I removed the end vise from my bench in favor of basic stops and appliances. Returning to the beginner, this approach requires far less hardware and thus cost.

Cheers --- Larry Marshall
http://www.woodnbits.com

[Joerg Bullmann]

Hi everyone! Just wanted to thank you for the variety of responses and indeed very interesting comments. Be sure I'll come back with a picture or two, in case any results should materialise. ;-) By the looks of it, Bob's bench design seems just right for me. Now all we need is some space for it. And maybe some time.

Cheers,
Joerg

[Mark ten Haaf]

Does anybody use cam clamps in round dog holes for flat planing?