Securing a chest while planing

[Steve Kirincich]

I have assembled a blanket chest and am planing the outside faces, but I continue to struggle with securing the carcass so that it does not move while planing. Does anybody have a good way to use the workbench to do this? Thanks.

Steve

[Winton Applegate]

Clamp a sheet of plywood or plank (or several ) to the top of the bench with half of it protruding off the side of the bench and inside of the chest.

The chest is hanging off the side of the bench from the plank

Stack up some wood underneath to take the downward force if needed. The ply or plank is to take the horizontal forces.

I have a photo or two in my files of magazine articles I can post if that does not make sense.

[Jim Matthews]

If yours is the roughly the same size as my last nightstand, I recommend putting it on the floor.

I have a rubber floor mat in my shop, and once swept - it doesn't damage wooden surfaces.
I put a foot inside the cabinet and plane in from each corner.

I make my dovetails according to Ian Kirby's recommendation, so they're beneath the level of the outer surface.
There's less likelihood that I'll knock off a corner that way.

I lift the back of my plane as I near the center of each panel.

I have not found my sawing benches stable enough, and the bench is too high for me to manage this comfortably.

I use the method recommended by WA for drawers, but a full size blanket chest is
too heavy for me to safely handle.

(Not that I've ever dropped a finished project and dashed the works to pieces, mind you.)

[Judson Green]

Maybe you need a Bro! :eek:

Seinfeld - The Bro: http://youtu.be/wfONNfAjyrc

Sorry, couldn't help myself!

[glenn bradley]

Is the challenge the height of the surface to be planed once on the bench? I too vote for a mat on the floor.

[Jim Koepke]

Mat or other protection on the floor with a spacer between the chest and a wall should do it.

Mostly at this point in making a chest the plane work should be minimal.

jtk

[Jeff Wittrock]

I do pretty much what Winton describes. Depends on the size of course, but I have trouble planing a chest when it is on the floor, and I don't have any low assembly tables.

I just clamp 2x4's to my bench top that extend from the side of the bench to the depth of the chest. I space them so they set against the ends of the chest to keep it from sliding. This puts the chest at a comfortable height to plane.