All right Varmints. There's a hangin' tomorrow

[Dave Anderson NH]

I was up late last night working in the shop as I have been all week trying to complete the plane rack (till). I had today off so I spent a good portion of the day working too except for a trip to my lumber supplier with SWMBO to check out hardwood flooring samples. Management has decide that the first floor of the house has worn out carpets and the replacement shall be wooden floors. Serendipitously we found something acceptable to both of us and within budget so you know what my next project will be. Not exactly Neander, but it keeps peace in the house and wins me HUGE quantities of latitude for the future. Heck, it exceeds my tool budget for the next 3-4 years.

In any event, I finshed up the plane till today and it is ready for hanging. I made an abortive attempt solo late this afternoon, but the thing weighs at least 80-90 pounds and has to go high on the wall. It is also very long and hard to grasp making it a losing propostion for one person. You can't even see the French cleat to know if you are close to where you should be. Tomorrow however is another day and it will be installed.

I've posted a few pictures of the final sequences of assembly as a bit of a tease. And YES, there is a wine glass in the last picture and it was used. Laddies, I figure I earned it.

[David Rose]

Wow! Dave! I like it.

There are a couple of questions you might clear up.
First, since this is the forum it is, were any volts killed in the making of this masterpiece? :D
Next, is that carpet in the bottom of the stalls? Did it come off the floor where wood is going down? That one should have been "next next", but...
Next next (or next next next), if that isn't carpet, what be it?
Last, I think, are all those holes really going to be full? :rolleyes: Where is the symbol for "turning green"?
Next last, what the top section's purpose?

David - who will be pretty "corded" again once the termite damage is cleared - but who loves to work with hand tools

[Dave Anderson NH]

Yes, some electrons were sacrificed during the construction of this project. There were 40 stopped dadoes for the dividers on the two top shelves and there was no way I was going to spend the time to do them all by hand. I also resawed the mahogany to 1/4" thick for the dividers on the bandsaw. The rest of the joinery was done by hand, the final planing of the dividers were done with my trusty #3 Bailey, and all other surfaces were hand planed or finished with a spokeshave.

The gray/tan colored material on the floor of each shelf is 1/16" thick cork/nitrile rubber blend and is designed to protect the plane blades against damage and also protect the bottom of each shelf from the planes gouging and scratching them. This was cut to size and glued down with regular old yellow woodworkers glue. It tried the first one with contact cement and was less than pleased with the result so I used the yellow glue which worked great.

The top sections are hinged with a piano hinge so that they can be lifted to access the storage areas hidden underneath The left side is for my larger and longer planes (#5 and above) and the two small compartments are for a #271 router plane and any future acquisition. The right hand ramped area will be for spokeshaves. I left it empty since I have yet to figure out how I want to secure them and yet allow easy access. I really needed to get this monster up on the wall to bring a little order to my shop. My handplanes have been spread out all over the bench room for months and it's been driving me nuts. Besides, I need to spend the weekend getting started on my Shepherd Tools infill smoother kit so I don't embarrass myself by showing up at Doug and Ben's Neander Meander next week with a kit which hasn't been started.

With some luck and some assistance from a woodworker about 5 minutes away, the rack shoud be on the wall and filled tomorrow. The woodworker in question is rapidly being seduced to the Neanderthal way.

[David Rose]

Dave, I think I'm missing something somewhere. The mahogany tray with the planes sitting in it is hinged at the top? If that left compartment holds 8 planes, it sounds like it could get fairly heavy to lift.

Is the cork/rubber a toolbox drawer liner? I think I've seen something like that. That is a great idea!

That case appears to be efficient and certainly attractive. Please post another pic when you figure the way to hold those cabinet scrapers.

I wish I was close enough to give you a hand, but I don't need help learning to drag my knuckles. Well, I do, but the seduction is powerful enough without more help. :D Go easy on the poor guy!

David

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi David- The top two ramps are hinged with a piano hinge so that they will lift up. When filled with planes the left ramp is very heavy and is almost impossible to lift. To use the hidden storage requires removing some of the planes to lighten things. I knew this when I designed the till, but it was the price I needed to pay so that the space under the ramps was not wasted. Only rarely used items will be in there so it isn't going to be a problem.

The tan material made from a blend of ground cork and nitrile rubber is normally used for gasketing and came from work. I have also used it in the past for tool box liner, but that is not what it was designed for.

[Roger Myers]

I'm back from the left coast, and SWMBO is off on a mini-vacation with her friend, so it's me and Katie batching it this weekend...
aside from starting my shoulder kit (sound familiar), I have no special plans and can give you a hand if you need it...
Plane till turned out fabulous!!
Roger

[Matt Woodworth]

C'mon now tell us, "How's it hanging?"

:)

[Paul Geer]

Dave; I like it, There are enough ideas there for me to use when I start to build mine. The hidden storage is a good way to use all that space under the planes. Good job!