Anyone use a planing stop like mine?

[harry strasil]

Its just a couple of large brass wood screws in counter sunk holes in the tops of my benches. Use a screwdriver to raise one or two to the desired height as a stop and then plane, if you happen to hit one with a plane blade it doesn't harm the cutting edge. You can even plane 1/8 thick material easily.

[steve swantee]

Interesting idea Harry, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have thought of that one.

Steve

[Pedro Reyes]

I also have 2 in my cheapo bench. Not brass, I should change them to that. I only use them for boards thinner than my lowest (user made) wood stop ~3/8". What I need to do is 'sharpen' them so that they bite the ends of the boards better.

I can't take credit for this idea, I want to say I saw this at the Woodwrights shop, but not certain, I know I saw it either on a workbench book (scott landis) or on TV.

works well for thin stuff, still terrified to hit them with a blade.

/p

[Michael Faurot]

That's an interesting idea. Two questions for you about this:



Given that you're using the round head of a screw, do you have problems with the stock shifting on you when you try to plane it? As in, would a screw with the head filed square, work better?
Or is shifting not a problem if the screw is oriented exactly as you have it in the picture, where you get a little bit of bite from the slot?

[Wallis Hampson]

Great idea Harry. I guess if you didnt want to screw into your bench, you could just screw a screw into the top of a dog. I also agree with the others to either file a sharp bevel on the screw or jag the edge of it a little. Again, great idea....keep 'em coming Harry.

[Wilbur Pan]

A similar technique has been used on Japanese planing beams for ages, using screws and/or nails.

I have a pair of screws on my workbench that I rest a piece of scrap wood of varying thicknesses for planing. I'll also raise and lower the screws as appropriate.

[Greg Cole]

I managed to break one for the quick release pieces on my generic vice awhile ago... won't mention how other than being a bit over "enthusiatic".:rolleyes:
I've been using some thin scraps that I've been screwing into the bench top to act as planing stops. Works great and the current bench doesn't care about the screw holes (bench top is 2 lam'ed pieces of 1" ply)..... IIRC I'm good with these scrap blocks down to about 3/8" stock. I countersunk the screws that attach the stop block to the bench to eliminate the worry of cheap metal (screws) on good metal (soles & irons).
This will have to work "for now" as I just today ordered some items for a more proper bench.

Greg

[John Schreiber]

I've got a dog with a screw sticking out of the top which I use when I'm planing the really thin stuff. A brass screw is a good idea.

[John Erhardt]

Yep -- I do something very similar, and it's worked great. If the piece is large enough, I'll put a small piece of lauan plywood between the screws and the workpiece for a little extra stability/surface area. If I'm making a length of molding, I do without the plywood and just use the screw(s), turning my bench into a pseudo sticking board. My "workbench" is a stack of three pieces of plywood clamped on top of a pair of wooden sawhorses I made, so I've had to be pretty creative where vices and stops are concerned.

J

[Ben Fleis]

Its just a couple of large brass wood screws in counter sunk holes in the tops of my benches. Use a screwdriver to raise one or two to the desired height as a stop and then plane, if you happen to hit one with a plane blade it doesn't harm the cutting edge. You can even plane 1/8 thick material easily.

Harry,

I'm metallurgically ign'ant, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question :)

Is it really the case that your edge would go unharmed? I used brass screws on my cradle over the summer, and unintentionally nicked the brass several times. The damage wasn't awful, but there were small chips that I had to grind back out. Are you escaping nick-free when collision occurs?

-b

[Johnny Kleso]

Looks like a Great Idea....

[harry strasil]

I have had no problems with this type of stop in the 20+ years I have been using it. You just need to use a magnet and make sure the screws are not brass plated steel screws. If you really want to be sure of not injuring a plane blade, use a small propane torch and heat brass screws till they are red and drop them in cold water which anneals (softens) them, you just have to be careful using a screwdriver to raise or lower them then.

[Stu Gillard]

I use a fairly traditional benchstop shown below....I do keep the teeth sharp to bite into the timber end. I can get down to 1/8" with this.

In agreeance with Harry, I also use solid brass screws at various positions around the bench as well. I have hit the screw heads a couple of times with my planes, but with minimal damage to the iron. Brass is a lot softer than the iron. I'm sure a big collision wouldn't be so good though :o

[harry strasil]

Flat head (contersunk) wood screws have a reasonably sharp edge to them and cut into the wood just a tad leaving a concave depression that prevents sliding around, if you are in doubt, use a triangular needle file and file some tiny notches in the edge if you want.

[Steve Hamlin]

Was using this together with some wedges, a roughly hacked crook and a bench hook for all of my work holding on a makeshift bench for a project this past month. Found it great for improving my plane control when jointing, and while a vice or some bench pups would have been nice, it does go to show just how little equipment is really necessary.
Cheers
Steve