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Thread: planing stop placement

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    Houston
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    planing stop placement

    Does anyone have an opinion as to the ideal location for a planing stop? It is a left handed bench with a fairly short top. To date, I have been using dogs and a wagon vise to hold boards for planing on the other end of the bench, so I am having trouble visualizing this.

    The instructions suggest placing it outside the vise chop so it is easy to tap up from underneath the bench, but I am concerned that it might not have enough support so close to the edge.

    IMG_2442 (2).jpg

    The rail under the top is much narrower than the vise chop, so I could place the planing stop even with the last dog hole and a few inches farther from the front apron. Maybe a little more difficult to tap from underneath, but how often am I going to be doing that anyway.

    Another option would be to put it to the left of the vise chop:

    IMG_2443.jpg

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    Austin Texas
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    I don't know how close to the edge you might have in mind for your first option, but I would point out that your stop will spread the load over a few inches (as opposed to more of a single point) and just how much load will a planning stop experience anyway? I'd imagine it could be pretty close to an edge without ever tearing out. I contemplated a stop similar to your proposed stop but was going to put it on the opposite corner of my split top bench from the leg vise.
    David

  3. #3
    I don't have any vises on my workbench at all. This is tremendously liberating.

    What are you trying to do? It was hard to tell from the pictures.
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 06-20-2018 at 8:56 PM.

  4. #4
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    I use round bench dogs in the holes on top of my work bench. Google round bench dogs.
    IIRC, I bought mine at Woodcraft. You could make wooden ones as well.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
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    Lewisville, Tx
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    Nice bench.

    You might want trial temporary planing stops in both positions to see if one is better than the other.

    What flies are you working on?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Perth, Australia
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    9,467
    Hi Todd

    My planing stop is a retreaded dog. It is placed just forward of the vise ...



    Use it with a doe's foot ...



    Link: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...aningStop.html

    Placing is within accessible distance from the vise means that you can link a longer stop ...



    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    I’m left handed as well. I did not install a planing stop in my bench. I just do as Derek showed with a shop made stop clamped into the vise. I made a couple - 1/2” & 1/4” - the 1/4” to accomodate planing thinner stock. While slightly less convenient than tapping up an installed stop, I haven’t really missed not having one.

    F2D13F2B-8CA7-4772-8C82-82227FFBB501.jpg

  8. #8
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    Doug, sorry if I didn’t post enough information. I bought a Benchcrafted stop and was wanting to use it with a holdfast and a doe’s foot like Derek suggested.

    Their plans suggested mounting it on a 2.5” x 2.5” x 10” piece of wood. That is shown in the photos, and i was trying to decide where to cut the square hole in the benchc top.

    Derek’s post made me realize that it is just a really big bench dog. I might just replace the last dog hole with a square hole for the “big dog” as it seems to be in the right place.

    Thanks, David. At the moment, I am tying clouser minnows and deceivers for saltwater fishing. I am planning to build a bench-on-a-bench accessory to hold the fly-tying vise and materials that I can store underneath the bench top when i am doing woodworking.

  9. #9
    In traditional benches the stop is usually placed forward of the vise, near the end of the bench. You don't have much room in there and in your first picture there is only about 5/8 inch between the stop and the end of the bench. You have this big heavy block and then hardly any tissue to support it, a mismatch. Even when making the mortise there is danger that it might break out at the end. So you will want to move it as far from the end as you can, back next to the leg.

    2X2 is a more common size for the stop and your 2 1/2 inch stop makes your problem worse. You are a little limited by your hardware, but the hook (iron) part of your stop can overhang by more on the teeth side and you can take some thickness away from the other side maybe get down to 1 7/8 or so and almost right up against the leg. This might give closer to two inches between the stop and the end of the bench which would be adequate.

    When I built my bench I made a 1X2 beech stop (broad side against the board) thinking I would replace it later with 2X2. 39 years later I am still using the same piece of beech. I like a stop without the teeth because it does not mar the work, but some like the extra grab of the teeth.

  10. #10
    I very recently faced a similar issue on my smallish bench. Eventually it occurred to me to just put it where my dog hole was because if I ever needed a dog there, well the planing stop will serve that purpose. Based on your situation, I would go with the last dog hole. Although, I'd be temped to try and make the block a bit narrower to try and preserve as much meat on the bench as possible.

  11. #11
    Join Date
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    Libertyville, IL (Chicago - North)
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    Todd, Even if the wood blows out, it's not the end of the world. You can put a piece another piece of wood perpendicular to it, lagged bolted in. That's how mine is made. That would be a simple repair. Then again, if you are pushing hard enough to blow out that thick maple -- oooph -- maybe the cross piece should be titanium. Also, why not take the extra 3/8ths (or whatever that is) off from behind the steel. That WO stop is pretty stout. It can tolerate a shave to give you a wee bit more bench behind the stop.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    Houston
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    Too late! I decided to just go for it, and I covered the last dog hole.

    A1CBA838-F7C2-4BCA-A7E4-569A3FAFA45C.jpg

    Fortuitously, when I cut the hole it revealed that I had used the really large Dominos near the end when I laminated the bench top, so I have some embedded long grain for support. Seems very solid.

    Time to make a doe’s foot.
    Attached Images Attached Images

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