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Thread: Can you bring a plane on a plane? TSA and woodworking question

  1. #1

    Can you bring a plane on a plane? TSA and woodworking question

    So this is sort of a silly question, but I'm seriously thinking of bringing a handplane on the my upcoming flight to San Diego.

    However, I don't want TSA to confiscate it.

    Have any of you guys safely brought a handplane (or other woodworking stuff) on a plane?


    I figure that chisels are out, same for knives, same for drill bits and rasps. However, I'm not sure if some pocket planes can get around that restriction.

  2. #2
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    If you put in your checked in luggage I bet they won’t care. If you try to carry it on the plane I bet they look at you like your wearing a necklace with a mackerel on it.
    Aj

  3. #3
    Oh, as to what plane?

    I'm thinking of bringing my shiny 40th anniversary pocket plane.
    With luck, I hope to convince TSA that it's a shiny paperweight/sculpture.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Lau View Post
    Oh, as to what plane?

    I'm thinking of bringing my shiny 40th anniversary pocket plane.
    With luck, I hope to convince TSA that it's a shiny paperweight/sculpture.
    Yeah! Right! Do you think they will mind when a shiny blade falls out?

    Put it in your checked luggage. Of course a 48 hr observational hold wouldn't be too bad if you really didn't want to go to San Diego.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  5. #5
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    You have 3 options:

    1. put it in a checked bag

    2. fly private (that's what I do*)

    3. try to carry it on and potentially cause yourself a HUGE headache


    * that comment is usually reserved for one of my sports forums where we are all 6'5", bench 450, have 3% body fat, are married to supermodels and $100k is a rounding error in our weekly draw... and the absolute worst indignation one can suffer is flying commercial...
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

    Deep thought for the day:

    Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.

  6. #6
    Send it ahead by mail or courier.

    You gotta figure if they take away a tiny pair of nail clippers a tool with an inch wide blade that can split a hair ain’t getting on either.

  7. #7
    bummer. You're probably all right.

    May bring my guitar instead.
    It's custom made for this type of stuff.

    And here I was looking forward to planing on a plane.

  8. #8
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    If you're wanting it in San Diego and worried about checking the plane, I bet you could check the plane blade and carry on the plane body OK. (But check with TSA ahead of time, just in case.)

    PS- if you really want to plane on a plane, good luck. I'm pretty sure TSA and the airlines think it's their jobs to insure all flights are miserable.

  9. #9
    Send it ahead of you or chance putting it in your luggage. If you’re taking it carry-on I can almost guarantee problems. There is proper ways of declaring this and getting proper stickers. A buddy of mine travels internationally with firearms for firearm competitions. Call the airport in advance and let them know what you’re bringing and what paperwork you need to fill out... walk the steps. Or risk seizure.

    Some of the US airports have given me tons of trouble with tools in my toolbox. So now...I’ve given them inside the toolbox, destination, return to address, drivers license photo copy, passport photo copy, and full copy of flight details. I have nothing to hide!
    Last edited by Matt Mattingley; 10-09-2018 at 2:14 AM.

  10. #10
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    I can only echo what everyone else has said. Fun little story; when I was 10 I was flying to Vancouver. Put my bag through the scanner and when it came out one of the people there grabbed it and starting swabbing it. Ran it through the swab whatever. At this point I was thinking cool, a random test with cool machines. Then they opened it and started taking out my stuff. After the usual books and stuff was out they started taking out screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers. I was pretty shocked and they were too. I then remembered a few months ago I had a future career day school where kids were supposed to bring stuff related to their future. At that point I wanted to be violinist but I wasn't going to bring an expensive instrument into school so I brought some tools because I liked tinkering with stuff at the time. I was one of those kids who had a backpack stretched out with books on books on books, and I had managed to forget to take out those tools and they sunk to the bottom for the next few months without me noticing. Yeah I literally carried enough books around everyday the extra pound or more of tools wasn't felt. They just looked at me for a bit and I guess decided I probably wasn't a flight risk nor were my mum and sisters and said "you can't bring these on the flight." They were nice enough to tell us about an option to pay to mail them back to us but my mum was plenty mortified and wanted to just leave ASAP and declined. I still don't have a normal plier or a needle nose plier anymore. Crikey its been a decade. Should get on buying some.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vincent Tai View Post
    ...screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers. ... said "you can't bring these on the flight."
    Back before the TSA I always had a small wooden tool box in my carry-on when traveling to certain federal offices in Washington DC in case I needed to work on a computer to get my job done. (those people were not technically functional).

    On one return flight the security person looked inside and said I couldn't carry that on the plane. I said I've carried it on every flight for years. He said but what if you decide to take something apart on the plane? I assured him I would not so he finally let me take the tools under one condition - that I promise not to open the box during the flight. Ok.

  12. #12
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    It takes me forever to get thru TSA. I have deck screws, links, large metal chunks along with wire and small computer in me. I go thru the xray and then get the thorough pat down . The little computer and wires in my back always get to them. The TSA is always polite and nice.

  13. #13
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    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  14. #14
    That's a no. Plastic blades are allowed, so unless your plane has one of those...(extrapolate).

  15. #15
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    They confiscated a router wrench they found in my laptop bag. Said it was too long. Plane iron? not a chance, it will be confiscated (entire plane)
    Chuck

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