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Thread: Resting planes on their sides vs soles

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
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    Warwick, RI
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    Resting planes on their sides vs soles

    I just ran across this on FB where some newbie was asking about handplanes and started with "I know planes are supposed to be laid on their side", ugh!

    There's much information that poo poos this idea as coming from trying to keep young students from damaging planes. Teachers thought the kids might lay them on top of another tool or something other than the wood bench thT they are designed to work on.


    How many of you are still following this rule and why?
    Last edited by Richard Hutchings; 05-07-2022 at 9:43 AM.

  2. #2
    I don't mind laying the plane down on the sole but I do set it down as gently as possible on only wooden surfaces.

  3. #3
    Resting them on a bench I dont care if the bench gets scratched. Resting them on any other surface that might damage the blade or be damaged by it, I use common sense.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
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    Missouri
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    I am far more careful about where I set the plane on the bench. Many more planes have been damaged by being knocked to the floor when repositioning material. Unless you have a hard surface finish on your bench not much chance of damaging a sharp iron unless you put it in a pile of tools that shouldn’t be there anyway.
    Jim
    Last edited by James Pallas; 05-07-2022 at 10:52 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
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    Peoria, IL
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    New woodworkers have a lot more to learn than how they rest their planes. I don't see it as a real issue. Respect for tools can come in many forms and a little caution is a good thing in my book.

  6. #6
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    My worry is more about what the blade can do to the bench top than what the bench top will do to the blade. On the bench the planes are usually set down on their side, old habits and all.

    For storage many are kept on their sides on a shelf as this makes it easier to grab the tote. Molding planes are stored resting on their sole. Some of the metal planes have a piece of wood under the toe to keep the blade from slicing the shelf. On another shelf there are four Stanley/Bailey planes stowed on their sole.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 05-08-2022 at 1:48 AM. Reason: changed plane to blade
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2021
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    Spartanburg South Carolina
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    I rest, not slam down on the sole. Bench is wood and so is the plank I will drive the blade across hundreds of times. I can hit metal tools carelessly laying it down (which I don't) or by bumping the blade if laid down sideways. People over think this, its not important, do what ever makes you feel good and piss on everyone else.

  8. #8
    I think it was Matt Estlea or Jonathan Katz who put the plane down a significant number of times. I could be wrong, but I thought it was 1000 or so. The end result was no distinguishable degrading of sharpness. I’m with Frank from Frank’s workbench, I’d rather have the plane resting on the blade, then worry about it being exposed in a way that something can knock against it and chip it or I can accidentally get cut on it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    There is a GREAT OPPORTUNITY for an enterprising tool maker ….. and I just bet that this could take off like wild fire ….
    … someone should begin making and offering for sale SPECIAL boards to rest planes on. The only potential problem I can anticipate is that they make them look too good to damage.

    I wonder if I can interest WoodPeckers in the concept? Anodized aluminium would last longer.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 05-07-2022 at 8:27 PM.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    How about Dyneema? The strongest rope. Strong like steel but it’s not. Splice a mat:

    4780E5C4-4D37-49B7-A36A-3496D62D6C10.jpg

    Best pic I have, lasts a lifetime! $20 + shipping sound fair? Throw away those random wood rests, this is so much quieter!
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
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    twomiles from the "peak of Ohio
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    Hmmm...
    2 hour Saturday, drawer front.JPG
    It is MADE to be ON wood....and sitting, it ain't gonna cut anything...maybe learn how to set one these things done...
    The Groovy Stuff, 2 of them.JPG
    The Plane Tils in my shop have pine shelves....planes plop their soles flat on the clean, pine...no issues.

    However, IF I have to lay a plane on, say my Tablesaw...over on the side it goes...
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
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    IIRC Rob Cosman had a whole video on the subject. He puts them down on the sole.
    I have a shelf above my bench that they rest on sole down.
    Young enough to remember doing it;
    Old enough to wish I could do it again.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    South West Ontario
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    I started using it for my scrub planes, it was either that or lie them sideways which was not convenient. Now that it’s there it gets used.

    Setting a smoothing plane down rarely leaves a mark but when you do it 80 times a project over the years it adds up, as your benches testify.

    The other benefit is I can put my planes down faster with no clunk!

    Steve if you levelled your bench and re-finished it you might feel differently? No….probably not 🫤
    ​You can do a lot with very little! You can do a little more with a lot!

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    My bench is for work, not to serve Dinner on....planes are made to sit ON wood....and, as long as they don't get slid when you set them down...they do not leave a mark. Haven't seen any, yet....

    Bench was leveled a few weeks ago, after the last Project was done...
    A Planer? I'm the Planer, and this is what I use

  15. #15
    Derek, I think you just spoiled LV's April Fool's Day item for 2023!!!

    They could have offered a protective, replaceable veneer inserts and different sizes for each plane. Still better, there could be low angle and high angle plane versions.

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