holding thin stock while planing

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>The Japanese do it by installing two small fences on the long edges of the sole, fence thickness defines ultimate board thickness. Some of these planes have sprung back soles so pressure is applied to the end of the board, the planed part, while the close end is still being planed.

Of course, there are practical limites to board width, about 2".

Pam

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Greg Sloop, Portland Oregon

>Slips how?

I've planed stuff below 1/4".

Sometimes I'll have a spare piece of stock that goes between the planed item and the stop, less likely I'll run into the stop itself etc.

I do sometimes have problems with the spare stock lifting from the table, but not often.

I generally won't worry about a stop at the tail end though when I'm planing something that thin. It's more hassle then it's worth for me.

But as everone knows, I'm a bit odd in the head, so your milage may vary greatly.

Cheers,

Greg

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Tony Zaffuto

>Greg,

Your method is close to how I've been "testing" methods, so to speak. I'm going to give it another go with "dummy" pieces on both sides, bench dog at one end, LV clamp dog at the other to put pressure to hold.

Pam,

Like your ides (or the Japanese methdod) of thicknessing, Pretty simple and sounds foolproof! Got everthing going for it.

T.Z.

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Brent

>The short answer is you can use a simple wide wooden stop for planing thin stock.

I occasionally plane stock down to about 1/16" - for the slips for my plane iron sharpening jigs.

I use a wide stop set into a groove in my bench. Normally the stop is about 1/4" above the bench surface. For the really thin stuff it is only 1/32" above the bench surface. The stop has to be hard wood (I use maple) and it wears out since all the pressure is in such a narrow area near the edge.

The stop should be at least as wide as the work.

This picture shows a wood-eye-view of the stop and the slot in which it sits. The slot is about 1" wide and 1/4" deep. The stop is about 3/4" wide and 1/2" deep, so it extends 1/4" above the bench surface. This is my standard planing stop in my planing bench. For thin stuff, I use a thinner fence. The slot is wider than the stop so wood dust can collect in front of the stop without affecting use. The stop rests against the back side of the slot, so most of the force from planing is absorbed by the bench top, not by the screws that hold the stop down.

You can see the wear on the face of this stop. It is however several years old and still ok for a couple more even with lots of planing.

For really thin stock it is very hard to plane long pieces - the work really wants to bend upwards in front of the plane. At 1/16" thick it is hard to work pieces much more than 12" long. Perhaps using a #8, with the long toe in front of the blade, might help, but you lose the fine control with that large a plane.

Brent

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Wiley Horne--Glendora CA

>Tony,

Face planing. One thing I have found on face planing thin stock is that a long plane helps a lot. If the stock will stand just enough pressure from the dogs to hold both ends down, the long plane will flatten it enough along its length to keep it from squirming or buckling under planing load. Blade needs to be as sharp as it can get. On shorter pieces, like shorter than the plane length, you may not even need to use the dogs--just put a stop in the end vise, plane against that stop, with the plane pressing the work down flat against the bench. 30" C&W is real good for this, but whatever you got......

Edge jointing. Shooting board or match planing the thin pieces are probably preferred, but I like to just edge joint the board before resawing, while it's still thick enough to judge squareness accurately, plus you only have to straighten one edge, not the two resawn pieces.

Wiley

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>Haven't had the need to try it yet so I'm just guessing....how about hot glue or double backed tape to hold the workpiece down?

Brent, Your da man...

Scott Burr Ben Lomond,CA

>This is exactly what I do. Also there's no subsuite for good 'ol carpet tape too. Just tape to your bench and go...

Re: bench hook with a low stop

Dave Mount

>The chair back splats I mentioned in the green oak thread below are only 3/16" finished thickness. I made a bench hook using a piece of 1/8" stock as the stop on the top. Glue it on or countersink the fasteners to keep them safely away from your plane. Worked fine on pieces about 17" long.

Just a thought,

Dave

Dave Mount, northeastern MN

Vacuum hold down for thin stock

Greg Deavers in Stillwater

>Just read scott's msg about carpet tape. But would the tape pull the grain off of some really thin stock on removal?

I was wondering about several of the vacuum box designs I have seen in the magazines. Would it be possible to make a vacuum box designed specifically for the size of veneer most used, with enough suction to hold the thin piece while planing?? No stops to get in the way, etc...

Just thinkin out loud... may not work.

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Tony Zaffuto

>Guys and Gals,

Thanks for the various suggestions. Gonna try several of them later today. Have already ruled out thin stop ahead of the workpiece--keeps slipping, or really bending upwards! Was using my L-N LA jack--maybe should have gone #7.

Anyhow, I'm thinking now of a combo method--long shooting board with low stop, and since the back will not show, maybe a brad or two, about 1/16" above the shooting board surface, or the double back tape.

As I mentioned in my furst post, this is just for "ironing out" my technique before I get to the good stuff.

Tony Z.

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Good idea. Are those wood screws, or machine screws?

Re: holding thin stock while planing

Gerry Doll

>A while back I saw a post including a jig for planing thin stock. The jig consisted of 3 pieces of plywood, a base(as wide as the plane) and 2 walls. The bottom was lined with sandpaper to hold the stock, with a narrow stop at the end. Shims could be added to adjust for thickness of the stock. Haven't tried it, but it looked like it would work.