Plane storage question

Re: Plane storage question

Dave Thompson

>Hi Ellis, not sure if my response is along the lines of what you're looking for aesthetically, or applicable to where you want to go... Regardless, I keep my planes horizontal, and don't worry about the downsides of being vertical or locked into a certain set that fits in my special cabinet. My most common use planes are in undivided drawers under my bench where I can accomodate up to a #7. My other planes are horizontal on shelves on the wall. #5 and smaller are perpendicular to the wall, and larger jointers are parallel to the wall. I like this arrangement for flexibility. I have this fear of making a beautiful cabinet to fit a certain set of tools I use now, and then 5 years down the line, I'll find myself having restricted myself to tools that fit in the cabinet. Though now that I think about, the same set of planes that were in my bench 5 years ago are about the same ones that are there today, so I guess I just debunked that idea ;-)

In a recent FWW article, I saw Rodriguez had a tool armoir, i.e. humungo tool cabinet. I liked the larger size because it allowed for more flexibility.

Dave

Re: Plane storage question

Derek Cohen (in Perth Australia)

>Grief Mike, how can you post Scott's work and then expect us to offer our meagre suggestions?! :)

Ellis

Many of my planes, certainly the ones that I reach for first, are on a sloping board. I haven't measured the angle but I suspect that it is about 15 degrees. There is additional storage behind each.

The planes are held on by a combination of gravity (toe-first into a slight depression in the divider) and restraints at the upper side.

Easier to explain with a picture:

and a close up:

No magnets. Nothing fancy.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Plane storage question

Angus Barclay, in New Zealand

>Hello Ellis,

What pitch works for you?


90 degrees works well for me. Completely vertical. Takes the least possible space.

Do you think it is worthwhile providing some kind of hold-down arrangement (magnets? nose clips?) to protect against unwanted fallout?


Yes. It's essential if you use vertical storage (obviously) and seems a good safety measure even if you store the planes on a slope like you propose. Bumps, knocks, inquisitive children and earthquakes all happen in my shop and its a fair bet they're some sort of risk in many other shops too.

What are the alternatives, especially considering the length of the longer planes (#6- #8 in particular)?


The alternative that works for me is hanging the planes vertical with a loop around the front knob, in separate compartments with 1/4inch dividers between them, like in this picture.

Whatever solution you end up using, it's a safe bet that it will look a lot better than mine, so be be sure to post photos.

regards

Angus Barclay

Mine... *LINK*

Ted Owen, Pittsburgh

>slants back at 30 degrees from vertical. The ramps are hinged, to make useful the space behind them. And the planes can add up to significant weight, so use multiple ramps rather than one full-width one.

Nose up or down depends upon where on the ramp the plane fits. I keep handles toward the middle of the ramp, to accommodate lifting the ramp or closing cabinet doors. Equally easy to grab a plane regardless of which direction the handle faces.

I don't use anything under the plane to lift the blade off the ramp; mine store with the blade touching the ramp. And I've never experienced a problem with that. Originally I had planned to put a piece of leather under one end or the other, at least with the heavier planes, but now I'll just skip it.

Gravity alone keeps the planes in place. No magnets. A magnet near a metal tool somehow makes me nervous, but I don't know why. Leather loops would be fine, but with the ramp slanted up at 60 degrees, they're unnecessary. Of course, we don't get many earthquakes in Pittsburgh. : )

As everyone will suggest, leave plenty of space for expansion or changing the setup--even if you're convinced you already own every plane you'll ever want. Mine has changed a couple times since these photo's were taken, and I'm certain it will change again.

Good luck with your cabinet. And please update us with photo's.

Best, Ted


Shop Shot 422

Re: Plane storage question

Todd Stock

>This works - not fancy, but nothing ends up on the floor. Dusty from 6 weeks out of town - time for some clean-up. Fifteen degrees on the upper and about 30 on the lower. Looks like an ad for L-N, but that's just what ended up being the users.

Re: Plane storage question (minor hijack)

Todd Stock

>Ellis:

A bit of a hijack, but here's one of the four currently building (Size 2 deep body parlor - shown, OO-12 short scale, OOO-14 short scale, and a 14 fret short scale dread with 4-3/8" Clarence White-sized soundhole). One of these days, we'll have to log some quality porch pickin' time.

Good luck on the rack - lots of good ideas in this thread.

Regards,

Todd

Hole in toe and finish nail works good

Ernie Miller

>Mine is exactly like Derek's only differant check out shop tours if you want a picture.

Re: Plane storage question *LINK*

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>Hey, Ellis -

Some thoughts from the rack I built a couple years ago:

• My slope is right around 65�. It's worked very well. I've since added more planes, but not more magnets, and nothing's slid or fallen. I won't put any woodies on it; the low center of gravity on the iron planes makes them sit much more securely, while the wooden smoothers want to tip. But the larger planes' masses, combined with the slope and small lip, keeps them in place.



• Counter to everything I've read, two years of sitting on rare earth magnets hasn't magnetized a single plane yet. I added my magnets from below, and left maybe 1/16" or less wood between the magnet and plane, but no problems.



• I've since added a #7, two more blocks, and several spokeshaves that just lie there, and the springs are still working as spec'ed. They auto-lift a little slow in the winter, since my garage isn't heated, but they haven't reached their design capacity yet.

Similar concerns

Ellis Walentine

>Thanks, Dave. I've had those same concerns about making this too specific a solution. If the plane fairy is good to me, I will have several more planes in the future. I've been agonizing over how to make the ramp-and-divider system flexible and expandable.

In my old shop, I just had a long shelf with a piece of carpet on it. I put all my shorter planes nose-in and kept the longer ones sideways.

Ellis

Thanks, Ted

Ellis Walentine

>I had forgotten that shop shot. Man, tempus fugit, doesn't it? :-)

I like the idea of putting multiple planes on the same ramp, one above the other. And, your 30° pitch seems to work fine for a nice, deep, freestanding cabinet, where depth isn't a limitation. On my wall, though, I'm trying hard to keep the profile as low as possible. With a 12° pitch (which I have now mocked up and I think would be the steepest feasible pitch), I still need about 9" of cabinet depth so that the totes clear the doors. By the time I add a 4" thick door, the whole shebang is going to stick out at least 14" from the wall. That will cramp my backbench area.

I do like the idea of hinging the ramps to gain storage space.

Thanks,

Ellis

Nice work, Todd

Ellis Walentine

>I only have one short-scale guitar and I love it. I'd like to hear these new creations of yours. Bring 'em over anytime. :-)

Ellis

Re: Plane storage question

arw01

>Although less intuitive with the planes backwards, must be an Aussie thing south of the equator you know, with the rear tote's at the top you don't need such a deep cabinet.

Alan

Um, gas springs...

Ellis Walentine

>...maybe not; at least I haven't slipped that far down the slope yet. :-)

I like the magnet idea. I must've missed the previous discussions about magnetizing the plane soles. What are the odds, and why would it matter I wonder? Your hidden magnet configuration makes a lot of sense.

Thanks for reminding me of this solution. Nice job.

Ellis

Re: Plane storage question

MIke Fitterling

>Here's my temporary solution. The planes are vertical and the heel rests in a channel with the toe slipping under a little wood block. You lift and tilt the heel toward you to take them down. I am going to make a nice "box" to hang later on French cleats similarly, as the planes take up much less space out from the wall.

Re: Um, gas springs...

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>The problem with magnitizing the soles is that they will carry iron and steel filings back from your "dirty" or sharpening bench to your woodworking bench, where they will cause problems, both by dulling other blades, and by staining your woodwork, especially if you work with oak, mahogany and other woods with high tannin content.

Re: Plane storage question

Dan Moening

>I designed my plane till after Dave Andersons.

http://www.woodcentral.com/shots/shot485.shtml

I decided early on that I wanted to separate handtools from my handplanes to allow for the greatest flexibility.

As Daves plane till is open to the elements and my shop is a hybrid power/handtool {I generate quite a bit of dust}, I opted to enclose the cabinet.

The hinged trays are angled at 60�. This allows for enough room for the totes to clear the doors, and provide a 3" shelf at the top for a future purchase {a long woodie jointer, say}. The storage under the trays has 3 shelves, the middle of which is 9" deep {enough for additional planes}. These dimensions bring the cabinet to 17" in depth. A bit deeper than I wished, but you could easily make it shallower by removing the 3" top shelf.

All the plane storage areas are covered in cork with no magnetic hold downs. I did toy with the idea of nose down storage because I could reduce the depth of the cabinet by an inch, but it feel rather awkward for me...almost "top-heavy" in a sense.

Re: Nose down concerns...

Jerry Nicholson

>I am not real picky - I just grab the plane by whatever is handy, usually the blade/frog assembly. There is only one reason I have these planes nose down - it makes the name on the lever cap right side up. The name cast in the toe of the Bailey planes is also right side up that way although it is upside down for the Sargents and the Clifton that I no longer have.

Jerry

Nice, Dan

Ellis Walentine

>I like the pigeonholes for the block planes, too.

Ellis

I considered the... *LINK*

Christopher Fitch @ Memphis

>...ramped storage for planes and decided against it.

My vertical space is limited but a horizontal scheme was better for me. However, I will readily admit I only performed a very brief examination of the space requirements for a ramped system. The other cabinets in this thread look quite nice and seem to use their designated areas quite efficiently.

Here's my first (and only and ugly) cabinet that is similar in idea to Becksvoort's cabinet from FWW a few years ago.


http://home.midsouth.rr.com/cfitch/furniture_record/workshop/HandToolCabinet1.html