Hand Planing ( without
tail vise)
An alternative to a tail-vise setup and holdfasts for face planing boards. Most flat, regular benches
can easily
be modified to incorporate this hand planing setup using bench stops ( Roubo
style)....
Photos below of the hand planing jig setup on a
bench I have in my workshop.
This bench has been modified for adaptation of the two hand planing bench stops.
This can be expanded with longer bench stops, more holes for versatility, etc.
I chose this particular spacing for the type of work I do..
Also, I am left-handed and plane left to right. I set this up on the back side
of my bench
which is unencumbered by a face vise ( face vise is on front of bench ).
It is important to get the 3/4 in. dowel holes
square to the bench and to each other,
this is to make sure the 12 in. bench stops are perpendicular to each other.
The side bench stop does a great job of preventing the board from rotating
sideways
while hand planing with diagonal strokes. It has a large bearing surface
to keep any size board from rotating. The side bench stop is also movable within
a
12 in. span on 3 sets of holes, allowing for narrow boards and wider boards ( 2
in. to 14 in.).
The side bench stop can be swung around towards
the front bench stop with a parallel set
of holes , this to accommodate shorter boards. Pictures below give the idea.
The wide front bench stop also serves to prevent
the board from rotating or shifting sideways
as it has a large bearing surface for the front edge of the board. Bench stops
(front and side)
are friction fit so they can be raised to accommodate thicker boards,
very much like a bench dog ( 1/4 in. to 3/4 in.)..
Otherwise, the minimum height of the bench stops would be approx. 1/4 inches.
The hole spacing is arbitrary and based on the
type of board sizes I typically hand plane.
The birch dowels ( 2 in. long ) are glued in the bench stops with ebony wedges
in the
dowel kerf for tightness. Kerfs are cut on a bandsaw.
A benefit of having a board simply against bench stops is that you really cannot
drag the plane back
in your strokes. The only wear on the blade then is from the forward stroke.
Also you eliminate the
tendency of bowing a thinner board from clamping between bench dogs and
tail-vise and distorting
the board while planing. You also have much more feedback and control of
your planing and it
becomes easy and quick to re-orientate the board end for end or flip it over,
etc..
More holes can be added to allow for very short
boards as done in bottom pictures.. It is then a matter
of swinging the side bench stop around towards the front bench stop. The spacing
and location
I have selected is optimized for the length and width of boards I typically hand
plane.
The drilled 3/4 in. holes can also be used for bench dogs and holdfasts for irregular sized pieces.
Align side bench stop to be perpendicular with
face of front bench stop using a large square to
mark holes. This will ensure the complete edge of the bench stop is against the
board to be planed.
Side bench stop set to narrowest width, closest to edge of bench
Bench stops can be raised or lowered as conventional bench stops for thinner or thicker boards.
Parallel set of holes drilled to accommodate
shorter and wider boards, pictures below.
It is recommended to lay out all the holes you will need for this system and
then drill them.
This ensures that all holes are square and perpendicular to each other and the
front bench stop.
A short , narrow piece of lacewood being planed.
A small, wide panel being face-planed.
