Plane Till

Darren Wright

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My plane collection I seem to be using more and more on projects, however they're just not where I can easily get to them or forget them until it's too late. I've decided that a plane till might be in order to get them where I can see and grab one when I need it, along with a few other similar tools, like my scrapers. Here is what I've come up with so far for a design. I may just add a bunch of slots cut 1" apart so that things can be reconfigured as needed. I've got a bunch of white oak shorts that should work well for this project.

Plane Till.jpg

I'm planning on a french cleat on the back, probably some rails on the main board to keep things separated.
 
Looks workable to me, but I'm far from an expert in such things. I'll be curious to see what the real plane users here have to say. :lurk:
 
Given any thought to having a spot for spokeshaves. I think they as useful as a plane for some tasks. Often left in draws and forgotten for the same reason. Got the same metal sharp edge :)

Still have to make one of these so will be watching your final outcome.
 
darren the idea of getting them out where you can see them is a plus, as for the design i was looking at a slanted side but went with square which gave me a place to make hangers or storage spots for other tools the pigeon holes are nice but it restricts your locations of tools with out dividers you can get in easier and reorder them as the collection grows. i think i posted a picture of it a long time ago if you did a search you might find what i am referring to.. just my take on it..

IMG_8124.jpgIMG_8125.jpg
 
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I would want the lower cubbies more accessible. Even with my swept back dividers the act of returning the plane to the till requires a bit of focus. I bang the dividers now and then and always seem to surprise myself since I think I am being cautions :eek:

Plane Till (17).jpg

As to the longer planes, I went with a variation of Chris Gouchner's method. I use boot laces as the hanging loops but, was not willing to commit to a fixed layout. You can see one divider that I can move from hole to hole. I only found this really necessary for the jointer as I needed some control over the long body when removing and replacing this tool to assure myself I would bang things together . . . its starting to sound like I might just be a klutz. The hanging area has already changed a half a dozen times and I only built this thing in summer of 2014.

I had thought about a row of holes along the top of the till where I could adjust plane positions side to side but, I wanted the top smooth to set stuff on. I finally went with the pegboard solution as I seem to still be morphing this aspect of my tool storage. Hanging the tools from loops also lets you use a much less steep angle (I think I am at about 3 degrees) to keep the tool put.

Plane Till (56).jpg . Plane Till (57).jpg

Mine is 24" wide but, the space fills up fast. I added a couple of wings for overflow and storage of chisels and other items like shaves and measuring tools. Just food for thought.
 
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I believe that I would use Blacky's Boy's (Dominic Greco, who use to participate here) plane cleats over at Woodnet. I prefer your sloped plane till over his more veritical version though.

I am looking forward to your build.
 
Thanks guys.

Rob, I don't have any spoke shaves yet, but have been eyeing some, so guess I'd better consider that.

Larry I think you're right, I've got a french cleat system over one of my benches and was thinking of just a cabinet just for planes, but with the slants I really couldn't add additional storage very easily. I at least could do doors with a box cabinet if need be too.

I hadn't thought of using boot laces, but I know your collection is far more expensive than the ones I have Glenn, so if you trust them, sounds like they may be a good solution for keeping it re-configurable.

Bill, I really like those cleats of Dominic's, another thing to consider.
 
Well, with this becoming my project for the group build that Matt suggested, I'll be making some updates to my sketchup to test out Larry's design and see if I can work in Glenn's boot lace usage.
 
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