I’ve read every post I could find on hand planes, along with a couple of books and magazine articles, but nothing I’ve read says anything about how you should properly store your hand planes. I can imagine anything from re-wrapping them in their anti-rust paper and putting them back in their original boxes, all the way to (I swear I saw this picture in one of the books I read) throwing them into a pile under the work bench.
Sooooo. . . how do some of you store your planes? I’m not talking about a rare collection that’s admired but never used–like a coffee table book–but actual, working planes in a home shop. What do I need to know along the lines of rust prevention, not damaging the irons, and anything else you think I should take into consideration?
Bob
Replies
The Lie-Nielsen web site has pretty good instructions on the care of their planes which would apply to most planes. For an example check http://www.lie-nielsen.com/tool.html?id=5_25
George
Bob: I have a metal tool chest under my workbench; the drawers are lined with ribbed rubber mats and there is a heater underneath that keeps the moisture at bay. I also keep most of my important rust-able items like router bits, chisels, metal squares and the like in the other drawers. No rust ever. Also keeps Miller dowels etc. dry and small glue bottles warm in winter.
KDM
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For each of my planes, I took a piece of 3/4" pine and ripped to width of plane +1/8", then cut to length of plane + 1/8". I then put the plane lightly on the block, mark where the blade is. I then cut a 3/4" wide dado centered on that line, 1/4" deep. I then take some hardboard (i use the 1/4" melemine covered stuff) and cut it to a width 2". I then cut pieces to attach to ends of the board and then the sides, leaving a 2" wide gap where the dado is, to allow for air circulation and so I can see the blade. When I use the plane, I take down the plane and its holder so that when I put it down I can put in the holder and not damage the blade. For my shoulder plane, I made the sides 3" to support it better and made the front and rear supports 4" wide so it would not tip over.
I have a wall cabinet, with doors, that I threw together to hold my Stanley type 11 collection. Also, the smaller planes are kept in Crown Royal bags. They get a coat of paste wax about once a year.
For long storage, wipe them down with oil or paste wax and wrap them tightly with cloth then in plastic wrap. Make sure they are thoroughly dry first.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
PlaneWood
I've attached two snapshots. The first was taken at a weekend seminar by Yeung Chan and shows the traveling tool box he takes on the road - IIRC, almost all of the tools in it were made by him. There are better pictures of it available in his book, "Classic Joints with Power Tools."
The second photo shows the lower half of one of the classroom tool cabinets at school - the part in which hand planes are kept.
-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Sorry for late post.. I guess I missed your pictures somehow...
REALLY NICE.. If I send you all my hand tools can you make me one?...
My first job was setting up Brown and sharp auto screw machines.. AND sharpening ALOT of drills and cut-off tools...
Old German tool maker by my bench had this Beautiful tool box on his bench.. Each drawer had a PERFECT cutout in wood for each tool. Lined with felt.. He had ALOT of tools...
Well, one day I was using the surface grinder.... I forgot to but on the magnetic table.. Went to grind... (hay I was young).. Tool I was going to sharpen flew and stuck in the side of 'HIS' tool box..
I left immediately and went looking for a new job!
Edited 6/9/2005 11:16 am ET by Will George
....and stuck in the side of his tool box"--- Zat issnot funny-ve haf vays of dealing wiz people like YOU!
I reckon you are lucky to have lived to tell the tale.
I have a drawer in my tool box. Wood bottom and sides. A bunch of 3/4"sq sticks that keep the planes apart.
I dare say purists will cringe when I admit that I canna see my router table for planes (each with their blade retracted outa harms way)... While it was fine when the range was just 3 or 4, its grown to be a major PITA... hence the current project; a proper wall mounted tool cabinet.
When I'm done with each for the day, they get a wipe with Camellia oil, blades and cap irons get a spray with the same oil at every honing while the soles get waxed periodically during use...
Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
Thanks, everyone, for the ideas. I've been practicing the past month with a couple of new planes, and I like what I'm doing a LOT! I had worked with a plane previously--a Sears Craftsman, I believe--and was so disgusted with the results that I simply refused to use it anymore. But the posts here convinced me to try again, this time with a proper tool. I'm smitten!
In any event, I suspect these two planes are just the start of a mini-collection, and I wanted some ideas ahead of time. Thanks again. Take care . . .
Bob
Build a workbench with a shelf underneath. Lay down a few routing mats (the little neoprene mats) set them flat on that. Mat cushions blade so no dulling. Planes are available for ready access and use.
Not much into projects to display tools. I'll leave that to the tool museums.
Oy, Stan,
Who said those cabinets are for displaying the tools, as in a museum???My take on it is that a cabinet houses the tools in an accessible manner,preferably at a convenient height like eye level.Although I have a bench with storarage space/cabinets under I find it inconvenient in use -so only stuff not often used is put there, apart from sharpening stuff that is.
Anyway, if there is an open shelf as you advocate, it will be below shavings level in next to no time(!)
Mookie - the sun rose this morning in the east.
Small planes (shoulder, block, etc.) in the tool well + big planes on shelf under benchtop = the epitome of accessibility. Especially if you have a nice sized shop where the bench occupies the exact center of the shop (a location that I rather like for for accessibility to all sides). Walking back and forth to a wall mounted tool cabinet seems like an outrageous waste of steps to me.
For a bench shoved against a wall out of necessity (surely the only reason to position it as such) I suppose a wall mounted cabinet over the bench makes sense, or perhaps for very small shops where the extra steps don't matter.
Yes, a few shavings collect on the edge of the shelf. The horror - a pile of little shavings.
Edited 6/15/2005 11:51 am ET by cstan
Walking back and forth to a wall mounted tool cabinet seems like an outrageous waste of steps to me...
Hay.. We all need more exercise!
Pushing the planes is not enough?
What ya gotta do is get these long boards that make ya run the length, how's that for exercise...
Exactly what I meant - using hand planes is hard enough work without having to walk across the room every time I need a plane.
All the basic bench planes I need on any given day are on or below the workbench.
Hollows and rounds and other molding planes are on a shelf as they are less frequently used. I usually run moldings early in the process and I'm through with them at that point.
I need the jointer, jack, scrub, smoothers, shoulder, combination, plough, etc. constantly during a project and I want them close. I don't give a poop if they get shavings on them or a little dusty. Jeesh, they're tools not the crown jewels.
Most wall-mounted fancy tool cabinets hold about a quarter of the tools a hand tool workshop would own anyway. Why bother? Do they look great? Sure as hell do. Do they make sense if you have a lot of tools to store? Sure as hell don't. If you're busy with this hobby or occupation are your tools ever really 'stored' in the truest sense of that word anyway? Not mine. I don't have a messy shop, but I don't have a lot of elaborate storage 'solutions' either.
Stan, old china,
Some people, myself included, like to see some humour in life. I had envisaged a vast build up of shavings (hand plane) rising up from the floor and engulfing the bench and all, since I have the impression that you are a fanatical graduate of The School of Hand Planing (North America).Incidentally, in this case it would not matter if the sun rose in the west, or north, as you would not be able to appreciate it.
I have a picture of me standing about mid-calf deep in Mahogany shavings - coarse ones from a scrubber. I was quite busy that day and my wife took the surprise snap. Yes, the shavings were over the lower shelf on my bench.
That afternoon, the cold beer never tasted so good...
.....deep in mahogany shavings". Excellent. What we need to see now is a picture of your wife sweeping these shavings with a straw broom....
Or me with a flash light searching the cavernous depths of my under bench cabinets for my Stanley #1.
Seriously now, referring to the original thread, I put all planes (and other tools ) that are current, on another smaller lower bench close to my working bench (er, not even one step away). At the end of the day everything is put back in wall cabinet in it's place. I think that a wall cabinet actually keeps a lot more tools in a neat and handy way than you think.
mookaroid,
Okay, that broke the camel's back...what's wrong with my straw broom and plastic snow shovel ..it works fast ..no noise...no plug access required...yes, it takes a bit of coordination but you can practice with a knife and fork..kinda...he,he
Edited 6/16/2005 7:33 am ET by BG
I had envisaged a vast build up of shavings (hand plane) rising up from the floor and engulfing the bench and all
One o these days I'll get to lookin for where the web cam's been stashed in my shop...and when dooooooooooooooooo...
As for the sun-rise n set thing... if ya think I'm gettin up at ten past four in the mornin just in-case it's nae cloudy...sheesh... sunset's at a civilised hour though...22:05
An just what's so wrong wi a dustpan n broom..???????? I tried using the dust collector on shavings..... once.... it clogged..!!Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
I hereby inform you and the rest of the Brotherhood of Dedicated HandPlaners that I recently purchased, with my life savings, one Veritas #41/2 smoother. The reasons for choosing this over the legendary L/N are mainly personal. I will carry out some modifications on Sunday and show pictures.
I await pictures of your cabinet, completion of which is now well over-due: are you spending too much time at the high street buttery?
I await pictures of your cabinet, completion of which is now well over-due: are you spending too much time at the high street buttery?
Patience now... patience... ye canna rush these things ye ken...
I'm still at the head scratching stage with the internal lay-out of the doors. The plane storage pallet's done; just needs a lick o' wax and the magnets fitted. Mike Wallace
Stay safe....Have fun
As mentioned before look into a Lie-Nelson Care kit. Probably the most useful thing in the kit is the Camelia Oil. Its a very old method used by the Japanese Craftsmen. Just wipe some on with a paper towel and you will rarely see a spec of rust on it even after weeks in humid climate.
Walker,
For rust prevention, one of the mags (either PW or FWW) recently did a comparison of various stuff ... if I'm remembering it right (which is a VERY iffy proposition), Boeshield T9 came out best ... camellia oil among the worst. I was surprised - I use and like camellia oil, and I'd assumed the occasional rust I get was a result of acidic sweaty fingers and subtropical humidity.
Maybe someone else has the magazine issue at hand and can make certain ...
For protecting the irons' edges (assuming you're not putting them sole-down on a metal surface), there are diverging schools of thought ... some say that the plane must either be set on it's side or the blade should be retracted, others (me included) do not find any harm to the edge in resting the planes sole-down on a wood surface with edge at the ready. Storing them almost vertically should eliminate most concerns about storing them with iron extended, as there's very little weight on the edge.
Hope this helps ...
Clay
Clay,
Do you recall if they said whether Boeshield T9 had any effect on finishing when artifacts were left on the wood? The biggest advantage of the camelia oil is that if some transfers from a tool to the work, it doesn't effect the finish.-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
JD,
I don't remember ... indeed, I'm not even sure that the Boeshield was 'da winnah' - if I can find the issue I'll check.
Clay
Clay,
Thanks for following up,-Jazzdogg-
Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right.
Here's another thread running along the same vein....
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages/?msg=23970.1
here are some pics of how I've got my planes on my wall with my other go-to tools.
I couldn't handle my old tool chest anymore.
You just have to keep tweaking to find what works for you.
One more solution to storing hand planes I've seen here in Japan, mostly the carpenters will do this. They make a wooden base by planing into a piece of wood a little wider and as long as the plane they want to protect. They then use some sort of tying device to secure this to the plane. This way they can carry the planes in their toolbox and the belly and blade are protected.
Small shelf for them, on their sides. Light coat of 3n1 oil after use.
Need to build another shelf due to planes' ability to multiply.
Bob,
I found I needed to have my planes more accessible than they were, and liked the idea of having a covered cabinet to keep dust out – although that was a secondary consideration. Since I’ve got this hung on a French cleat, I can take the cabinet off the wall and bring it to a jobsite – but it’s pretty heavy. Still, I like having my hand planes organized and close by.
Mitch
"I'm always humbled by how much I DON'T know..."
Dedicated shelf, on their sides, in socks I made from gun socks. Cheaper than the ones Woodcraft sales and works as well. $12.00 ea vs $4 for gun sock and it will make 3 or 4. The sock contains silicone, as does the ones from Woodcraft, just not enough for any finishing issues. NO RUST issues, period.
My 2 cents
Jimmy
as always I wish you enough
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