Okay, here’s one of the most useful jigs that I’ve ever made. And if I lost i tomorrow, I could build another in about fifteen minutes. I’m not going to include any dimensions as you should make one to fit your own situation.

I made this up obviously with scraps. If I made it out of anything else, it wouldn’t work any better.

When I build things there’s always some small parts in need of a little fitting. Viola!

I frequently use this #7 right side up too. It has a Hock blade with a Clifton Stay-Set cap iron. I use this setup in many of my planes and it makes it a quick job to whet the edge back into use by not without having to remove the cap iron.

So when you’ve got small pieces to make and fit, knock one of these together and discover how well you can finesse something together using a well tuned hand plane… upside down!

Beats the heck out trying to finesse a small part into submission with a palm sander.
-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein






















13 comments so far
GaryK
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9530 posts in 884 days
posted 597 days ago
Pretty cool fixture. Nice looking jointing plane also!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Thuan
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203 posts in 713 days
posted 597 days ago
Makes great coleslaws too.
-- Thuan
Russel
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2061 posts in 835 days
posted 597 days ago
A pretty nifty idea, simple and to the point.
Concerning your photography, the perspective of the first picture made me step back and say, “Wow, that’s some plane, it’s a big as his table saw!” Thankfully, the rest of the pictures put things in a more realistic perspective.
-- Working at Woodworking www.VillageLaneFurniture.com
Al Navas
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289 posts in 771 days
posted 597 days ago
Pretty cool, jcees!
I agree, at first I thought it was a huge hand plane – it IS big. And a handy tip, too!
-- Al Navas, St Joseph, MO, http://sandal-woodsblog.com
Yettiman
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153 posts in 633 days
posted 597 days ago
Hi,
Looks really useful, I take it, it is stable. I would hate for my best plane to slip and take a chunk out of my finger. Their not fussy about what I feed them :(
-- Keep your tools sharp, your mind sharper and the coffee hot
Scott Bryan
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20693 posts in 717 days
posted 597 days ago
Interesting idea. I have a #7 that is just sitting in the cabinet. I may try this out.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Magician
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5 posts in 967 days
posted 597 days ago
A man after my own heart. A simple tool jig that appears to work well. No kind of protection for the fingers which means the woodworker must be careful. I’m past 71 and still have all ten digits after a lifetime of working around sharp tools. Careful beats any kind of gaurd that dosn’t always protect. you have a great day and God Bless.
-- Merlin the Magician, Wisconsin
Grumpy
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14926 posts in 747 days
posted 597 days ago
Great jig Jcees. Nice & simple does the trick.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Blake
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2757 posts in 770 days
posted 596 days ago
Genius!
-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
Thos. Angle
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4013 posts in 858 days
posted 596 days ago
Great jig. Seems like barrel makers(coopers) used a stationary plane to work staves.
-- Thos. Angle
jcees
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552 posts in 694 days
posted 596 days ago
Thanks all.
Yettiman, it is VERY STABLE as the jig ”fits” this plane and gravity does the rest. You’ll notice that I also have it clamped down. When I use it at the bench, I just push it against a benchstop. As to your fingers, well be careful, razor sharp tools are to be respected. In the past, I have made up a small push block when the work piece was too small to effectively push over the blade.
Scott, by all means get that #7 tuned up and put it to work, it will fundamentally change how you view woodworking. Good luck. Let me know if you need any pointers on how to proceed.
always,
J.C.
-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein
USCJeff
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899 posts in 964 days
posted 551 days ago
This is pretty creative. I’m very much into jigs, but I think I haven’t come by something quite like this yet. I would have to get my planes better tuned for this. Well done.
-- Jeff, South Carolina
WayneC
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6004 posts in 993 days
posted 523 days ago
Very nice Jig. This would be perfect for truing up the soles of wooden planes. The photos fooled me as well, I thought it was a #8.
-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov