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

















14 comments so far
GaryK
home | projects | blog
10263 posts in 2153 days
#1 posted 1866 days ago
Pretty cool fixture. Nice looking jointing plane also!
-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX
Thuan
home | projects | blog
203 posts in 1983 days
#2 posted 1866 days ago
Makes great coleslaws too.
-- Thuan
Russel
home | projects | blog
2199 posts in 2104 days
#3 posted 1866 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 http://www.VillageLaneFurniture.com
Al Navas
home | projects | blog
305 posts in 2040 days
#4 posted 1866 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, Country Club, MO, http://sandal-woodsblog.com
Yettiman
home | projects | blog
160 posts in 1903 days
#5 posted 1866 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
home | projects | blog
27262 posts in 1987 days
#6 posted 1866 days ago
Interesting idea. I have a #7 that is just sitting in the cabinet. I may try this out.
-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine
Magician
home | projects | blog
6 posts in 2236 days
#7 posted 1866 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
home | projects | blog
17823 posts in 2016 days
#8 posted 1866 days ago
Great jig Jcees. Nice & simple does the trick.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Blake
home | projects | blog
3421 posts in 2039 days
#9 posted 1866 days ago
Genius!
-- Happy woodworking! http://www.blakeweber.us
Thos. Angle
home | projects | blog
4400 posts in 2127 days
#10 posted 1866 days ago
Great jig. Seems like barrel makers(coopers) used a stationary plane to work staves.
-- Thos. Angle, Jordan Valley, Oregon
jcees
home | projects | blog
911 posts in 1964 days
#11 posted 1866 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
home | projects | blog
1041 posts in 2233 days
#12 posted 1820 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
home | projects | blog
9596 posts in 2262 days
#13 posted 1793 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
parkerdude
home | projects | blog
147 posts in 1617 days
#14 posted 1118 days ago
Wow jcees,
I really feel lucky to have found this post. I don’t remember what I was looking for, but I’m glad I did. I ran right down to my basement shop and made one up. It works as well as I thought it would! Awesome Dude.
Thanks.
later,
-- dust control
Have your say...