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I've been trying to think of a convenient way to store my hand planes above my bench, but I'm having a hard time coming up with something nice. It's not like I've got many, just a number 6 and a block, but I want them to hand, yet safe when not in use.
Any suggestions chaps? A googling has come up with nothing really...
Cheers

Traditional is on their sides with some sort of arrangement so that nothing touches the blade.   Very handy to just reach up and find the handle right there...

Is there any specific reason to leave the plane on it's side when the iron's well retracted? I tend to retract the blade when not in use any...

Why bother? Just store it in a manner that the iron doesn't touch anything unless you just love spending extra time fussing with tools. I'd rather grab it and use it.

You might also consider that whatever you store above your bench may some day fall onto whatever is in progress on your bench.

One of these days I'd like to build one of these for all my handtools and measuring things, plans/article available from Fine Woodworking.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

[QUOTE=Rick Turner] Why bother? Just store it in a manner that the iron doesn't touch anything unless you just love spending extra time fussing with tools. I'd rather grab it and use it.[/QUOTE]

Because I set my planes differently for each job. This way I don't grab a heavy set plane and use it for the wrong task. It forces me to dial the plane properly each time.

I'm a bit paranoid about stuff falling off the wall on to my work, so I don't keep a lot of tools hanging above my bench.
For a few planes, one option I've used is a custom-fitted softwood shelf (with a lip) - if you rout or chisel a shallow dado in the shelf (where the blade would rest), you can leave the plane blade in the working position.
Just use small metal angles, or a cleat, to attach the shelf to the wall
BTW, this is a bad idea if your shop is humid or gets condensation in cold weather, since you can get rust on the plane sole. But, you have humidity control in your shop, right?
These days, I have a wide, shallow drawer under the bench top, and I store most of my planes on their sides in there.

Cheers
John

Carpeted shelf.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Great stuff Todd!....love to see a well organized collection of beautiful tools. (Since each plane has a specific spot, did you relieve a pocket underneath for the protruding blade?)

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Dave
Milton, ON

Very nice, Todd.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I built a limited form of the above from a drawer that was a little off square from a kitchen cabinet I made.  I just made a second one with the same dimensions for the outer door, and put a flap on the inside.  The Chisel rack is removable, and can sit on the bench, though I don't find myself doing that.  The planes sit on thin cork with a gap where the blade goes.  Wide gap so I don't have to look too closely when putting them up.  It works great, but is not big enough.

 

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I am with Howard, but on a low shelf under the bench. Dropping a plane is a bad thing. Mine are on a piece of leather so the blade can be left where I like it. And I use different planes for hogging and fine work so I can just grab what I need.

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"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

Here's how I do it. I put a thin piece of wood on the edge of two of the shelf where the planes rest so the sole of the plane only touches the shelf at the toe and the thin piece of wood at the heel, thereby suspending the middle part off the shelf to protect the cutting edge.

Longer planes are stored vertically, but tip away enough from the wall so the irons never touch the wall.

Violin planes are stored in a separate box so they don't disappear among the clutter. Router planes, plow planes and so on are just stored vertically on a flat shelf. I now also have some more fancy infills and specialty planes in that shelf...

I like the open, easy access of this system, and I have not had any accidents with dropped planes etc. since I put this together about 7 years ago.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I'm with John - nothing heavy above those soft spruce tops. My planes are on a carpeted shelf to the right of the bench.

I've seen a couple shops where there was NOTHING above the bench.

Waddy,

Are those CURTAINS I see in your shop?!

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now known around here as Pat Foster
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

[QUOTE=burbank]Waddy,



Are those CURTAINS I see in your shop?! [/QUOTE]

Indeed they are, but you probably don't want a close-up of them.  They are old, old, old, and if I put any undue stress on them they will tear, usually along a rot-line.  No inside woodwork on the windows, and these are easier to vacuum than blinds.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Man- I'd have a real problem with some of the really organized tool cases in the pictures....no room for more tools!!
"Of course I need this, honey."

John

I just have a trough attached to the side of the work bench that has a piece of carpet on the bottom so i don't damage the blade when i sit it in there. That way they are close at hand.

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Guitars, guitars and more guitars.

Oh yea, thats about what I need, a little bigger, for ALL the tools. Need to get them veritical instead of lying on every available horizontal surface. I was going to build 3 toolboxes for all the stuff, but maybe now I wont have to!

I use a peice of packing foam to rest the plane on, but leather would work well also.Just remember to always put it there when your done.

 

All the planes are sitting on cork with gaps where the blades are.....  It was big enough for all my guitar stuff when I started.  Now?  T.A.S has overwhelmed it.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hey Arnt, Your berg handles sure look sweet. Are you taking orders?

Ha-ha, those handles are nothing fancy! In fact I was getting ready to make some new ones, I have a bunch of chisels without handles and at least 15 of these Scandinavian classics with various shop made handles that I was going to rehandle. I got some very nice masur birch, and I had the stock prepared to a nice octogonal shape, cut up and ready for the lathe. Then the lathe motor died... That was about a year ago, I haven't gotten around to doing anything about it; it is one of those projects...

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

I am for storing planes sole down on cork or carpet, preferably cork. Dimensionally speaking, the finest steel in your shop, possibly the world, is the edge of these cutting tools. A high carbon content is needed in this steel to make them hard enough to withstand the rigors of cutting wood, but it also invites corrosion.

The corrosion is of course accelerated when such fine high carbon steel is exposed to moisture laden air and the effects will dull an edge quick smart and lead to excessive blade wear.

By leaving the blade proud of the soul, storing unadjusted from the workpeice and allowing the edge to sink into the cork, it restricts exposure to the air. It is the same deal with static machinery such as tablesaws. You can apply all kinds of concoctions to inhibit corrosion if you like, but your first step should always be to place a coversheet over them when not in use. Once again, this is to restrict exposure to air. This goes a long way to slowing down the affects of that never sleeping rust.

Cheers

Kim

On the wall behind me (bench is freestanding) This is supposed to have a double layer of doors like Waddy's smaller one, but I haven't gotten around to it yet - it detracts from instrument building time! (It needs a few
hangers for spokeshaves on the back of the main case above the top shelf, too.)

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Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

I have a set of Swedish chisels from a company named Janport that look exactly like Berg. Have you heard of this company?

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

No Howard, I have not. Are you sure they are not 'Jernbolaget'; those were made in Eskilstuna, Sweden just like Berg and look similar.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin