Hand Planing w/o a workbench?

[MisterDrow]

So I haven't built a sturdy workbench yet... it's on my to-do list but I've got to get my garage organized before I can do that.

My question is, in the mean time, what tips do you guys have for working with hand tools (mostly planes but also sawing tenons and dovetails) without a workbench? I've got a couple saw horses that I made but they don't stay put very well with the lateral force applied using hand tools. I have some folding tables I can use but they aren't exactly flat and still tend to move on me.

Thoughts?

[Tpt life]

Planing works for me with a cleat tacked to a 2x10. The only trick is bracing it so it won't slide. 

[h3nry]

What he^ said.

put a big board like a 2x10 on your saw horses. screw down a cleat as a planing stop a couple of feet from the end. Then butt that end of the board against a brick wall, or other immovable object, and plane into the direction of the wall.

[MisterDrow]

7 minutes ago, C Shaffer said:

Planing works for me with a cleat tacked to a 2x10. The only trick is bracing it so it won't slide. 

I guess I could brace the other end up against the wall or something... my back is going to hate me for planing down on the floor, though... LOL

I wonder if it would work on my saw horses with the 2x10 braced against the wall... that way the lateral motion wouldn't be transferred down into the saw horses themselves making them slide.

[Tpt life]

Just now, MisterDrow said:

I guess I could brace the other end up against the wall or something... my back is going to hate me for planing down on the floor, though... LOL

I wonder if it would work on my saw horses with the 2x10 braced against the wall... that way the lateral motion wouldn't be transferred down into the saw horses themselves making them slide.

That was my point. Brace the 2x10. What you set it on is up to you. 

[MisterDrow]

2 minutes ago, h3nry said:

What he^ said.

put a big board like a 2x10 on your saw horses. screw down a cleat as a planing stop a couple of feet from the end. Then butt that end of the board against a brick wall, or other immovable object, and plane into the direction of the wall.

That makes more sense... I kept thinking how awful that would be to do down on the floor...

We just finished a week at the fair one county over for the kids' 4-H projects so my brain is sort of mush right now.

See, this is one of those examples where I ask a question and then think, "Well, duh... why didn't I think of that!"

Thanks for being patient with the new guy, gentlemen!  

[Tpt life]

2x10 can flex a bit. For long boards screw a stiffener to it. 

[MisterDrow]

I'm sure a couple projects like this will push me to get the garage cleaned up and that workbench built. I'll have two separate weeks in October where my wife will be out of town so I may take advantage of those weeks with no honey-dos and get it done.

Edited August 1, 2016 by MisterDrow

[Immortan D]

My advice, build yourself a 7' cheap and sturdy workbench out of 2x4s with a plywood or MDF top. It will only take a weekend. You can burn it later when you get the time, space and materials required for your dream workbench. Because working with hand tools without a workbench is a real PITA.

[h3nry]

6 minutes ago, Immortan D said:

My advice, build yourself a 7' cheap and sturdy workbench out of 2x4s with a plywood or MDF top. It will only take a weekend. You can burn it later when you get the time, space and materials required for your dream workbench. Because working with hand tools without a workbench is a real PITA.

Yeah. That's what I did (with 2x12s for the top) - I'm still using it.

When I get a dream shop I'll build a dream bench, until then the old 2x4 bench works just fine.

[Immortan D]

8 minutes ago, h3nry said:

Yeah. That's what I did (with 2x12s for the top) - I'm still using it.

When I get a dream shop I'll build a dream bench, until then the old 2x4 bench works just fine.

I used 3X8s for the top and the vise, here's a pic:

I hate those casters but I had no choice.

[h3nry]

yeah, but you installed a cool vise. I used a pipe-clamp!

[..Kev]

Build a "serviceable" OF table for the table saw.  Get a few purposes out of it.  OF table, assembly table, work table..  That's where I started and it worked out well.

[Immortan D]

3 minutes ago, h3nry said:

yeah, but you installed a cool vise. I used a pipe-clamp!

LOL. That vise is prolly cheaper than your pipe clamps! But it works wonders.

[MisterDrow]

12 minutes ago, TIODS said:

Build a "serviceable" OF table for the table saw.  Get a few purposes out of it.  OF table, assembly table, work table..  That's where I started and it worked out well.

That is something that I need... I've got an old Craftsman 113 table saw and I've been getting by with roller stands but an outfeed table would be wonderful and, as you pointed out, multi-purpose.

 

32 minutes ago, Immortan D said:

My advice, build yourself a 7' cheap and sturdy workbench out of 2x4s with a plywood or MDF top. It will only take a weekend. You can burn it later when you get the time, space and materials required for your dream workbench. Because working with hand tools without a workbench is a real PITA.

It really is a PITA. I tend to use power tools for most of my woodworking but I don't have a bandsaw that is capable of resawing (cheap benchtop model that was gifted to me) and, to be honest, I'm a little afraid to resaw on the table saw. I do enough planing and hand sawing on small projects, though, that I really need to just buckle down and get it done.

[wtnhighlander]

Use the TS (with feather boards!) to resaw partway in from both edges, then finish with a hand saw. Makes the hand work MUCH faster, even if you just make enough kerf to guide the hand saw.

[MisterDrow]

7 minutes ago, wtnhighlander said:

Use the TS (with feather boards!) to resaw partway in from both edges, then finish with a hand saw. Makes the hand work MUCH faster, even if you just make enough kerf to guide the hand saw.

That might be a good interim option for resawing... I'll give that a shot.

[Tom King]

The little workbench underneath is not the important part of the setup.  I needed a longer "bench" for this piece of molding.  4d finish nails, low enough not to get hit by  plane keep the strip of wood from sliding away from me.  I think I screwed a block of wood underneath the 2x to be held by the little bench.  I could have done the same with sawhorses, but had the little bench there anyway.

Even the little bench is butted up against the wall.  The window is a North facing window, and helps a lot with even lighting.

[bleedinblue]

9 hours ago, MisterDrow said:

That is something that I need... I've got an old Craftsman 113 table saw and I've been getting by with roller stands but an outfeed table would be wonderful and, as you pointed out, multi-purpose.

 

I did the same for a long time, just using roller stands, etc. for outfeed.  Building a decent outfeed table was perhaps the biggest safety improvement I've ever made.  I was soooo much more comfortable using the saw after building my simple table.  IMHO I consider that a high priority.

[Brendon_t]

29 minutes ago, bleedinblue said:

I did the same for a long time, just using roller stands, etc. for outfeed.  Building a decent outfeed table was perhaps the biggest safety improvement I've ever made.  I was soooo much more comfortable using the saw after building my simple table.  IMHO I consider that a high priority.

It's funny how priorities differ.  I have never had  a dedicated outfeed table and roller stands have worked just fine.  With that said, 95% of my cuts are under 5' and I never break down rawith materials there. 

[gee-dub]

I'd use a 2 x 10 and saw horses to solve your immediate problem and then use this setup to make a bench.   Organizing a shop is a constant series of tough decisions for many of us. If there's no room to work, move stuff outside; if it is important stuff it will find a place on the inside by displacing less important stuff ;-) 

[Bombarde16]

18 hours ago, MisterDrow said:

I've got a couple saw horses that I made but they don't stay put very well with the lateral force applied using hand tools.

You've correctly identified the problem, you need something that stays put.  Traditional workbenches are back-breaking heavy affairs for precisely this reason.  Moreover, you need something that stays put in two directions:  Along the length when working edges and smoothing faces, and across the width when traversing.

If your shop is currently in transition, go get an inexpensive kitchen countertop.  They're flat, heavy, cheap and readily available  Make or buy some base cabinets underneath if you wish, but attach the countertop firmly to the wall.  This gets you a couple of things:

• You can put a planing stop at one end and clamp a batten down the length to work on faces.
• You have a solid backing (i.e. the wall) against which you can traverse a board.

The only downside is you'll have to come up with some sort of front apron if you want to work the edge of a board.  But, this would give you a place to work right now, it'll cost less than $200, you can experiment with different levels as you discover what the right planing height is for you, and (once you outgrow this setup and are ready to construct a proper bench) the countertop can be repurposed somewhere else in the house.

[bleedinblue]

10 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

It's funny how priorities differ.  I have never had  a dedicated outfeed table and roller stands have worked just fine.  With that said, 95% of my cuts are under 5' and I never break down rawith materials there. 

Yeah, it is personal preference without a doubt.  Even with shorter boards, I just like not having to worry about catching the work piece before it falls off the saw or roller.