Thread: Stanley 386 jointer fence

Originally Posted by fineboxes

Hi Humphrey9999,
Here's a method you might like to try for straight shooting,
In most cases, whether Right or Left handed, the plane has a tendency to roll towards the body to compensate for this effect,
Curl the fingers on your leading hand around the sole, wedging them under the plane and against the side face where both surfaces meet, use upward pressure with the fingers to keep the plane flat at the same time put downward and slightly push away from the body pressure on the knob with your thumb to steady the fingers.
A point of interest is when it feels really uncomfortable and not flat that's about when it is right.
After a few goes the muscle memory takes over and you'll find shooting flat and straight is easy.
In fact it's hard to shoot uneven when you want to.
Sorry for the blurred pics they were takes with an unsteady hand.
Cheers
Steve

Steve, thanks heaps for going to the trouble. I copied your post including pics, (they're not that blurry), into a Word document for reference.
I'll give it a go shortly, with my #6. I don't have a [i]real[i] #7 jointer - too big for what I do.

This method could help a lot. Generally, I start off nice and square, but by the end of the board I'm on a slight angle. Lucky for me, much of my jointing is for edge-joining, so I place the two edges to be joined together in the vice and plane both simultaneously, so that even if I do go out of square, the boards join up well, as long as they're straight. (I picked this up from Alex Springall - credit where it's due.)
I'll still buy a jointer fence, though, but use it for a short time and then hopefully phase it out, after a lot more practice without it.

I appreciate the time and effort, Steve. Thanks again.

... Humphrey9999 (Another Steve)

Pleasure..#6's are very nice to use as well.

Cheers


Steve

UK Alf (Cornish workshop) uses an indicator with plough planes to indicate vertical and amplify deviations.

The same idea could be used for jointing ...

Curl the fingers on your leading hand around the sole, wedging them under the plane and against the side face where both surfaces meet, use upward pressure with the fingers to keep the plane flat at the same time put downward and slightly push away from the body pressure on the knob with your thumb to steady the fingers.

Very interesting. I have only used a similar grip but thumb down at the bed-level as a fence and splinter-collector ... but thinking about it now I think it still helps with the levelling.

Cheers,
Paul

Originally Posted by pmcgee

UK Alf (Cornish workshop) uses an indicator with plough planes to indicate vertical and amplify deviations.
The same idea could be used for jointing ...
Very interesting. I have only used a similar grip but thumb down at the bed-level as a fence and splinter-collector ... but thinking about it now I think it still helps with the levelling.
Cheers,
Paul

Hey Paul. I like that indicator method. I considered taping a short straight-edge across my plane, for the same reason. Easier to see if it's horizontal. Haven't tried it yet, though.

I gave Steve's method a whirl this afternoon - planed two edges separately with my fingers wrapped around as a guide, then joined them. It works pretty well, feels a bit awkward at first, but I quickly got the feel of it.
I got a much better joint than usual, without clamping both pieces in the vice together while planing.
Thanks once again for the tip, Steve.

The result. Not perfect, but not too bad for a first attempt. Still needs more cleanup, I just ran it through the wide drum sander once afterwards. (Had to be gentle, the glue's only had 3 hours drying time.): -

Camphor Laurel joint.jpg

Originally Posted by pmcgee

UK Alf (Cornish workshop) uses an indicator with plough planes to indicate vertical and amplify deviations.

The same idea could be used for jointing ...






Very interesting. I have only used a similar grip but thumb down at the bed-level as a fence and splinter-collector ... but thinking about it now I think it still helps with the levelling.

Cheers,
Paul

Ingenious!!!

That's why I love this forum...

A much better technique is to align the side of the work piece with the edge of the bench (this is a case when the bench edge much be square to the top!).

Ensure that the plough (or moving fillister) plane has a widish fence.

Then use the side of the bench as a guide for the fence ....





Sticks ..!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

A much better technique is to align the side of the work piece with the edge of the bench (this is a case when the bench edge much be square to the top!).

Ensure that the plough (or moving fillister) plane has a widish fence.

Then use the side of the bench as a guide for the fence ....
Sticks ..!

Regards from Perth

Derek

Duly noted and filed for reference.

Good tip, Derek. Thanks.

Originally Posted by pmcgee

UK Alf (Cornish workshop) uses an indicator with plough planes to indicate vertical and amplify deviations.

No doubt I should have said 'demonstrated' ... I'm pretty sure she doesn't do that on a 'daily' basis.

Paul

Had same issues os the OP as a newbie to hand planes and WW in general. fineboxes' method got me sorted and now it's a fun job not a dreaded nightmare!

Cheers to you sir and thanks for the tip!!