Quote Originally Posted by labr@ View Post
...... but how do you restrain the small workpieces such as the gum leaves you showed?
With difficulty, Bob!

For something like the leaves, I just lodge the workpiece against a bench-stop & steady it with one hand whilst planing with the other. Small, sharp tools don't create a lot of force, so holding with fingers is quite feasible (& keeping them out of the way of sharp edges helps keep me focused!). I've had to deal with quite a few small bits & pieces since I wandered into miniature work & found various ways to manage them. Nothing particularly clever or original, the main tactic I use is to leave the part I'm shaping attached to a larger bit until I've done as much as I can before cutting it off. But sometimes you just have to deal with little pieces the best you can. When fitting the stuffing in a tiny infill, for e.g., I can't leave it attached to a longer board because it needs lots of test-fits in a restricted place, so that doesn't leave much to hang onto. I start with it just a bit over-long at the free end end & leave the parts that can be shaped after gluing in the body square, which gives something to hold in a vise: 6.jpg

When the piece glued in place I can hold the whole plane easily in a vise while I cut off the excess at the front & make it all flush & tidy: 10 double on wattle.jpg

My tail vise is really useful for holding small stuff, & of course having small tools can be a big help on small work! a levelling infill.jpg


Cheers,