Jig for planing planks?

[Pitts2112]

What are people using out there as a jig to hold planks for edge planing tapers?  I've been using a straight edge and Exacto knife flat on my workbench but I find the wood moves during the slice and I haven't figured out a good way to hold plank and straight edge in place.  Photos below show my tapering tools.  I use the glued-together-planks as a base to keep the straight edge at the same height as the plank surface which helps.

 

So, I'd like to try planing instead because I think I can get more accurate and consistent tapers.  But the only vice I have is a heavy bench vice and I'm using two blocks of oak as the clamping surfaces.  It works but it's  a bugger to line everything up since I haven't figured out how to secure any one component to another and moving the vice jaws is very cumbersome.

Edited July 14 by Pitts2112

[Toolmaker]

You likely know this but your support piece (the glued together planks) needs to be measurably thinner than the plank you are cutting. If not when you exert downward pressure with your fingers you will be potentially clamping on the support piece rather than the plank you want to cut. 
I cut my planks like you but I don’t use a packing piece. I also tend to make 4 or 5 lighter cuts rather than trying to cut it through in one go. This helps preventing any movement.  I then finish with a sanding stick.
 

[ERS Rich]

Put that plane upside down in a vice, mark the line on a plank, hold the plank with thumb and middle finger to keep the plank perpendicular to the blade, run the plank past the blade, with the first finger applying downward pressure and remove waste. 
 

Or hold left hand thumb middle and forefinger on the plane body, before the blade, use right hand to pull plank across blade.

 

Be careful, good luck, see my Constitution build log for more info.

 

-Rich

[grsjax]

I think this has been mentioned here before but I will go ahead and mention it again.  At least a few companies sell a fixture to hold a model by the keel to make it easier to work on.

This one is sold by Mantua.  They work really well for trimming planks.

[iMustBeCrazy]

2 hours ago, Pitts2112 said:

I've been using a straight edge and Exacto knife flat on my workbench but I find the wood moves during the slice

I would continue as you are but glue some 400 grit sandpaper to the back of the ruler and use several light cuts.

[SkiBee]

I to use a Xacto and steel rule, but I do draw a line first witch gives a little indent, then I use the back edge of the Xacto to deepen the indent once or twice then cut.  I'm going to try the sandpaper on the rule since it seems to slip a lot.

[TannumIan]

I use a homemade jig that clamps the bottom 2.5mm of the plank.  This is was a pain to use until I added the springs to open the clamp.

 

 

To shape a plank I use the miniature Veritas Block Plane.  This plane has become one of my used tools.

 

And I am currently making a vice that uses the miniature Veritas Bench Vice.

[Pitts2112]

Wow!  So many good answers!  it had never occurred to me to fix the plane and move the wood but it's obvious now that I've heard of it.  I've got several ideas to try out now.  Thanks everyone for the help!

[Y.T.]

5 hours ago, grsjax said:

I think this has been mentioned here before but I will go ahead and mention it again.  At least a few companies sell a fixture to hold a model by the keel to make it easier to work on.

This seems to be a brilliant idea. 

[ERS Rich]

That home made jig is beautiful.
 

I’ve tried every plank holder and other labor saving tool by Amati, etc.  They all disappointed in one way or another and sit in a drawer.

 

Saw the upside down plane idea in a furniture making class.

 

Working these small pieces of wood seems easiest with basic hand tools.  Sometimes there are smaller versions.

 

Veritas sold a set of mini planes, etc.  Which are interesting.  Are they still around?

 

-Rich
 

 

[Pitts2112]

On 7/16/2025 at 10:29 AM, ERS Rich said:

Veritas sold a set of mini planes, etc.  Which are interesting.  Are they still around?

 

-Rich
 

 

Funny you should mention that!  I just picked up one of their mini planes and some chisels in the lee Valley seconds sale, delivered day before yesterday.  I wish their online catalog gave a better sense of scale (it was hard to see how big/small they actually are) but I'm happy with them so far.  They're the real deal - work like proper tools and everything! Pencil and scale for...scale (sorry, I didn't have a banana handy)

[ERS Rich]

20 hours ago, Pitts2112 said:

Funny you should mention that

Nice tools!

 

Do we need to get into the importance of sharpening?  
 

How do you do it?

 

-Rich

[Toolmaker]

On 7/18/2025 at 5:26 PM, ERS Rich said:

Nice tools!

 

Do we need to get into the importance of sharpening?  
 

How do you do it?

 

-Rich

Here is a descriptive post from a couple of years back explaining my process.

 

 

Edited July 21 by Toolmaker

[Wawona59]

On 7/18/2025 at 9:26 AM, ERS Rich said:

Nice tools!

 

Do we need to get into the importance of sharpening?  
 

How do you do it?

 

-Rich

 

Thanks for bringing this topic up Rich. Dull edge tool not only result in poor workmanship; but they are dangerous as well.  I'm sure there are many methods among MSW members for sharpening edge tools.  It would be very interesting to see other members' methods.  I work primarily with hand tools and grind my straight edge blades using an antique hand crank grinder grinding jig.  I hone my blades with sharpening honing guide with oil stones medium and fine grade stones and finish up with a surgical black stone.  I also polish the backs of my chisels to a mirror finish using a steel diamond plate of fine and extra fine grits. 

 

Is this a topic other MSW members would be interested in?  I'll start a new topic in this forum.  Hopefully, I'll be able to post something this upcoming weekend.  

[ERS Rich]

Started with sharpening stones.  Being impatient moved to a Tormek wet grinding system.  Found it to be overkill for model ship building. 

 

Thanks,

 

-Rich

 

 

[Jack12477]

On 7/21/2025 at 7:50 AM, Wawona59 said:

 

Is this a topic other MSW members would be interested in?  I'll start a new topic in this forum

Paul Sellers has some very informative videos on YouTube on the subject of sharpening chisels and building your own sharpening jig. I personally found them very helpful in learning how to correctly sharpen chisels and plane blades. Here's a sample of one of his videos

 

Edited July 26 by Jack12477

[LoydB]

21 hours ago, ERS Rich said:

Started with sharpening stones.  Being impatient moved to a Tormek wet grinding system.  Found it to be overkill for model ship building. 

 

 

The Tormek is such a great system. I use it for everything from chisels to kitchen knives.

[ERS Rich]

Paul, is a great teacher, is he still around?

[georgeband]

I'm a bit late to this thread and return us back to clamps for tapering planks. 

 

I wanted to have top-and-butt planks on the sides of my 1/64 model and it is critical to make the tapered edges straight, otherwise gaps will appear on the sides of the vessel. The heights at the ends of the tapered sections also have to be identical. I filed the profile I wanted onto some brass angle section to make left and right hand templates. These are clamped to a flat piece of wood with the width of the gap between them adjusted to hold several planks: four or five worked well for me. I then used a craft knife to cut away the protruding wood, always cutting away from the peak and towards an end so that if the wood did split it was the waste that was affected. 

 

Side view of the jig

Top view of the jig

The photo below is a work in progress view that shows one row of top-and-butt planks fitted. The second row will have the planks the other way up and front-to-back inverted so the tapers match. 

Finally the finished article where it is difficult to see the joins between the planks. My reward for all the work with tapering is a feature that is nearly invisible unless you know what to look for (it's the bare wood between the copper and the yellow ochre). Perhaps I should have had a caulking line to emphasize the joins. 

George