Vertical Racks for Hand Planes

Here's mine:

Thank you for your quick replay and picture

A few quick question I may?

Don't know -- it just seemed more natural that way, and the handle is easier to grasp for use that way. If I put the heel up, most of the handle would be inside the slot and less easy to grasp, especially on smaller planes. (I just reversed a couple and found this to be true).

The slots are 4.5" deep with a 1.25" strip at the bottom to hold the heel of the plane, and the toe rests against the back of the strip. On all the metal planes this arrangement is sufficient to hold the plane very securely at an angle. On the traditional wooden planes I felt more secure with a small wooden tab to hold it in the slot (tab moves up or down to insert the plane). These are visible in the photo if you look closely.

Ken Vaughn

correction -- "toe rests against back of *slot*.

think of this myself? I've been trying to figure out what to do with my growing assortment of iron wonders, and hadn't come up with a worthwhile arrangement... until now. That's an idea well worth ripping off, so thanks to both of you.

Are you in Cali? We get Earthquakes here so I would have to modify that design. I suppose the tops of each slot would have to have a piece covering the outside and where the heal is, that piece larger too, so lift up the plane, out comes the heal first and remove. But then the slot would have to be taller... sheesh... maybe if I left the "heal keep" the same size, maybe a little higher... could you provide your design notes with measurements please?

Oh yes, really neat design!

Run a bungee cord across the slots at toe and heel.

No, I live in Colorado and earthquakes didn't enter into my thinking. The metal planes cannot possibly tip forward and out of the slots -- the angle of inclination and weight of the plane prevents this

Measurements:

cabinet is 34" wide, 37" high, and 5" deep including 1/2" ply back slots for planes are 4.5" deep and vary in width from 3.5" for larger planes down to 3" for smaller planes

retaining strip at bottom of each slot is 1.25" by 1/4" pine -- there are small circular cut-outs for the bottom (back) of the tote on some of the smaller plane slot retaining strips which allows the heel to bottom out in the slot

sides and some of the vertical separator strips are 1/2" pine, the thinner vertical strips are 1/4" Baltic Birch ply

top and bottom of cabinet and horizontal supports are 1/2" pine, vertical separator strips fit into dado slots, top and bottom

pretty simple actually and the cabinet only holds bench planes -- all my other planes are in drawers in the cabinet next to my bench, for example:

Here's mine... Two cupboard doors that open, hung with piano hinge.

Thanks for the ideas!!

I like that. Very, very clever.

Pretty good idea making individual slots for each plane. Keeps you from sliding any further down that slippery slope! ;)

Excellent, and much appreciated thanks!

A thought I had with these ideas would be to screw or glue a rare earth magnet in the cabinet near the top of each plane. With a cleat at the base, the magnet would hold the plane nicely. The exception of course would be wood planes. Hmmm...just an idea.

Neil

I have decided to go heel down my theory being that most of the weight of the plane is at the heel. I am using 1/2 " x 1" Oak to create slippers for the plane. Being that I want to be able to hang on a cleat and change the tool assortment in front fo me.

I have decided to go Outside in Right edge #8,6,4 Center 2 (No 1 no one can afford one!) Left edge 7,5,3 so It's 7,5,3,2,4,6,8 This will keep the weight fairly even. ? One I have this I will start to figure out speciality planes

Nah, he's already got one stacked up on top...

-j

yeah, then I saw his cabinet drawer full. You're right, he's doomed.