A bench hook for planing

Dan — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:14:07 +0000

I haven’t gotten much done in the shop recently, because it’s been unseasonably cold the last week. Even though it was uncomfortable in the shop, I was able to make a bench appliance I’ve been putting off for months. I’ve been using my hand planes with greater frequency lately, and since I don’t have a proper woodworking bench, It’s a real pain to secure lumber for planing. Thus I made what I’m going to call a planing stop bench hook. The only thing exciting about it, is that I used pegs to attach the hook the the base. It roughly 10″ wide by 20″ long and made from 3/4″ MDF, scrap red oak, and 3/8″ Birch dowel.

Router Table (Pt. 8)

Dan — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:27:37 +0000

I finished the case late last week, and started working on the top late Saturday night. One of the things I struggled with, was how to cut a hole in the back of the case for the dust port. I didn’t want to buy a hole saw that would most likely never be used again unless I absolutely needed to. The solution I came up with, was to use an adjustable circle cutter to make a hole in a piece of MDF scrap, I then used the MDF as a template to router the hole into the case.

Circle cutter & template.

The template made it easy to ensure the dust port was flush with the bottom shelf.

The following shots are a hodgepodge, but they show some interesting details.

I used rift sawn red oak for the face frame, and really like the contrast it creates with the birch plywood.

I used bridal joints for the access door, because they're strong and simple.

I used two catches on the access door to keep it from deforming while it's under vacuum from the dust collector.

Dan's Hobbies » red oak

A bench hook for planing

Router Table (Pt. 8)