Hand Plane Stop - Woodworking Jig

I make a lot of boxes and small items and planing the pieces in my vice is either awkward or they just don't fit. I do have bench dogs on my bench but they just don't hold a piece flat and steady like this jig does. Everyone has their own way and for me this very simple jig has been a massive help in the short time I've had it. It's a very simple build and pretty much just a slightly more "advanced" bench hook, it also certainly isn't a new idea by any means but its a very handy jig for anyone making small items.

Tools

- Rip Saw and Tenon Saw (Or table saw/circular saw/jigsaw)

- Hand Drill and bit ( Or Power drill)

- Square, measure/ruler and pencil

- Marking Gauge

- Hand Plane

- Screwdriver and Countersink Tool

Materials

- Plywood Sheet - 35cm X 30cm X 2.5cm

- Piece of softwood (or any wood really) - 30cm X 4cm X 2cm

- 2 pieces of a hard wearing wood (Sapele in this case) - 30cm X 4cm X 0.5cm

- 4 X 40mm screws

- 8 X 20mm screws

The hook part in the photos here was slightly too long, just because I wanted to attach the wood quickly! I think its better to have it match with the edges to stop the overhang catching on anything, for that reason I adjusted the measurements in this tutorial to make it fit the way it should.

I drilled 4 pilot holes and countersunk them a little, not necessary for this step but it just makes the whole build neater and less likely to catch your finger or whatnot. With the screws protruding just a touch out of the other side of the hook piece I lined it up where I wanted it on the main board, then I just tapped the top of each screw lightly to add a mark to the main board. Using the drill and a small bit I then drilled some pilot holes and screwed the hook piece into place.

For this part I resawed some Sapele, if you didn't feel like doing that you could use some old thin flooring perhaps or some pre cut strips from a store. The reason I used Sapele is because its a tough wood and its what I already have, I'm a big fan of re using and recycling wood.

Using a marking gauge I marked the pieces to 0.5cm and cut just to the other side of the line into the "waste". Of course the problem here is that to plane these thin I kinda need my plane stop...which I haven't made at this point! I found a "solution" of sorts in the next step.

I drilled four pilot holes into each stop and then made sure to countersink them as deep as I could without making the holes too fragile. I then screwed the two stops into the main board, making sure that they were square to each other with a square.

I then proceeded to plane the stops down to around 5mm. When using this method it is vital to get the screws in as deep as you can and to pay close attention to the wood being taken away by the plane so that you avoid hitting a screw with the plane iron/blade.

It's important at this point to make sure that the screws are still below the surface of the stops. You could alternatively glue these pieces on or use dowels on them for more strength if you wanted. The reason I used screws is just because I wanted the jig quickly.

Even though I have the bottom hook clamped into my vice you could probably use this just against a bench if you wanted to. Having it clamped in just stops it moving anywhere when in use.

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Thank you for viewing this Instructable, I hope it helped in some way!