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Where do you keep your planes?

5K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  Al B Thayer 
#1 ·
Do you display them on the wall? Hang them up by their knobs? Tuck them safely away in a drawer? I'm new to planes but I really enjoy seeing them and really enjoy working on them. Have you done a restore on one that looks good? How about some pictures..........?
 
#3 ·
i collect planes ( take a look at my pictures) I have them literally EVERYWHERE! I'm only 17 but my parents house has basically been taken over. I have them ALL over my room and a couple downstairs couple in other rooms it adds a nice touch. each one being different then the other. Some being as old as 1840s others as new as 1960s I love them! I have like a display in my room of old levels braces saws and planes. Find what you like and start decorating!
 
#16 ·
My hand planes are stored in an old VHS video cabinet.
Wow, you do have a lot of Record hand planes.

I used to have one, recently passed it onto DaveTTC to help out a fellow woodworker. This was purchased shortly before Rubbermaid/Irwin shut down the Record production in the late 90's.

I keep my planes in drawers in Craftsman steel cabinets. I use a sponge drawer liner which is meant to prevent rust. So far it does seem to help.

The vintage Stanley planes are in a drawer only few inches high, so they need to be stored on their side.

The new Veritas planes are in a deep drawer. Some upright, some on their side.

I never retract the blade. I like to be able to pick up a plane and use it without the need to adjust the blade each time.
 
#10 ·
Two places:

1) The two I use most often (a #5 and #3, both Stanley) live on the shelf of my workbench just below the top, along with a Ward's Master #4 and a 24" transitional, probably made by Siegley. They share the space with a few other things.

2) The rest go in an old wooden toolbox I inherited from my grandfather. That collection is a couple of block planes, a #78, a Sargent-made Craftsman combination plane, and a couple of wooden planes of various types.

I'm in the process of building a Dutch-style toolchest, since that's what will fit in my winter workspace (though I would LOVE to have space for a full size English joiner's chest...), and once I have that and a base cabinet built, everything should fit in the two.
 
#11 ·
I used to keep all of mine in a few felt lined drawers in a Crafstman steel tool cabinet. Since I finished my workbench, the bench planes live on the shelf under the worktop. This is much more convenient, although I just routed something on top of the bench and didn't like how much crap made it through the dog holes onto them.

The block and specialty planes are still in the lined drawers.
 
#14 ·
It depends.

The #5, mostly no. It gets set on the shelf on its side, and in a place where the blade is unlikely to touch anything. I usually retract the blade at the end of the day, but not always. The #3, almost always, unless I know for a fact I'm about to need it again. The jointer, always.

I have a wooden rebate plane that I generally don't retract the blade until I'm done with it for the day, because adjusting the iron takes longer (it has to be done by hammer). The #78 and the combination plane I generally leave the blade set until I'm sure I'm done with them: when I am, the combination gets the blade removed entirely and put away, and the 78 gets dismantled and put back in its box.
 
#15 ·
I currently keep mine on an open shelf in my shop but I don't like how dusty they get (along with all my other tool). I usually retract the blades when I am done and lay them on their base.

The eventual plan is to tear out the open shelving and replace it with a large tool cabinet. I want to have a few shelves with dividers to give each plane it's own spot. The larger planes will still be too long, so I plan on putting them on angled shelves so they will fit in the cabinet. I'd also like to make a small traveling tool chest to store store my extra #3 and #4 in case I want to take them somewhere to work on things.
 
#19 ·
in a suitcase under a bench. i shouldn't have them all piled like i do. they just have no proper place. i lay them on their side so the blades don't touch anything. i do retract my no 5.

i have a tonging plane, rabbet plane, grooving plane, a roughing plane, and a stanley no 5.

all but the stanley are wood single iron planes.
 
#20 ·
Thanks again for all the comments guys, It sounds like we all could use a little better storage solution. I like having some of them "out" but as mentioned in a few posts....they get dusty/dirty when you do that. I like the idea of a cabinet of some sort, not too sure about glass, maybe plexi or something?
 
#22 ·
I have mine stored and displayed in an old recycled pine cabinet along with my routers and bits. When I want to see them I open the doors. When I'm cutting in the shop I close the doors. I don't heat my shop all the time in winter so I have a light fixture in the cabinet with a 75w bulb that keeps everything at 65 degrees including my glues. If it gets real cold I go to a 100w bulb. The planes and routers stay comfy and rust free all winter.
 
#27 ·
BZawat said:
Mine sit out on the back of my miter saw bench. I haven't quite figured out what to do with them yet. They'll be moving home with me at some point in the future when I get moving on my planned basement workshop....
Are they sitting on the blades? Ouch?

Al

Friends don't let friends use stamped metal tools sold at clothing stores.
 
#30 ·
Al B Thayer said:
Are they sitting on the blades? Ouch?

Al

Friends don't let friends use stamped metal tools sold at clothing stores.
Yeah, I don't retract the irons. When I get a perfect set dialed in I like to keep it that way as long as I can. The bench is wood. And it's not like I slam them down on their irons, you know. They're treated lovingly
 
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