Workholding wedge so you can plane it

[Tony Caro]

As the title says I'd like to find a way to hold a wedge so I can plane it down to a feather edge. I rough cut with a saw and then hand plane to desired dimensions. I have tried double sided tape but don't like having to clean up the residue. Hoping for a jig or aid that will allow me to plane a wedge.

[Kees Heiden]

I clamp it in the vise with the surface to be planed just above the workbench top.

[Stewie Simpson]

Build yourself a simple jig that can be used to not only rip the stock down to wedge form, but can be locked into a vice to aid fine tuning of the fit using a smoothing plane.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Planing very small things can be difficult.

For little wedges (for a mallet handle), I have had decent luck clamping the plane upside down in the vice, and then 'carefully' working the rough cut stock over the blade.

[David farmer]

I make thin wedges quite a bit in the repair of instruments. I stick a piece of sharp sandpaper down on a little granite plate and friction holds the wedge.

[Alan Schwabacher]

The easy way is to cut the wedge on the end of a long piece, clamp to bench and plane, then saw it off the end.

[Frederick Skelly]

Stewie presents a darn good idea. I plan to try it for small, thin wedges to see if it works for them too. Can't see any reason it shouldn't.......

Thanks Stewie.

Fred

[Kees Heiden]

For really small wedges making a jig is usefull or like Alan wrote, leave the wedge on a long stick and saw it off when you are finished planing.

But for larger wedges, like this wooden plane wedge I did it in the vise. Works very well and is simple of course.

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[glenn bradley]

I like Stewie's method.

[Lee Schierer]

You can also attach it in Stewie's jig with double sided tape. Add a dowel to fit your dog holes and no vice is needed. Or make the jig a bit longer and add a cleat on the right hand end and you can hook it on the side of your work bench.

[Tony Caro]

Thank you so much for the ideas! Stewie's jig did the job. The nice feature about it is that it makes consistently sized wedges which is a bonus. The other ideas also useful and have inspired me to start another job that I've been putting off.

[david charlesworth]

Long sticks are good.

If blue tape is fixed to the work before the double sided, residue will not be an issue.

David

[Tony Caro]

Long sticks are good.

If blue tape is fixed to the work before the double sided, residue will not be an issue.

David

Thanks David, is blue tape some sort of masking tape?

[Nicholas Lawrence]

They are talking about the blue "painters tape" (which I think is basically masking tape).