One of my greatest difficulties in working with hand tools has been in securing the workpiece. For example, I recently needed to reduce the thickness of a small piece of 1/2" maple stock to 3/8". The piece measured roughly 1-1/2" x 15". I attempted to plane it down to thickness, but securing the piece was very challenging. I tried stopping one end with a bench dog and the other end with a piece of 1/4" thick scrap held down with a clamp. I managed to get it done, but not without a lot of difficulty. I wanted unobstructed access to the whole piece. What could I have done to make this easier?