hand planes and safety

dirtydeeds

dirtydeeds

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Joined
Nov 22, 2007
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everybody but everybody always says

lay a hand plane on its side when it isnt in use, to protect the blade

rubbish

at LONG last ive found somebody who agrees with me, he might be dead but he isnt wong

lay a hand plane blade down on the bench to avoid getting cut ( a blade can be resharpened )

this little bit tip comes from george ellis, an english carpenter writing in the late 1800s / early 1900s
 
When you use a hand plane the blade faces down and yet the blade does not get damaged  ;D
 
The blade won't loose its sharpness just to touch wood.  It is made for that.  Lay it face down.
 
I think this old chestnut arose from two sources.  First, I think it was used by teachers to train students/apprentices to think about what they are doing and to show some respect for their tools.  Second, I think it has relevance for traditional wedge-set blades that can be knocked loose or crooked if you set the plane down flat.  The blade will get nicked only by contact with something very hard such as another piece of metal.  When you set the plane down flat, you only need to pay attention to what you are setting it on.  In fact, the blade is more likely to damage your bench than vice-versa!  When you set the plane on its side, the blade remains exposed to whatever comes along, including other metal tools, hardware, and, yes, your fingers!
 
Tom,

What about keeping something soft around, like an old mouse pad or a piece of styrofoam, to set your plane on?  That would protect you and the blade.

Does your little mini rant come from some unfortunate accident you may have had?  ;)

I certainly hope not.

Neill
 
I think its a good practice to lay a plane on its side or to retract the blade when its going to sit for a long while, but its nuts to worry that placing the blade on wood will hurt it.
There was an exchange in Fine Woodworking a while back when someone wrote a letter to the editor criticizing a pic in a Christ Becksvort (sp?) article that had a plane lying face down on his bench.  Chris' reply was basically (and more politely) 'get a life.' :D
 
If you leave nails, and various sorts of garbage on your workbench, laying a plane on its side does make sense.

Deneb Puchalski, of Lie-Nielsen, once told me that he sets planes on the bench with the blade down out of concern for customers picking up a plane and cutting themselves.  That makes even more sense.

Out of habit, I lay my planes on their sides.  No, I don't keep nails or garbage on workbenches.

Richard
 
I used to lay them on their sides, but grazed my knuckle in a moment of absent-mindedness when moving materials.  So then I started placing them face down, but then I bumped a plane and ended up with a nice little divot in the top of my bench. 

So now, I place mine face down angled across the tool tray on my bench with the mouth above the opening. 

Hopefully, everyone else here isn't as clumsy as I am.
 
I place mine blade down with a small piece of wood (or on a bed of shavings) under the toe of the plane to prevent divots and added wear to the blade

Dan Clermont
 
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