Wooden Hand Planes Till

Hand plane cabinets, also known as tills, that are designed for metal planes typically use magnets, cleats, or looped ties around the front tote to hold planes in place. None of these ideas work with wooden planes. This till maximizes the angle the planes sit at (which lowers their center of gravity so they don’t need fasteners) without making the till so deep that it sticks out from the wall and takes up a ton of space.

You can make the till with a basic set of woodworking tools: handsaw, 3/4” or smaller chisel, marking gauge, drill, 3/8” drill bit, glue, and a jack or smoothing plane. The joinery and materials are intentionally simple. You can make it with two six-foot 3/4” × 11 1/4” pine boards, a 24” × 48” plywood panel, a 2x4, and a 3/8” dowel from one of the major chain hardware stores. Or use your preferred choice of wood and joinery. The bottom shelf area is tall enough for dado, rabbet, filletster, molding, and plow planes.