Widest plane blade

[DCottrell]

I want to build a thicknessing jig for a hand plane to make thin tapered shims out of hard maple.  These would go into the neck joint of a bass or cello to adjust the neck angle.  The widest piece needed for a bass is roughly 2 5/8"  or 67mm.  I'd like to make the shims a little wider so that they can be adjusted for fit. 
The widest plane I have is a 4 1/2 or 60mm.  I have a scraper plane that is 2 3/4 or 70mm, but I don't think this would be a good tool for thicknessing -- it's more a finishing tool, not a stock removal tool

Any ideas?  I want to ask before I start searching vendor websites -- who knows what I'll end up buying instead of what I need.

I could build a jig for a power sander, but I try to avoid creating dust as much as possible.  This would be a last resort.  (half of my workshop consists of metal working machines with finely tuned oiled ways and I try to zero out as much airborne dust as I can.  The best way to do that is not create it in the first place)

[DCottrell]

Never mind.  I saw some #8s on eBay that might work
I didn't know such a thing existed.

I thought I would ask people before I asked Google.  But it seems Google does not sleep in on Sunday morning! (wink)

[iclark]

Holding thin pieces of maple while you taper them with a plane could be problematic.

It might be easier if you mount the plane upside down in a vise and move the stock over the blade. I do not usually recommend using gloves for woodworking, but I think I would for this application.

Alternatively, you could set up a shooting board for your taper angle and for your #8 plane. That would let you get consistent shim taper angles: taper one end (hand feed board into shooting board until you get the end thickness you want), cut to length, repeat. Be careful not to plane your thumb.

[Nordic]

Holding thin pieces of maple while you taper them with a plane could be problematic.

I’ve used double sided tape for this…. I think I’ve also tried hot glue, I can’t remember how well that worked, it was quite a while back.

[Arlin Eastman]

I think both of them have great ideas

turn the plane upside down in a vise and add a block of wood with the double stick tape holding the wooden shim to get the thickness you desire.  First us a bandsaw to cut the wedge and then use the plane to fine tune it.  That way your fingers will never contact the shim nor the plane.

[bandit571]

Piece of old saw blade, drill 2 holes and counter sink them...On my bench, I just screw it down...can then be angled up a hair to stick at the mid point of the part's thickness..

Or go "Old School" and buy a plane stop that fits into the dog hole in the benchtop...most can be adjust for the thickness needed to be planed.

[Arlin Eastman]

You could also get pine shim stock at any hardwood store for shimming doors or window frames

[omark]

I want to build a thicknessing jig for a hand plane to make thin tapered shims out of hard maple.  These would go into the neck joint of a bass or cello to adjust the neck angle.  The widest piece needed for a bass is roughly 2 5/8"  or 67mm.  I'd like to make the shims a little wider so that they can be adjusted for fit. 
The widest plane I have is a 4 1/2 or 60mm.  I have a scraper plane that is 2 3/4 or 70mm, but I don't think this would be a good tool for thicknessing -- it's more a finishing tool, not a stock removal tool

Any ideas?  I want to ask before I start searching vendor websites -- who knows what I'll end up buying instead of what I need.

I could build a jig for a power sander, but I try to avoid creating dust as much as possible.  This would be a last resort.  (half of my workshop consists of metal working machines with finely tuned oiled ways and I try to zero out as much airborne dust as I can.  The best way to do that is not create it in the first place)

I assume you intend to have some surface with risers on the sides where plane can ride. In that case clamping plane and moving whole jig does not seem to provide advantage.
Also how critical is to plane whole width at each pass?  I suspect only your 'plane' needs to be wide enough for risers, while the blade - 2in would be plenty.
Or perhaps no even need to build plane part -- just skew e.g. #5 to ride on both risers and you can comfortably plane much wider pieces you intend.

[DCottrell]

So here is what I came up with, based on a thicknessing jig for making Kumiko strips.

The end product desired is a thin tapered shim as seen attached.

Unfortunately, the geometry of the small taper and the planes themselves prevent such a shim to reach near zero thickness. There is too much sole behind the blade to allow cutting past a certain point.  I even tried my block planes with no success. One or two degree tapers are possible, but not to a feather edge.  There needs to be enough thickness of the shim for the entire length of the plane sole to be engaged, otherwise it "bottoms out" at the heel, preventing any further depth of cut.  Kind of hard to explain but easy to see.

I ended up using the block plane across the grain (and across the fixture).    This allowed me to use the angled bed but the "stroke" was short enough to allow the blade to be engaged without the sole "bottoming out"

[C. in Indy]

Nice work!

Although it makes for "less seksy" photos and shavings,  there are some great places for cross-grain planing.