Sticking boards are an excellent benchtop appliance when cutting mouldings by hand. A proper sticking board is an L-shaped device that holds the wood you want to “stick” (the old fashioned term for “cut mouldings.”)
Why do you need it?
The fence on top of the sticking board prevents the wood from bowing along its length when planing. The adjustable stops at the end (screws in the example below) restrain your wood while you cut your mouldings. They aren’t hard to make, but they can take up a lot of space when you aren’t using them. A full-size sticking board should be about 8’ long but I made mine 4-1/2' long. I can always make another.
Details
You adjust the screws up or down depending on the piece you are holding. Flat head screws are best.
There are clamps, located at each end, that hold the sticking board to the bench top as shown.
Here's the workpiece on top of the sticking board.
Note: Normally your stock should not be higher than the fence height. If it is then you will have to double up with another board screwed to top of fence.
My Uncle called that an "anchor" because it held the trim piece where you anchored it. I have seen the term sticking board through the years, but I still think of them as anchors. Sometimes verbiage is harder to learn than the art of woodworking.
Never heard of them called anchors. Many on my dad's side of the family were all carpenters and cabinet makers. That's all I've ever known them by when growing up. My great grandpa, grandpa, uncles, etc all called them sticking boards. Interesting.
Acts like bench dogs, but I can certainly see the advantage when working long and possibly bendy stock. When you profile that piece you show, do you try to stand in the same place or do you just walk with the plane?
SplinterGroup....Good question. I normally stand with my hips just at the beginning of the length like I do when normally planing. But anything longer than about 30" I make a stride about halfway the length.
