Please Help With Decision on Shooting Boards and Planes

[mike stenson]

The lovely things is; none of these methods are mutually exclusive.

[Jim Koepke]

Another simpler way of shooting, that I've seen making by Schwarz is to raise the piece by half to one inch and just lay the handplane on the bench.
I use this a lot if I just need to refine the edge of boards.

Many instructional writings on using planes show a person using a bench hook with the plane being run on the bench top for shooting the end of a piece.

There are as many ways to shoot edges, end grain, miters etc as there are ways to sharpen a blade.

As Derek mentioned,

Shooting boards are relatively simple to make, and I see making one's own as a rite of passage ... like making one's bench.

Like so many simple shop made helpers, there is often an aw-haa moment involved.

One of the best ways of learning is by doing.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

.

One of the best ways of learning is by doing.

jtk

Exactly Jim!

This is at the heart of all in life. You can spend your time reading about something, but the experience of actually doing it is quite different.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Charles Edward]

Learn to shoot freehand to an incised line. Every angle you shoot won't be 90* or 45* and building some of these Rube Goldberg contraptions that can accommodate other angles -- Big Nope. Just use a power miter saw or a decent tablesaw and clean with a freehand stroke or two with a sharp No. 4 or a block plane.

[Haitham Jaber]

Learn to shoot freehand to an incised line. Every angle you shoot won't be 90* or 45* and building some of these Rube Goldberg contraptions that can accommodate other angles -- Big Nope. Just use a power miter saw or a decent tablesaw and clean with a freehand stroke or two with a sharp No. 4 or a block plane.

Charles, I agree with you. I shoot most of my boards just clamped in the vise and freehand. I enjoy it because there's a skill involved in it. I don't have problems also shooting end grain of 2 inches thick oak with a sharp handplane. I usually shoot the first 3/4 and then refine from the other way. You will learn also to move the handplane from the side to the centre or viceversa if the edge is in wind. Also the little Veritas block is quite a beast. You can put your weight on it. It's a little block of steel. Sometimes it fell on the concrete but nothing happened, just the concrete. Obviously for miter frames an aid is helpful but being able to shoot to a line freehand opens a lot of possibilities.

^^

[George Yetka]

Build the board. The LV is a nice tool. I dont use it that often but when I do its enjoyable.

[Charles Edward]

Charles, I agree with you. I shoot most of my boards just clamped in the vise and freehand. I enjoy it because there's a skill involved in it. I don't have problems also shooting end grain of 2 inches thick oak with a sharp handplane. I usually shoot the first 3/4 and then refine from the other way. You will learn also to move the handplane from the side to the centre or viceversa if the edge is in wind. Also the little Veritas block is quite a beast. You can put your weight on it. It's a little block of steel. Sometimes it fell on the concrete but nothing happened, just the concrete. Obviously for miter frames an aid is helpful but being able to shoot to a line freehand opens a lot of possibilities.

^^

I have removed old moldings both in old homes and from pieces of furniture. I have seen pieces where it was clear the maker had adjusted the fit with a chisel to make the molding fit a case that wasn't exactly square or a room that wasn't square. I would never cut a piece of molding off a miter box (manual or otherwise) and not offer it to the article of furniture being trimmed before automatically shooting it dead nuts on. A perfect miter installed on a case a few degrees out of square will result in a gap underneath the molding if the miter is forced to fit flush. The toe or heel of a piece of molding often need a little taken off with a chisel to make things perfect - a fit at the miter and flush with the case.

Long story short - make the cut in the box and then see where it's out before you do another damn thing. It might fit, or only need a little adjusting with a chisel. If it fits, drink a toast to yourself, nail it on, and move on to the next task.

If you own power equipment that already cuts perfect miters then you don't need a board.

Woodworking it about leaving yourself options as you move through the project. This prevents having to remake components, sub-structures, etc. and wasting lumber and time. Using twice the lumber and four times the time is not craftsmanship.

Lousy two cents...

[Jim Koepke]

If you own power equipment that already cuts perfect miters then you don't need a board.

Charles, you may not have noticed, this discussion is in the "Neanderthal Haven" conference. Many folks here do not have power tools. Some of us use them minimally.

Even with a sharp saw and a dead on cut, there may still be some fuzziness left in the cut.

Hand Saw Cut.jpg

Even so, most folks will check the alignment before subjecting a miter to a shooting board. Then by eye they will know if there needs to be any finessing or tweaking to make an air tight fit.

There is no reason why everyone should only consider one way to reach an end result. Especially with a shooting board or boards. There is a great diversity of shooting boards and appliances for many of the various needs of even today's craftsperson.

If my memory is working, this isn't the first thread in which you have shunned shooting boards.

Did a shooting board provide you with a bad experience in the past?

An inexperienced person in my presence years ago was about to take off the tip of his thumb, while holding a piece on a shooting board, before my intervention. That could make a person a bit unkind in their thoughts toward shooting boards.

jtk

[Mike Shields]

Mike, I have made many shooting boards of different types. Shooting boards are relatively simple to make, and I see making one's own as a rite of passage ... like making one's bench.

All those boards in those pics are impressive. Just out of curiosity, how long would it take to acquire all those boards?

[mike stenson]

All those boards in those pics are impressive. Just out of curiosity, how long would it take to acquire all those boards?

I think the question here is; how long did they take to build.

[Derek Cohen]

The first two pictures are the same board. This one possibly took an hour to make. The third photo is not mine.

The last photo is mine. It was made 13 years ago along in a batch of 6 shooting boards for a LN Hand Tool Event. A couple of weekends for all ...

https://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMa...toolEvent.html

Shooting boards take as long or as short a time as you want. It depends on how fancy you want to be. You could use this ...



Jointing booked matched thin panels ..




This one look a little longer. It was fun coming up with the design ...


It turns both ways ...




Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mike Shields]

Shooting boards take as long or as short a time as you want. It depends on how fancy you want to be. You could use this ...




Derek

Derek,

Point well made. Being sincere, this pic is good for a LOL.

Regards,

Mike

[mike stenson]

It looks like a bench hook to me. Why is it funny?

fwiw, I use mine to shoot from time to time as well.

[Derek Cohen]

It is a bench hook, but works as a shooting board as well.

Here is a fancy version. the one above was made in 1 minute. the one below in about 10 minutes ...



It really is a bench hook ..





I simply added a side fence to create a shooting plane.



Cheap to make out of scraps of Pine. It is good enough to be the only fixture needed. Use until it is destroyed, then make another.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Eric Brown]

One more option is to make a wooden fence for the side of your plane or purchase a metal one.

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....nes&highlight=