my first shooting board

[Mark Kosmowski]

I made this like was discussed at the woodworking show in Saratoga, NY back in March. The key point of this build is to mount the fence slightly proud of the board and then use the fence as a reference to cut the sides of the board square to the fence.

120055

Before adding the ramp I checked for square with a Beall tilt gauge and one side is 90.00 degrees to the fence and the other 89.95 degrees. I decided that for a first shooting board this was acceptable. I may try to get better for a second board for miter and bevel shooting if I can convince myself it matters.

Before using the Beall gauge, I measured parallel across the 540 mm distance from fence to end of the board and saw a deviation of 2 mm. At the time, I did not think to use the Beall gauge to see how bad this really was and needed to go take a break and visit Lakeshore Hardwoods.

The board and fence are ash, and the ramp is some birch plywood (from Home Depot not Baltic). When I have time to let the shooting board sit around for awhile, should I apply a finish to it? If I did it would be one coat of Bush Oil. If I do, I should take off the ramp and finish the bottom also, right?

Lastly, it sure is nice seeing those little curlies when you're done shooting something. :D

[Frederick Rowe]

Nice job on your first shooting board Mark. I haven't applied a finish to my shooting board other than wax. If you do, just make sure your don't build up a slight fillet of finish where the fence and ramp meet - it may keep your piece from registering with the fence accurately.

A suggestion for your next shooting board, is to extend support for the plane a few inches further past the fence. It will prevent the plane from tipping off the edge during vigorous planing.

[Eric Brown]

In addition to making the board a little longer after the fence you might also consider making the top board a little thinner so that more of the blade could be used. It also helps to use a liquid (water, mineral spirits, denatured alcohol) to soften the end grain. Two last things, keep the blade sharp and keep any chamfer to a minimum.

Eric

[Mark Kosmowski]

The way I made this board, the fence needs to extend past the end of the board in order to use the fence as a reference to cut the sides square to the fence.

Looking at my LN #62 jack plane, the blade is very forward relative to the body of the sole. There's about 3/4 of the sole after the blade, so I think that it is unlikely that the plane will travel so far past the end of the board that it would tip. Even if it did tip, the blade would not be engaged at the time of the tip so any damage would be minimal.

Thanks for the idea about the thinner board. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I make another board.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Mark

That is nicely done - better than my first attempt!

Here is a link to an article I wrote on shooting boards. It has a couple of accessories that you can add to yours.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Setting%20Up%20and%20Using%20a%20Shooting%20Board4 .html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Kosmowski]

Derek - thanks for the link. I do plan to make miter and bevel attachments for the shooting board. I'm not sure how to be sure I have a good 45 degree angle though. Maybe I could trim the corner off a speed square and then use that as a very temporary fence to shoot the 45 degree angle of the attachment fence?

Thanks for the ideas!

[Pedro Reyes]

The way I made this board, the fence needs to extend past the end of the board in order to use the fence as a reference to cut the sides square to the fence.


Mark,

Nice looking shooting board.

I am not visualizing/understanding what you said above, what did you use to cut it, which required the fence to extend past the board. I may be misunderstanding what you are calling fence and board. Just curious to understand that tip on making one.

Thanks

/p

[Derek Cohen]

Derek - thanks for the link. I do plan to make miter and bevel attachments for the shooting board. I'm not sure how to be sure I have a good 45 degree angle though. Maybe I could trim the corner off a speed square and then use that as a very temporary fence to shoot the 45 degree angle of the attachment fence?

Hi Mark

Add a little adjustment to the mitre fence. Use a screw as a spacer at the far end.

Most of my shooting boards have adjustability built into the main fence. This then automatically creates adjustments for any auxillary fences that are clamped to it.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Advances%20in%20a%20ramped%20shooting%20board.html

Regards from Perth

Derek