Made a shooting board today

[Andrew Gibson]

I have been meaning to build a shooting board for quite some time and never got around to it. I had never used one before so didn't know what I was missing.
While making a small box a week or so ago I used my bench hook to shoot an edge and was amazed at how well it worked. So I decided It was time to stop draging my feet and get to work.

Made out of scrap OSB, ash cutoffs for the fence and hook, and a piece of Masonite for the shooting ramp. It may not win any beauty contests but the joints it turns out might :)

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I ran in the fence with my #7 but found out that the side of it is well out of square to the soul so I wont be shooting with it. I finished running in with my #5 and did a test to make sure everything was nice and square.

here are a few pics.

[geoff wood]

I ran in the fence with my #7 but found out that the side of it is well out of square to the soul so I wont be shooting with it. I finished running in with my #5 and did a test to make sure everything was nice and square.

here are a few pics.

I have an old stanley #5 i use for shooting end grain on my shooting board... the sides are not square to the sole, nor is the sole perfectly flat, and also the two levels of the shooting board are not perfectly parallel, showing almost 1/32 in the width of my combination square ruler(used starrett combination square) yet i can get perfect results, square in all dimensions. my personal opinion is that the lateral adjustment extends the blade further into space and squaring itself up. but for the sake of consistency i would like to have my plane to be perfectly square and also my shooting board, but it is not a necessity right now. other people have different opinions on the subject but my personal experience outweighs anything i read/hear.

[Tony Shea]

I'm not sure I completely understand your explaination geoff about the iron squaring itself up but agree that your plane need not have a square side in order to acheive perfect results.

As long as you adjust the iron laterally so that it is square to the peice your planing you will acheive perfectly square results. It is a misconception that your plane sides need to be square to work on a shooting board. As long as you can adjust your blade laterally to square it will be fine. Which i'm sure is what geoff was saying. But i do agree in that having a perfectly square plane, or close to it, makes life much easier to acheive perfect results. A few less test cuts are required to get what you want.

I like your shooting board and don't mind the OSB look at all. It probably helps in gripping your work a bit better than my slick baltic birch.

[Andrew Gibson]

I know you don't need a perfectly square plane to work on a shooting board, however in thick or hard woods where the added mass of the #7 would be helpful I think the amount that my #7 is out of square may be a little excessive for practicality. My #3 and #5 are perfectly adequate. The sole is out of square with the side by about 1/16"
Not that big a deal unless using thicker stock like would usually be expected to warrant the use of the #7... I think that makes sense.

[Chris Griggs]

Good job on the shooting board. My shooting board was one of the best things to happen to my woodworking. It made me understand why someone would spend $300-$400 on a dedicated shooting plane. I find it especially useful when making small boxes as you mentioned. Don't know if you have a No. 6, but they make really nice shooting planes.

Regarding the No. 7, I've found that when I'm squaring thicker or wider stock it's easier just to take the wood off the shooting board anyway. I often use a heavy No 6, but it can be hard to get a good enough grip get the momentum you want on wider stock.

Instead of using the shooting board on thick/wide pieces I sometimes just score a square line all the way around, and then plane to the line. If you make a V-groove with a chisel all the way along the knife mark or cut a chamfer to the line before planning the full thickness of the end grain, it is easier to tell when you've hit the mark and reduces the chance of blow out. It's a little extra work, but I've found that it's worth it on pieces that are difficult to square on the shooting board.

[Eric Brown]

It helps to use denatured alcohol when shooting end grain.

Eric

[Jim Koepke]

Nice looking shavings more than make up for the not so stunningly beautiful work horse.

I have used a lot of planes on my shooting board, but the LA Jack seems the best. Still use the #6 a bit though for the added thickness on the fatter stock.

jim

[Jacob Mac]

Nice work, I really like your shooting board.. I bet that shooting board will really improve the quality of your work.

[Terry Beadle]

David Charlesworth's dvd on shooting board techniques shows how to use post it notes to get exactly square cuts from a slightly off square plane. In both the verticle and horizontal planes, you add post it notes between the work piece and the shooting board surfaces.

Works very well and post it notes are cheap and re-useable. I''ve even used 4 ~ 6 thou shavings for the same purpose as well...they just don't stick.

So far none of my planes is so far out of square that the post it adjustment doesn't work.