Shooting boards for the LN Handtool Event

[Derek Cohen]

Lie-Nielsen are holding a Handtool event in Perth this coming weekend.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LNworkshopMarch2011.jpg

Having been invited along as one of the presenters, I decided to concentrate on dovetailing (demonstrating the Knew Concepts fretsaw, which LN Australia will be selling, and dovetailing techniques), and shooting boards and shooting technique.

The latter area was partly inspired by the recent arrival of the LN #51 shooting plane (review: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/LN51ShootingPlane.html). I thought I could take it along with the Stanley #52 shooting board, and provide a comparison with the LN #9 shooting plane, which LN will loan me for the event. Later I could write this up as many are interested in that. I also plan to take along a variety of shooting boards for all to try out and experience. It is the latter that bring me to the point of this post.

I'm not sure if many are aware that LN offer plans for a shooting board. They are here: http://www.lie-nielsen.com/pdf/Shooting_Board_And_Fixtures.pdf

I decided to build a couple. Well, sort of. I kept to the layout of the LN version, but did add a little here-and-there to make it more durable (and nicer to look at ... there I had to say it - the LN is somewhat bland! :))There boards are built out of MDF. Horrible stuff - dusty and cardboard sponges. But cheap. I edged all the important areas in Jarrah and soaked the surface and edges in Danish Oil.

The LN board is double-sided, that is, it can be used right- and left handed. I think that this is for the mitre fence accessory - it really is a demanding build to set up a shooting board so that the two opposing sides are perfectly parallel ... and that the mitre fence is set up to trim perfect 45 degree mitres at each side. I had fun doing this ...

The basic board is 1 1/2" thick, 18" long and wide.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN1.jpg

There are dust grooves alongside the runway ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN2.jpg

.. and if you look at the centre you will see a metal threaded insert.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN3.jpg

This is for the mitre fence ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN4.jpg

The fence has non-slip added. This is a fine powder sprinkled over a layer of poly varnish). The non-slip is necessary for shooting mitres.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN5.jpg

I built 4 of these shooting boards for the event ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/LN%20Shooting%20Board/LN6.jpg

Wait .. there is more!

A ramped board, in Jarrah and Tasmanian Oak ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/Ramped%20boards%20for%20LN%20event/Ramp1.jpg

This board is a little different to past ramped boards I have built.

If the bolt on the left is loosened, then the fence can slide back-and-forth ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/Ramped%20boards%20for%20LN%20event/Ramp2.jpg

The reason for this is that the square fence then converts into a mitre fence ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/Ramped%20boards%20for%20LN%20event/Ramp3.jpg

Oh, I built 2 of these ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/Ramped%20boards%20for%20LN%20event/Ramp4.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Tools%20that%20I%20have%20made/Shooting%20board/Ramped%20boards%20for%20LN%20event/Ramp5.jpg

Come and join us at the Handtool Event. It promises to be fun!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Greg Wease]

Please send out a show recap when it is over. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from users on shooting miters with the add-on triangle vs. your swing-arm fence and relative merits of the various planes.

I had an opportunity to try the #51 last week on an angled shooting board and it certainly worked well. How does it fit in the Stanley #52 chute? Any idea when Lie Nielsen will follow up with a #52 of their own as hinted on their website?

[Tony Shea]

Quick question Derek, on your ramped version of shooting board what are you bolting the fence down into? Is it some sort of threaded insert? A little bit of detail on that part of your shooting board would be great. May be a dumb question but have been meaning to make a ramped style board for a while. Getting the fence perfectly square always proves to be a pain.

Oh and good luck at the Event, wish I could make it there but being in Maine requires far too long of a trip. Always enjoy myself at the LN Open House here in Maine. Just wish there were events around here more often.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Tony

The Jarrah top is 3/4" thick. I first tapped this for the bolt, then sunk a steel nut into the underside. It is really solid.

I did take pictures as I worked, so there is a pictorial planned of building this ramped board(s).

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

Lots of pics from the Tool Event please.

I am trying to get my octagonal pyramid top for my bird house worked out so I can make a compound angle shooting board some day.

Should have taken trigonometry when I had the chance.

jtk

[Chen-Tin Tsai]

This might sound like a really dumb question, but how do you go about cutting/shaping those long wedges that go under the ramped shooting board? Is that something that can be done neander or do I need to bust out the TS?

[Derek Cohen]

CT

You can do this in a number of ways. For neander, mark a 5 degree angle on a wide board. Plane/saw this off. straighten the line with a jointer, then saw off the wedge. This is trickier than it looks and you now need to plane the rear.

I used a tablesaw and handplane.

Regards from Perth

Derek