Favorite shooting plane?

[Brian Hale]

Other than a $$$ dedicated shooting plane, what's your go to plane for shooting?

[Casey Gooding]

Lie-Nielsen 62 or Stanley #6 are my usual shooting planes. I also have a Low angle Krenov style plane I left square I have been using some lately.

[steven c newman]

Don't really have ONE plane for this. I tend to use the right size for the item being planed. Have a small stick to trim? M-F#1455 will do. Slightly larger, maybe? Like a 1x3? I use a M-F#8 or #9

Wider pieces will get either a #5 or a #6. Chutting Jig will use about any size I have. Main thing is that the iron is sharp and square at the point where it touches the wood. A bit of wax on the side of the plane also helps.

[Adam Cruea]

I dropped the cash for a LN #51. Love it.

LV's is cheaper, ya know. And from what Derek has shown, somewhat better in iron durability. If you're shooting mitres a lot, it might be worth it.

Just a thought.

[Zach Dillinger]

My shop built low angle bevel down miter plane or my LN #9. Both see use in shooting (don't do it much, but they are the go-tos for that) and in other tasks.

[Kees Heiden]

Stanley #6. Not really favorite, it kind of hurts my hand, but it does the job. I don't feel like spending huge amounts of money on something I don't use much.

[Matthew Hills]

Lee Valley Low-Angle Jack seemed to be the favorite discussed on forums, up until the dedicated shooters arrived.

The Lie Nielsen low-angle Jack has a hot-dog attachment that might make that a good choice.
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/images/products/secondary/thumbs/1-hotdog-62-2.jpg

Matt

[john zulu]

LV Jack. Not ergonomic. A dedicated shooter is worth it

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Before getting the Veritas dedicated shooting plane, I used the Veritas low angle jack. It worked great and made it really hard to justify the dedicated shooter, but once I got it I was very glad I did. The LN Low Angle Jack would likely be just as good a candidate, especially with the hotdog attachment, but I stuck with Veritas for the ability to swap blades between all my LA planes.

[Jim Koepke]

My choice for a shooting board plane has changed a few times. Mostly due to an old shoulder injury.

Here is a post on using a #6:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?130114-Shooting-Board-Plane

A #65 block plane also works well.

My current almost dedicated to shooting only plane is an LN #62 with a hotdog.

A low angle plane goes through end grain much easier than a standard angle bench plane.

jtk

[Tom M King]

295987Sorry. After using this dedicated, special purpose one, there is no other cheaper one that works as easily for the job. After using the Veritas in a track, I won't bother with one that doesn't run in a track. I made the board out of Corian, and will get the left-handed mate to it when needed. This is my only new, high dollar plane, and it works really great.

[Daniel Rode]

I've used a #4, #6 and now a #5. In a pinch for a narrow board, I'll grab any of the above. I've even used a block plane. However, after using the #6 for a while, I decided to pick up a #5 specifically for shooting. It's long enough and massive enough for most things. Being shorter and lighter than the #6 is more often an advantage for me.

None of them hurt my hand but the #6 is the most comfortable. I have an odd grip a across the side and into the frog, so maybe that helps? I've only used the #5 a few times, but it's not much different.

I imagine if I hit the lottery, I'd buy a LN or LV shooting plane but otherwise, what I have seems to work just fine.

[Prashun Patel]

I use my bevel up jack. It works fine.

[paul cottingham]

Bevel up LV jack. Works great. I'm big, and heavy so I'm sure that helps.

[john zulu]

Regardless of the plane a shooting board is required. I have followed Derek's design and it helps a lot. LV Jack is a lovely plane but end grain shooting is really a lot of work. Especially when it is hard wood.

[Kees Heiden]

Just had a quick look. A Veritas shooting plane runs 345 euro (of course you want the PMV11 blade). Nobody jumped into the shooting board market overhere yet, but I see them available at 200 dollar at the other side of the ocean. Well, I've got a kid in college and the bills are starting to pile up this time of the year.

So, some tips to survive live in the not so ultimate world:

Make a simple basic shooting board from some left over pieces of plywood. Maybe a second one for miters.
Cut a piece from a broomstick and make a hotdog handle.
Sharpen the blade before you start shooting.
Don't shoot every board you intend to use in a project. Usually it isn't necessary. Learn to saw straight instaid.

[Zach Dillinger]

Learn to saw straight instaid.

I agree; the best shooting plane is the one you don't have to use.

[Adam Cruea]

I agree; the best shooting plane is the one you don't have to use.

Unfortunately, some of us are not this talented. :p

[Christopher Charles]

+1 to Kees' post. Unless I do _a lot_ of shooting and have worn blisters onto my thumbs that have turned into callouses, I don't plan to purchase a dedicated shooter. unless I win that lottery that I don't play... Am considering a LV LA jack as a semi dedicated shooter to take advantage of the lower blade angle but also have a couple kids and college on the horizon.

Good luck!

[Ray Bohn]

LN 62 with hot dog

[glenn bradley]

The $$$ beauties aside as you request . . . LV LAJ. Made a hot dog in about an hour.

296014 . 296013

[Jim Koepke]

Don't shoot every board you intend to use in a project. Usually it isn't necessary. Learn to saw straight instaid.



I agree; the best shooting plane is the one you don't have to use.

Even when a piece is knife marked and the polished side of the knife mark is left after the cut I like to shoot any thing that will be a reference edge or will show after assembly.

Some people enjoy the look of end grain.

I like it to be proud.

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

My sawing is improving but I depend on shooting the edges. It guarantees a straight square edge and it allows me to micro adjust the lengths and match lengths precisely. I depend on that accuracy for the following steps.

Perhaps over time I'll come to a point where I don't need to shoot as often, but I'm not there yet.

[Winton Applegate]

OMG !
When did they stop making this (http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/lie-nielsenironmiterplane.aspx) ?

It's a sign I have about everything I need. I haven't looked at tool catalogs for a while now.
I like mine and one can do stuff with it that the dedicated shooter won't.
Hey ! ! !
I got me a rarity here.
I know this isn't shooting in the photo but anyway a photo of mine. I have never taken a photo of my shooting boards. Too lazy to go take one right now.

Or you can just put the board in the vise well supported and use a small plane to pare where you need to to create a perfect end grain to end grain fit. I do that a fair amount.

[paul cottingham]

Unfortunately, some of us are not this talented. :p
Yep. And until then, a shooting board will make up for my poor hands.

[Kees Heiden]

Even when a piece is knife marked and the polished side of the knife mark is left after the cut I like to shoot any thing that will be a reference edge or will show after assembly.

Some people enjoy the look of end grain.

I like it to be proud.

jtk

There are some simple solutions for that. First don't use the endgrain as a reference edge. Use a square from the side instead. BTW a lot of people use a tablesaw which produces a plenty straight edge.
Second, plane the endgrain after assembly when you can use the plane in a normal upright position and skew the cut. A plane works a lot better like that.

I don't believe that shooting boards had the same prominent position in the past as they seem to have nowadays. Mostly used for miters only.

[Derek Cohen]

A shooting plane and board is a most useful tool when sizing and preparing boards for drawers and other "boxes" where the parts are narrow (1/2" and thinner). They enable one to accurately and efficiently sneak up on a close fit.

Is a shooting board absolutely necessary? Well, there are always work-arounds. One could freehand the edge. I suppose one does no actually ever need a handplane for smoothing either. Use a scraper or a piece of glass, or sandpaper ... I think that it is silly arguing that a shooting board is not needed. It's just a tool that makes some tasks more efficient.

Similarly, one does not need a dedicated shooting plane. Any bench plane can do the job. Some planes just do it better than others.

I have a surfeit of shooting planes and boards, to be sure. They are each much, much more than one needs for the job, but oh so nice to use. :)

My favourite is the combination of a Stanley #52 chute board and the LV (bevel up) shooting plane ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/LVShootingPlane_html_mb21477a.jpg

Review: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/LVShootingPlane.html

The LN #51 is really excellent and unless you used them alongside one another, I cannot see anyone not finding this to be the most wonderful tool ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/LN51ShootingPlane_html_6ed0a945.jpg

Review: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ToolReviews/LN51ShootingPlane.html

When I demonstrate at wood shows I invariably take along my ramped shooting board and strike block plane ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/BuildingaStrikeBlockPlane_html_71a1e942.jpg

Article: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/BuildingaStrikeBlockPlane.html

All these plane prepare the boards to do this ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/MakingBetter%20Dovetails_html_m28cee0da.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Hale]

This past weekend I was working on my dovetail skills using some pine scraps squared up on the tablesaw when I decided to try shooting the ends just for the fun of it. Grabbing the bench hook and my low angle block plane and was surprised to find the ends turned out flat square and shiny, much nicer than what came off the saw. My knifed layout lines were easier to see which was nice. Still managed to butcher the dovetails though, I really need to mark those lines on the face of the boards.

So all that got me wondering if I should setup one of my planes as a dedicated shooter.

Brian :)

[Ron Patrick]

I have the LV shooting plane and love it. I originally started with the LV LAJ but the shooting plane is so much better that I have now put a 40% angle on the LAJ plane and use it as a super smoother.