Shooting Boards Do I really Need Them?

[Mark R Webster]

I have done woodworking most of my life and feel like my work is pretty accurate. I have made several shooting boards and still have some, but never really found that I used them. I have an industrial quality table saw and sleds to help with accuracy and I use a high quality 60 tooth carbide saw blade most of the time. I appreciate the ability that the shooting board has to get clean end grain surfaces and to tweak a surface in very small increments i.e. with miters. The thing is, with the 60t blade, careful adjustments, accurate sleds and quality table saw, I seem to get by without using the shooting boards. What am I missing?
I don't want to ruffle any feathers, I imagine some are passionate about needing a shooting board. I am just trying to understand what I may be missing.

[Andrew Gibson]

I have two shooting boards that I would not live without. One for 90* cuts and one for 45* miters. I can and do work without them but for furniture and instrument work they are superior to machines, at least for me. The first time I built and used a shooting board it was like having a blindfold yanked off. It improved the quality of my work a great deal.

[Joe A Faulkner]

Hmm ... why do you ask? Seems like an odd question to post in the hand tool forum. If you were doing your cross cuts with handsaws, my guess is that you would use a shooting board more regularly. Given that you are cross cutting on the table saw and getting results that you are happy with, then its hard to argue that you are missing anything.

[Jim Koepke]

It all depends on your style of working. Many of my cuts come off the saw without any need to be taken to the shooting board for squaring. However the saw does leave the end grain a touch fuzzy looking. A stroke or two on the shooting board makes it much smoother. Cosmetically you may be able to achieve the same thing with a bit of sanding after assembly. On my projects sandpaper is not used very often.

jtk

[steven c newman]

This is what I have been using..lately....
390768
YMMV...

[Jason Martin Winnipeg]

Hmm ... why do you ask? Seems like an odd question to post in the hand tool forum. If you were doing your cross cuts with handsaws, my guess is that you would use a shooting board more regularly. Given that you are cross cutting on the table saw and getting results that you are happy with, then its hard to argue that you are missing anything.

Pretty much this. Shooting boards are handy for when you use a hand saw and saw off the line. But if you've been doing it long enough, I daresay you can saw to the line with only a minor touch up from the plane needed afterwards to which a shooting board may not be required.

[Prashun Patel]

I understand your question. Everyone loves them but you can’t figure out how your work would improve with them.

The shooting board excels at being able to take one shave at a time. This allows you to shim and adjust the fit in a more controlled way than even a cross cut sled affords.

Small pieces are sometimes easier to work on a shooting board than larger ones.’

[Mark R Webster]

I ask because my impression is that others who use hand tools and power tools (as I do) seem to use and like shooting boards. Jim's response make sense to me thanks Jim.

[Mark R Webster]

Thanks Prashun!

[Mark R Webster]

Makes sense to me!

[Warren Mickley]

I have never owned a table saw. I made a shooting board around 1982. I used it a few times and put it on a shelf. It is more efficient and quite a bit more comfortable to do your shooting with the wood in a vise.

Traditional uses for the shooting board included shooting joints for very thin wood or shooting miters on small pieces.

[Simon MacGowen]

The thing is, with the 60t blade, careful adjustments, accurate sleds and quality table saw, I seem to get by without using the shooting boards. What am I missing?
.

I have a tablesaw and jigs that can do what you described (but a lot don't, either because of their inferior saws or poor tune-up or both). I use the shooting board when it is too risky to use a spinning blade that has vibration. A quick example: I had a dead miter cut, but a last minute design change required me to narrow the stock a hair bit. I could run the piece along the saw fence to trim the "fat," but I worried about a break-out on the entry end of the miter).

Any damage on the tip of the miter would be disastrous. No chance taken, and the shooting board was the savior.

Freehand? I was not sure about the consistency I could get on all four members. On the shooting board, I simply count in my head: 1,2, 3.... on each piece.

I have two shooting boards, and use them when they are the best way of achieving my goals -- whatever they are. You are not missing anything if you work is taken care of well by your current set-up.

Simon

[Frederick Skelly]

If you were doing your cross cuts with handsaws, my guess is that you would use a shooting board more regularly. Given that you are cross cutting on the table saw and getting results that you are happy with, then its hard to argue that you are missing anything.

+1. I agree.

[Mark R Webster]

Similar to my own uses, sometimes if we don't ask we don't know what we don't know. Thanks Simon

[Chris Fournier]

I make picture frames pretty often. Shooting boards rule. Nothing off my saw compares. And I have a great saw.

[glenn bradley]

I ask because my impression is that others who use hand tools and power tools (as I do) seem to use and like shooting boards. Jim's response make sense to me thanks Jim.

I'm a hybrid guy and I like shooting boards for fitting some parts. You don't have to have one but, I use them enough to have a couple and dedicated planes. We all do things differently so not having one, or having one, doesn't make you better, or worse off, than the other guy.

[Sheldon Funk]

I have never owned a table saw. I made a shooting board around 1982. I used it a few times and put it on a shelf. It is more efficient and quite a bit more comfortable to do your shooting with the wood in a vise.

Traditional uses for the shooting board included shooting joints for very thin wood or shooting miters on small pieces.

Hi Warren,

I have shot end grain as you describe in a vise when the pieces are too big or awkward for a shooting board. Given the experiences I have had, I am curious how you avoid spelching while achieving a full-end shoot? Not doubting but hoping to glean wisdom from an expert.

[steven c newman]

390815
By clamping a scrap of wood to the exit side.....damage the scrap, not the good.

[john zulu]

It was primarily developed for hand planes. Similar to sleds for a tablesaw.

[Simon MacGowen]

390815
By clamping a scrap of wood to the exit side.....damage the scrap, not the good.

Or on the fly, put a small chamfer on the exit end; won't work well if the material to be shaved off is too small for a chamfer.

Simon

[Kees Heiden]

A few years ago I posted about the history of shootingboards https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?222644-History-of-shooting-boards&highlight=history+shootingboard

It seems that they are a rather recent development (mid 19th century) for normal woodworking. In veneering stuff and for miters they were used in older times too.

[Warren Mickley]

A few years ago I posted about the history of shootingboards https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?222644-History-of-shooting-boards&highlight=history+shootingboard

It seems that they are a rather recent development (mid 19th century) for normal woodworking. In veneering stuff and for miters they were used in older times too.

Thanks for a nice history, Kees. I would have said routine use of the shooting board was a late 20th century development. In the 1970s a lot of people used block planes on end grain, and believe it or not, they thought that the block plane at 12 degrees cut at an angle of 33 degrees lower than a bench plane at 45 degrees. I was twenty years a woodworker before I heard of anyone using a shooting board other than for very thin stuff. When I read the joiner and cabinetmaker book (about seven years ago), I felt that it was written by an amateur.

I think it is a lot faster and less awkward to do the work in a vise, and to use a bench plane rather than a block plane. A block plane is kind of crampy if used for any length of time.

For stock preparation, I true up the ends of the board before cutting to width. That way I can make a small chamfer at the end of the cut. I believe the corner comes out a little nicer than on a shooting board.

[Brian Holcombe]

I almost never use a shooting board anymore. I don't find them to be the best solution, thick stuff is difficult to cut with a shooting board and thin stuff pulls into the cut unless it's clamped on every cut. For something really precision a paring block is a nice solution and for larger stuff I find generally I can just plane it by either clamping it or butting it up against a stop.

My hands cramp easily, so I don't go for small block planes with exception to Japanese type.

[John C Cox]

I ask because my impression is that others who use hand tools and power tools (as I do) seem to use and like shooting boards. Jim's response make sense to me thanks Jim.

When I need clean "show face" glue joints or I have mission critical glue joints - I plane the joints by hand to clean them up and candle them to verify a good tight fit for gluing... I may use a power saw to cut off the waste or rip them close to size - but my glue joint prep is usually done with hand tools.

I started doing this with guitar work - where you can't have any gaps in the glue joints and there's no extra thickness to "make up for oops". Since I was already doing it and sorted out my process - I have continued to joint up panels this way for furniture duty work where it matters.....

I was all hot for a power jointer till I started candling power jointed joints.... Yikes!!! Gaps everywhere! You need a SUPER precise setup on a power jointer to have any chance of a joint candling properly..... And even then it's not always good enough (for what I am used to) to glue up straight off the jointer....

[David Eisenhauer]

Not familiar with the term "candling joints". What is that please?

[Simon MacGowen]

I was all hot for a power jointer till I started candling power jointed joints.... Yikes!!! Gaps everywhere! You need a SUPER precise setup on a power jointer to have any chance of a joint candling properly..... And even then it's not always good enough (for what I am used to) to glue up straight off the jointer....
Setting up a jointer to cut perfectly is a frustrating act, and it applies to 99% of jointer users I know, no matter what caliper gadgets you use. Simply said, a lot of these jointers are made with budgets in mind and the tolerance factors are limiting their precision performance. To try to remedy the built-in deficiencies with tune-ups is futile.

Simon

[Brian Holcombe]

I think that most users probably pass the material over the jointer too quickly. Compare to the speed of a planer pulling material into the cutter and match that. If you do it in warp speed then it's going to cut but have many more ripples and lack precision.

I went over my jointer with checking tools, but I did not need to do much. I can cut 16" wide material that is so flat it sticks together to create a vacuum seal when I stack up the boards. I don't think mine is unique by any means as it is a middle of the road machine by comparison to Martin or Hofmann or even the higher end SCMI.

This is a joint on a short (18") board, which is difficult compared to a longer board of say 48".

https://brianholcombewoodworker.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/ozjxDqFSMevfL7gg3sw1w.jpg

No glue, the boards are just sitting on one another.

[Simon MacGowen]

It seems that they are a rather recent development (mid 19th century) for normal woodworking. In veneering stuff and for miters they were used in older times too.

And shooters have never stopped coming up with ways to use the shooting board since. I know of 6 or 7 ways of using my shooting board in my work. I have not tried this, but a British furniture maker and teacher John Bullar uses a shooting board to cooper lids at consistent angles.

Nothing wrong with people using or not using shooting boards, as long as they have a way to meet their needs. I thought my tablesaw and miter saw had met all my tricky cutting needs, until I found out a shooting board solved the same problems with much better control. I never look back.

One point is pretty clear: If you are a dedicated user of a tool (any tool), and invest time and effort into using it, developing expertise like no others, the tool becomes an extension of yourself, and only you can appreciate the power of that tool in your work.


Simon

[Mark R Webster]

Well said Simon!

[Simon MacGowen]

Except for smaller projects, most of my boards are spring joined these days, whether the initial edging is done on the tablesaw with a rip blade or by hand. But no spring joints if splines are used.

Simon

[Jim Koepke]

Another approach for shooting in a vise is to work from one side and only go in half way. Then turn the piece to work from the other end.

Something seen many years ago described a method of squaring the end of a piece with a chisel. It was called 'blocking in.' The author thought this might be the origin of the name for a block plane.

jtk

[Kees Heiden]

What interests me is WHY didn't shootinghboards have the same prominence in pre industrial handtool woodworking as they seem to have today. They are not mentioned in Roubo, while every current hands-on manual on woodworking describes them.

I think there are several reasons.
- Like Warren describes, it is actually easier to plane the endgrain of a board when it is in the vise. You just have to keep your plane level, something every workman would have been familiar with. They didn't have trouble doing it on long grain! Even I can get decent results this way.
- Endgrain is abusive for a sharp edge. So, endgrain planing would have been avoided as much as possible. The first and last tool the endgrain saw was a saw. Again, no problem for a full time joiner or cabinet maker. They could saw to a line, and keep the cut perpendicular.
- I see many describe how the shootingboard allows the utmost precision in creating an exact length of wood. But to be honest, how often do you really need such exactness? If you can saw accurately to a line?
- Visible endgrain was avoided. Everything covered in veneers and mouldings. So a little roughness was no problem.
- Joints were a means to an end. They were made to construct a piece, but the joints had no esthetic value. They were buried as much as possible and when visible you shouldn't be shocked to find bit of gappy baseline for example. Today the joints need to perfect and often are part of the estetic appeal.

These things automatically lead to less importance for shooting boards, while they are still very usefull for exact miters and for very thin stuff.

[Simon MacGowen]

These things automatically lead to less importance for shooting boards, while they are still very usefull for exact miters and for very thin stuff.

In a thread about a book on hand tools that has now been "moved" -- not "deleted" or "removed", just moved (to where?) -- some pointed out context was important. In your case, it is audience.

Less importance to whom? To those who don't use shooting boards a lot? Or those who don't realize their full potentials?

I was once given a trial pass to Rob Cosman's online videos, and for the first time came to know he used a shooting board for almost every hand tool project he presented (the ones I browsed). Does he have the planing skills or sawing skills to true or square up his stock? The answer is obvious to anyone who knows about his work. Can't remember if he had a DVD on making a shooting board...Paul Sellers has done a video or two, for sure.

There are a few who make and sell shooting boards, and there are classes on making shooting boards. To these people, more not less the shooting boards are getting important.

You point out two good uses of a shooting board: miters and thin stock. Anyone who masters a shooting board can point out a lot more...including where a shooting board is so good at that freehand skills can't match.

Simon

[Kees Heiden]

I was writing about the time when Roubo, or Nicholson lived. Quite a few years earlier then Paul Sellers. Like I described in that old thread about the history of shootingboards (mentioned in one of the previous posts in this thread). Shootingboards, or similar contraptions like miter jacks, were only documented for miters (mostly in German books) and for various kinds of veneer and very thin panel work, like in Roubo and Nicholson.

I see now my post was not entirely clear about the period and I have now added the word pre industrial.

[Mark R Webster]

Great discussion/input thanks to all those who have responded!

[steven c newman]

This be my "Shooting Board" in action, today...
390845
Much easier...aslways set up for what I need..
390847
Miters?
390848
What angle to you need?
390849
Repeatable, too......

[Mark R Webster]

Looks like a nice setup!

[Simon MacGowen]

This be my "Shooting Board" in action, today...
.

Ya know you are admissible only as an Associate Member of the SB Club, right? :D

Ya can upgrade to a Full Member via various ways, including buying a shooting board track from any club-sanctioned vendors, even if you choose not to build a SB.

Simon

[steven c newman]

Seems I have outgrown the need for such a crutch....mine sits unused...
390872
Just sits on a shelf....takes too much space to set up, and use....
390873
I prefer the mitre box....quicker, and they are both always set up....and can do any angle...

[Simon MacGowen]

With such supplementary information received, you are now granted the right to use these initials behind your name, if you choose to: MSBC (which is not to be confused with the Master of Science in Business Communication degree)! But I am sure the Club is proud to have you help promote its mission in a world where more and more people are interested in shooting targets than shooting wood.

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

Unknown to 99.99% of active shooting board users is that a shooting board can do what a train horn does when hickery is shaved:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNm4_8lyNR/?tagged=shootingboard

Simon

[steven c newman]

Will a shooting board "shoot" a Crown Molding joint? Or, would it shoot a 22.5 degree mitre joint..for an 8 sided clock?



Shooting a thin part? Go and get a Lion....that is what was made for such tasks....

[Simon MacGowen]

Will a shooting board "shoot" a Crown Molding joint? Or, would it shoot a 22.5 degree mitre joint..for an 8 sided clock?
.

Steven,

Your shooting skill (on a SB) has gone rusty!

Shooting a 22.5 angle is easy peasy if you know cradling.

Cradles, may be another crutch in your dictionary, empower your SB to the next level, and they are another path to get you to the Honorary Member level (this kidding of course).

Simon

[Jerry Olexa]

If your current method is working (accurately), then stick with it...I am a bad source as i do not have a shooting board.:)

[steven c newman]

Hmmm...I'll pass....:rolleyes:

[Jim Koepke]

Will a shooting board "shoot" a Crown Molding joint? Or, would it shoot a 22.5 degree mitre joint..for an 8 sided clock?



Shooting a thin part? Go and get a Lion....that is what was made for such tasks....

Yes, a shooting board can shoot a crown molding joint and make it fit quite well:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?224747

Scroll down to post #11. That isn't crown molding, but it only takes a bit of imagination to get to a compound angle.

It can also be made to shoot 22.5º:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?157217

A shooting board can be used like a portable stop or a bench hook. A bench hook can be used on the edge of a porch or the top of some stairs when doing work away from the shop.

After shooting end grain, any knifed marks for joinery are easier to see.

Are they really needed? Maybe, maybe not.

Can they be useful/helpful? Of course.

jtk

[Sheldon Funk]

Or on the fly, put a small chamfer on the exit end; won't work well if the material to be shaved off is too small for a chamfer.

Simon

Fair enough, I have used both methods when cleaning up the ends of table tops, drawer fronts etc. but I find Steven's clamping suggestion tedious (the clamping and lining up, not his suggestion!) and the chamfer technique has not not always been idiot-proof enough for this amateur. :)

[Simon MacGowen]

Fair enough, I have used both methods when cleaning up the ends of table tops, drawer fronts etc. but I find Steven's clamping suggestion tedious (the clamping and lining up, not his suggestion!) and the chamfer technique has not not always been idiot-proof enough for this amateur. :)
Yes, the chamfer technique needs some skill. I would tell anyone struggling with using a plane to chamfer to use a chisel which is much easier because they can see both edges (the chisel's and the end grain's).

There is a better version of the clamping method that Steven showed that is NOT tedious ( but Steven might not like it if he looked at it as a crutch (sorry Steven; just couldn't resist the temptation:D)):

Screw a wooden block to the top clamp jaw and you simply tighten the clamp so the block sits flush with the end grain to be planed.

There are many ways to skin endgrains if we open up our minds, including using a sb.

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

.

Are they really needed? Maybe, maybe not.

Can they be useful/helpful? Of course.

jtk
Jim,
Interested in coauthoring a new book entitled "Shoot Your Way to Success -- The Official Guide for Beginners"?

And I promise I will only produce pictures that show tight joints (glue and saw dust or photoshop will not be used) to give inspirations to the beginners, even though some members of the expert panel say it is ok to show lousy work in a book as long as it is targeted at beginners.

Simon

[Jim Koepke]

There is a better version of the clamping method that Steven showed that is NOT tedious ( but Steven might not like it if he looked at it as a crutch (sorry Steven; just couldn't resist the temptation:D)):

A sacrificial piece at an edge of your workpiece is pretty much what the fence does on one's shooting board. With shooting boards an operator's other hand can be the clamp.


Jim,
Interested in coauthoring a new book entitled "Shoot Your Way to Success -- The Official Guide for Beginners"?

And I promise I will only produce pictures that show tight joints (glue and saw dust or photoshop will not be used) to give inspirations to the beginners, even though some members of the expert panel say it is ok to show lousy work in a book as long as it is targeted at beginners.

Simon

Maybe at the beginning a few sloppy joints compared to better joinery achieved by practice over time and better marking, sawing and paring.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Treating one like the Marines did with their Swagger Sticks....."..IF you think you NEED to carry one, carry it.." 04 JAN 1960.....

Afterwards, few Marines felt they NEEDED to carry one, to be a Marine....and gave them up.

"SB Club"? Maybe the first two letters should be reversed....

[Simon MacGowen]

.....

"SB Club"? Maybe the first two letters should be reversed....

That already exists as a sub-group of the SB Club:

Best Shooter Club.

Simon

[Pat Barry]

Jim,
Interested in coauthoring a new book entitled "Shoot Your Way to Success -- The Official Guide for Beginners"?

And I promise I will only produce pictures that show tight joints (glue and saw dust or photoshop will not be used) to give inspirations to the beginners, even though some members of the expert panel say it is ok to show lousy work in a book as long as it is targeted at beginners.

Simon
So much fascination with pristine, gap free, dovetails and other joints these days isnt there? Lots of functional dovetails done for centuries that held up fine with some imperfections. Fact of life is there is such a thing as a learning curve and there are levels of quality. Not everyone produces perfection everytime straight off the saw as apparently you do. Good for you.

[Simon MacGowen]

So much fascination with pristine, gap free, dovetails ... Not everyone produces perfection everytime straight off the saw as apparently you do. Good for you.

You missed my point, Pat.

Gap free joints are not fascination, but a demonstration of careful work. Each woodworker is free to choose the degree of care in their work as set their by themselves or by their customers.

Producing perfect cuts with a plane or a saw every time is my aspiration, and sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't (I am not a machine).

However, when someone shows me the result of a work done using a method he is supposed to have mastered and the result is far far from being perfect, AND his objective is to instruct, I won't be impressed.

If you don't mind, and go to his class or buy his book, be my guest.

Simon

[Tom Vanzant]

Most 2d Lts were given swagger sticks by the First Sgt of their first duty station. The message was “Amuse yourself with this and stay the hell away from the troops”.

[Mike Brady]

Like David, I'm still looking for that explanation of "candling" a joint.

[steven c newman]

Perhaps when you rub a candle over a joint...to show any high spots, or gaps....that you can then fix.

[Jim Koepke]

My theory on "candling" a joint comes from the practice of candling eggs.

Using a light source on one side of a joint and viewing from the other side to see if any light comes through.

At one time this was something used to help me with dovetails. The problem with dovetails is if there is a gap, not much can be done.

jtk

[Simon MacGowen]

At one time this was something used to help me with dovetails. The problem with dovetails is if there is a gap, not much can be done.

jtk[/QUOTE]
Depending on where the gap is, how big it is, etc, some dovetails errors are fixable, some not so or not worth the effort...no matter what the fix is, glue and saw dust is not in my repair kit. Tage Frid and Rob Cosman have shown some of the fixes in their writings.

In critical dovetail work, I try to make extra boards from the start so I can recut a joint if I screw up and it can't be fixed.

Simon

[Simon MacGowen]

Perhaps when you rub a candle over a joint...to show any high spots, or gaps....that you can then fix.

In some cases (depending on the gap and wood), wax actually conceals a gap or pores. If the wax color contrasts the surface, that may reveal something, though.

Simon

[Talbert McMullin]

I use veneers a lot and make a lot of small boxes which demand absolute precision. Only my shooting board can trim stuff like that.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

My personal experience tells me I do not need a shooting board if you can machine the parts at precision. Woodworking does not require the precision I found in microelectronics!

I think shooting boards are a God sent when you do not have ways to get precision at your cuts either for not so precise power tools or by hand cut parts.

Anyway I made in the last year my first shooting board after 30 years of woodworking... and I used it a couple of times since then.

[Rob Luter]

If I use my table saw for crosscuts, a shooting board is optional. I tend however to hand cut with a crosscut saw and a bench hook, so the shooting board offers a means to improve precision. If end grain will be exposed, shooting is a must for aesthetic considerations.

[Jim Koepke]

If I use my table saw for crosscuts, a shooting board is optional. I tend however to hand cut with a crosscut saw and a bench hook, so the shooting board offers a means to improve precision. If end grain will be exposed, shooting is a must for aesthetic considerations.

Even on my bandsaw cuts a shooting board tends to be used since it looks better than how sawn end grain appears.

It is especially helpful for marking and cutting dovetails.

Most often my shooting board is used to bring multiple pieces to the exact same length.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Everyone to their own method. I use a shooting board every time a drawer front, back are sides are sized and fitted. Similarly, in situations where pieces need to be planed with precision, it is handy - not essential .. nothing is - to use a shooting board. I do not own a chop saw, and likely never will, and even a crosscut table on a slider will not achieve the precision that a shooting board can.

I was reading through this thread, noticing it went back a year, and Kees commented that the shooting board was a 20th century invention. Well, my shooting board is dated 1896, manufactured by Stanley, and there is another by Chaplin made in 1888. There was another cast version by Towers and Lyon in 1884. So late 18th century - perhaps even mid 18th century may turn up if we looked hard enough - would be more accurate.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Mark Rainey]

[QUOTE=Derek Cohen;2926246

I was reading through this thread, noticing it went back a year, and Kees commented that the shooting board was a 20th century invention.

Derek[/QUOTE]
Derek, I like shooting boards also. I do not have a table saw. If you look at comment #21 by Kees, he cites some research that shooting boards have been around for centuries.

[Jim Koepke]

So late 18th century - perhaps even mid 18th century may turn up if we looked hard enough - would be more accurate.

Probably a little younger than the bench hook. How far do those go back?

My guess is a shooting board is such a simple item it likely went into the wood stove as it got worn. Old wooden spoons likely held more sentimental value and not a lot of those are still around.

jtk

[Warren Mickley]

I was reading through this thread, noticing it went back a year, and Kees commented that the shooting board was a 20th century invention. Well, my shooting board is dated 1896, manufactured by Stanley, and there is another by Chaplin made in 1888. There was another cast version by Towers and Lyon in 1884. So late 18th century - perhaps even mid 18th century may turn up if we looked hard enough - would be more accurate.

Derek

1888 is the 19th century, not the 18th century. A generation ago woodworkers used shooting boards for small pieces or for very thin pieces. In both cases it was because there was such a small surface that it was difficult to balance a plane on it. I was taught to shoot end grain in the vise in 1962; it is a much more comfortable method. The first I ever heard of larger pieces on a shooting board was in the 1990s when a fellow was shooting a board that was six feet long, which would be too tall to shoot comfortably in the vise. Shooting end grain on a board this long is rare in historic cabinetry.

Peter Nicholson (1812) mentions shooting thin stuff and small miters on a "shooting block". And Andre Roubo mentions appliances similar to shooting boards trimming small inlay pieces for marquetry. The use of a shooting board as thought of in this thread is a recent phenomenon.

[Derek Cohen]

1888 is the 19th century, not the 18th century.

Quite right, Warren! :D I can count on you for the correction.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Patrick Walsh]

Jezo Derek the nerve of you,

I’d think being down under you’d be at least a day ahead of us on all this ;)

That’s supposed to be good natured humor..


Quite right, Warren! :D I can count on you for the correction.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom M King]

Since the houses I work on are from the 18th, and 19th Centuries, you probably wouldn't be surprised at how many times I have to deal with, and explain that.

[glenn bradley]

Shooting Boards Do I really Need Them?



The answer is in the question. If you do not wish you had one -or- as in your case, have them but do not use them, the answer is that you do not really need them. I bought a compound miter saw because everyone had one; use it about once every 3 or 4 years when I need to trim out a room. :)

[steven c newman]

Made a chuting board a few years ago, as everyone said "You HAVE to have and use one" sort of thing.....have actually used it...twice? Too much time to set the blasted thing up, as I wind up having to clear away a space on the bench, first. Yet, even while doing a test cut on the latest Mitre box I just cleaned up...
409726
Just a test on the 45 degree setting...
409727
On a piece of treated spindle stock...after I had tried out the 90 degree setting....saw will need a swipe with the candle....makes the saw slide a bit better..

YMMV.

409728
I used these corner blocks all the time, to attach tops to a case....Quickest way is to just swing the Langdon #75 to 45 degrees, and make a few cuts....
409729
Parts needing cut to the same length...and square...
409730
Set up the depth stops, and make shoulder cuts...all the same....small backsaw to make the cheek cuts....wide chisel to clean up..
409731
Simple as can be...YMMV

[Jim Koepke]

Made a chuting board a few years ago, as everyone said "You HAVE to have and use one" sort of thing.....have actually used it...twice? Too much time to set the blasted thing up, as I wind up having to clear away a space on the bench, first. Yet, even while doing a test cut on the latest Mitre box I just cleaned up...
[images removed to save space]
Just a test on the 45 degree setting...

On a piece of treated spindle stock...after I had tried out the 90 degree setting....saw will need a swipe with the candle....makes the saw slide a bit better..

YMMV.

I used these corner blocks all the time, to attach tops to a case....Quickest way is to just swing the Langdon #75 to 45 degrees, and make a few cuts....

Parts needing cut to the same length...and square...

Set up the depth stops, and make shoulder cuts...all the same....small backsaw to make the cheek cuts....wide chisel to clean up..

Simple as can be...YMMV

Interesting idea of not using a shooting board because setting it up it is too much work. For me it is just as much if not more work to set up the miter box.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

My shooting board takes 1 minute to set up, and most of that is to double-check for square. I use it regularly for parts that require precision. Otherwise, my chop saw or (really cheapo) miter box is used. But there are lots of ways to accomplish the same results in woodworking. The shooting board is what works for me. YMMV. :)

[Prashun Patel]

A shooting board acts like a paring chisel: If you saw perfectly you don’t need to use it.

Where it shines for me is matching parts. I still end up with some openings and parts and faces that are out of square. The shooting board allows me to tweak mating faces just shy or proud of 90.

It is also less stress for me often to cut close and shoot to perfection. I do this with smaller parts that are easy to handle this way. For longer, larger, heavier, the inconvenience of this approach makes accurate sawing more critical for me.

[J. Greg Jones]

Made a chuting board a few years ago, as everyone said "You HAVE to have and use one" sort of thing.....have actually used it...twice? Too much time to set the blasted thing up, as I wind up having to clear away a space on the bench, first. Yet, even while doing a test cut on the latest Mitre box I just cleaned up...
409726
Just a test on the 45 degree setting...
409727
On a piece of treated spindle stock...after I had tried out the 90 degree setting....saw will need a swipe with the candle....makes the saw slide a bit better..
I use my shooting boards primarily for squaring stock at 90 degrees, but even if we are discussing miters only your pictures don’t demonstrate how accurately your saw cuts. That cut pictured could be 45*, or 46*, or 43*, who knows? Same for the corner braces... If you want to brag on the accuracy of a mitre saw, you’ll need to make your cuts on four equal length pieces and show us how well the entire frame fits together.

[steven c newman]

Ok...( or you can just stop in sometime, and try it yourself...)
409744
Base for a Computer desk project...
409745
Desk itself sat on a frame that went onto the base...tenon fits into a groove..
409746
That a chisel had to make..
409747
Dry fit.
409756
The four corner blocks I used above for the computer desk build...
409757
Close enough. These are what I use to assemble a table with, they get screwed and glued into the corners, to square the aprons and legs. later, a slot is drilled, to allow a screw through, to attach a top to the table. Have also used these sort of blocks to attach a top to a chest of drawers.....and ...YES these are 45 degree cuts.
409758
Sooo, how would you adjust a chuting board to for a 19 degree cut?
409759
Lots of them, too...haven't got all day, either.

[Jim Koepke]

[edited]
Sooo, how would you adjust a chuting board to for a 19 degree cut?

Same way as doing it for a 3º cut:

409760

Here it is done with the grain.

Or any other angle:

409761

A different aproach:

409762

These two were done across the grain.

For a different effect:

409763

Now if that needed to be done to a top of a 4X4 fence post maybe a miter saw would be my choice.

My recollection is after looking at this image the work was touched up. Things look different blown up on a computer screen.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Showoff! :)

[J. Greg Jones]

Sooo, how would you adjust a chuting board to for a 19 degree cut?
409759
Lots of them, too...haven't got all day, either.
Well, if I was doing a home improvement project I would cut them with my mitre saw the same way you did. If I was doing a fine woodworking project that needed precision 19* mitres, years ago I would shoot them similar to what Jim shared. Today it would be even easier-all I need to do is set the fence on my Lee Valley shooting board to 19*.

[steven c newman]

hmmm...
409792
Rachel's Standing Desk in Cherry and Curly maple...or..
409793
GranDaughter's Writing desk, in Ash...
409794
No shooting board was used....none needed.

[Brian Holcombe]

Everyone to their own method. I use a shooting board every time a drawer front, back are sides are sized and fitted. Similarly, in situations where pieces need to be planed with precision, it is handy - not essential .. nothing is - to use a shooting board. I do not own a chop saw, and likely never will, and even a crosscut table on a slider will not achieve the precision that a shooting board can.
Regards from Perth

Derek

I'm making crosscuts on the Ulmia tablesaw and the Omga chopsaw that I verify for squareness with a precision (hand scraped) angle block and surface plate. They're perfect and repeatable. Especially so in the size range of most drawers.

I'm not a shooting board fan in recent years, I'd much rather plane end grain in a vise.

[Derek Cohen]

I'd much rather plane end grain in a vise.

Brian, you have different requirements to 90% here. You have deadlines to meet, and have increasingly been turning to machines to aid you here. Your Ulmia is stunning - mouthwatering - and the Omga is beyond the dreams of most. I had not even heard of one until your restoration.

For myself, it depends on the thickness of the board, for example, I would rather shoot an edge that is 1/4" thick. I rarely shoot anything over 1/2", with the exception of drawer fronts. Carcase sides are typically 19 - 22mm and are planed in a vise. I could get pretty damn close with my K3 slider, but old habits die hard, and I finish/fine tune with hand tools.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Holcombe]

Thanks, appreciate the compliment.

I teach people how to woodwork with hand tools and have moved away from using shooting boards wherever feasible, they're often a spot for chip outs, so when I can mark in from the edges and transfer marks to meet lengths I'd rather do that than to shoot and compare.

It is certainly useful for drawer making, that is one of the last places I'd still keep using it for students as well.

I'm happier planing in toward center on anything either big or wide.

[Warren Mickley]

A shooting board acts like a paring chisel: If you saw perfectly you don’t need to use it.

Where it shines for me is matching parts. I still end up with some openings and parts and faces that are out of square. The shooting board allows me to tweak mating faces just shy or proud of 90.

It is also less stress for me often to cut close and shoot to perfection. I do this with smaller parts that are easy to handle this way. For longer, larger, heavier, the inconvenience of this approach makes accurate sawing more critical for me.

We are using the plane in a fundamentally different way. We are not just running the plane over a "perfectly" sawn surface. We are using the plane so as to true up the surface by judiciously planing the high spots only. For end grain we usually knife the board all the way around and then plane to the line. We are planing to true the edge and planing to length simultaneously. We use the same approach for planing edges: we identify the high spots and plane only those spots to true the surface.

[David Ryle]

Cutting mitres for an old home, windows, doors etc; for me that's where it really shows its utility. Just my two cents.