Shooting board help

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

Hi folks, I would appreciate some advice

I'm building a shooting board from a plywood base and MDF top. after the glue up I found there is a bow in the board such that it humps along the the axis that you would place a workpiece for shooting (perpendicular to the axis of the plane). what should I do? can I plane the top (it is MDF)?
please keep in mind that unless unavoidable I would rather not go purchase new materials...

Thanks

[Scott Winners]

I would not be in a hurry to run a plane iron through all that glue in the MDF.

If you stick a piece of board in there and shoot the end of it, how square is it?

Is it square enough?

Like other shop fixtures, the third one you make will probably be your 'best yet' once you have made the third one.

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

Shooting board isn't ready yet - it is just 2 boards faceglued to each other.
I bought the veritas shooting board fence - and one of the screws needed for installation needs to be epoxied in.

this is why I need to know if I can continue or I should start from scratch

[Tom M King]

I'd just make another one, at that point.

[Scott Clausen]

I made the Paul Sellers shooting board......backwards on the first attempt. Was perfect if I was a lefty but I am not.
Anyway I think it is a do over. The hump has to be coming from the ply I would think. Not sure how thick the ply is but I would think you would want something like 3/4" or better yet two pieces laminated but turned 90 degrees to offset any cupping. Good luck!

[Christopher Charles]

I'd diagnosis the problem a bit to avoid a repeat. Are both the bottom and top out of flat (i.e., is the bottom concave? most likely yes and most likely because the ply was not flat to start, though mdf isn't universally flat either). If so, the easiest would be to remake as others have said, but there is no reason both sides can't be planed. Both mdf and ply can be planed, just tough on blades. you would also need to plane the base of the 'rabbet' where the track will go lest it also end up humped.

Good luck!

[Alan Schwabacher]

Just plane and resharpen.

[Gary Focht]

Rob Cosman has a video that discusses this issue I think and how to prevent it from happening by using a particular glue-up technique.

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

I used his masking tape technique to introduce a cup (it worked). the problem is a bow perpendicular to the cup

[Scott Winners]

Assaf, I just looked up the Veritas thing you bought. Holy smokes man, that was expensive.

How about looking up the Paul Sellers shooting board, should be youtube-able, and try that with what you have?

I understand wanting it to be perfect, but remember also good is the enemy of good enough.

Remember putting in your first Foley and there was no UTI and that was good enough? And then you put in your third one and there was no discomfort to go with the no UTI and that was better? Any hobby, wordworking, golf, baking, all the same. Good is the enemy of good enough. The more you do, the better you will get.

I am on my second Paul Sellers style shooting board now, and no where near dropping that kind of coin. My suggestion is to keep your high dollar thingamajig new in the box, and work with what you got for now. When your current shooting board is no longer "good enough" build your second 'better' one. You will get to good, but it is a process, a lifetime process, not something to be mastered next week.

Just mark out your 'square' with the best tool you have, cut to that line, make the wedge to fit, try trimming some boards on it. There is no benefit in making 16 shooting boards now to make a 'good' one and then making 16 sides of future jewelry boxes to get out four 'good' ones. Make what you have into a 'good enough' shooting board and go on through the rest of the steps to make something low impact, maybe a litter box for the cat, so you go through all the steps, honing all your skills, then make another shooting board better and another box better, maybe a hamper for dirty kitchen towels second time around. Go on and do the dovetail corners and a rabbet around the rim to cradle a lid for the litter box, and for the dirty towels.

You aren't going to bang out an heirloom quality jewelry box for your wife in 2021, and probably not in 2022 either. You can make an awesome litter box for the cat this year, and an awesome laundry hamper for the dirty kitchen towels this winter. Once those two are done, then look at making a shooting board worthy of the veritas shooting board fence and a jewelry box worthy of your wife.

M2c. You have plenty of stress in your life already. Woodworking is something you do to relax, a thing you will improve at for the rest of your life. Burning yourself out looking for instant perfection now will just leave you craving some other new hobby. I strongly encourage you to embrace the process as a thing to lose yourself in, a way to let go of the stress of today. Mastery comes through practice and time. Small steps, week after week. Just like a smoker burns out their lungs week after week, cigarette after cigarette; only positive this way, small step after small step after small step moving towards mastery and excellence.

You got this doc, but none of us got to mastery in a week or three. It takes years. Good luck and may I be the first to wish you happy holidays.

[Jim Koepke]

Hi folks, I would appreciate some advice

I'm building a shooting board from a plywood base and MDF top. after the glue up I found there is a bow in the board such that it humps along the the axis that you would place a workpiece for shooting (perpendicular to the axis of the plane). what should I do? can I plane the top (it is MDF)?
please keep in mind that unless unavoidable I would rather not go purchase new materials...

Thanks

One of the best resources a woodworker can have in their shop is a box of scraps left from previous projects. Both of my shooting boards and all of my bench hooks have been made from scraps. (or firewood)

Your materials may make an acceptable shooting board. Your next posts illustrates a typical problem with MDF:


Shooting board isn't ready yet - it is just 2 boards faceglued to each other.
I bought the veritas shooting board fence - and one of the screws needed for installation needs to be epoxied in.

this is why I need to know if I can continue or I should start from scratch

This is like having a pristine classic Rolls Royce and parking it in a cardboard box.

My recommendation is to start over from scratch. None of my shooting boards has the pieces glued together. Not only do screws work wonderfully, they allowed me to rework one of my shooting boards when desired.

Reworking my shooting board > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?244777 < Due to an old shoulder injury it was decided to switch my shooting to left handed.

One thought on the platform of a shooting board, having this made of a thinner piece of stock allows for more of the planes blade to be used. Also having the work lower in relation to the plane's center of gravity is helpful.

My ambidextrous shooting board was further enhanced later by being able to purchase a Veritas Left Handed Shooting plane.

Using the Veritas Shooting plane > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?282509 < This post has replies from others with information on their shooting boards.

Your shooting board doesn't have to be made from expensive materials. It should be made of quality materials. Mine have been made of left over materials from other projects and even from salvaged materials including some oak from an old pump organ manufactured at the end of the 19th century.

jtk

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

Guys, your input is valid and true.

as I mentioned, I live in Israel, which is a bit of a dessert vs North America when it comes to good quality hand tools - new and old. after having several bad experiences with old tools I bought a few Lie Nielsens and Veritas - low and behold, my tools did what I wanted them to! shipping is also a very big consideration if I buy a single tool online it usually ends up costing 30% of the total value if I ship only one item. So I tend to research what I may need and buy multiple tools on one shipment so that I know I won't get stuck down the line.

I think the Veritas shooting board was more of a security blanket purchase than a need.

Wood is really expensive here walnut is $11 US per BF, Maple is $8.5. (and these are the prices that were before the wood stock bubble with the exchange rate at a record low). There is something to be said about investing in tools that save me costs on materials.

That being said, for my first use I need a simple 90 degree shooting board, no miters. since the panel is already glued up I think I might as well see how I can set it up for standard miters and not waste time doing the whole thing from scratch. I may have gotten carried away with this particular tool.

Ill keep the veritas shooting board in its box for now, see how I can make the best with what I have.

thank you all,

I am finally making progress with my build - you guys are as close to a mentorship program as I have.

much appreciated.
Assaf

[Charles Guest]

Sheet goods do move and they often (as in almost always) bow/warp when glued to another sheet good, as in plywood to MDF, vice-versa, etc. The reputation of sheet goods as being extremely stable was earned early in their history, and lost in the last twenty years or so. The stuff sold these days is mostly junk. The really good stuff is not to be found at a home center store.

Make the board out of solid wood, something you can nip-and-tuck as necessary through the seasons. Obviously a stable wood is preferred, but you can make do with just about anything. Hang the board on a hook. Always make sure air can get to all sides of it.

[Robert Hazelwood]

You can plane MDF to remove the hump. It is more abrasive than wood but it isn't going to damage anything, you'll just have to re-sharpen sooner. A hard sanding block w/ coarse paper is also a good tool for flattening MDF. Once you've cut into the outer skin of MDF, you really need to put a decent finish (shellac, varnish, poly, etc.) on since the surface under the outer skin will be a bit crumbly. The finish will hold it together and restore hardness.

But if there is a hump on the top, there is probably a corresponding hollow on the bottom. This will allow the board to bend during use, and it will also make it difficult to plane the top flat since it will bend under the plane.

So you need to get the bottom good and flat before addressing the top. You can do this by planing or by filling in the low spots with some kind of shim (plane shavings, masking tape, etc.) so that the board is well supported and does not bend in use.

[George Yetka]

Make a router flattening setup for it

[Scott Winners]

Good for you Assaf. You lumber prices aren't much higher than mine, I am looking at +/- $11 bf for white oak and about $8 bf for walnut. Both of us, you and I, have a container ship between the remote sawmill and our local retailer.

I fully understand grouping orders to save on shipping. Lee Valley seems especially graceful about this, but I am adjacent to Canada's Yukon territory.

I still think it is a good idea to just make a dovetailed litter box for your cat. Once you are done with that you can look at your shooting board, and your dovetails and your chisels and your sliding bevel and so on ad infitum, to decide what absolutely must be upgraded before you take a bin for kitchen towels that need to be laundered.

You got this.

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

Lee Valley seems especially graceful about this, but I am adjacent to Canada's Yukon territory.

In my experience saying Lee Valley is graceful about this is the understatement of the year.

Thanks, not sure I like the idea of a cat using my work as a litter box but I will probably make some dovetailed tool trays for all the tools I've picked up.

In the mean time I am learning and improving!