Shooting board/plane or miter trimmer

[Robert Hayward]

Which one is more useful, a shooting board and hand plane or one of the commercial miter trimmers (https://www.rockler.com/miter-trimmer)?

Currently I have neither. I use my disc sander or table saw for trimming miters. If the shooting board wins out do I need an adjustable fence?

[John TenEyck]

A shooting board wins in my world. It's just so versatile IF you have an adjustable fence and at least a fixed 45 deg bevel. I've never used a miter trimmer, but I would think it would be pretty hard to uniformly take off 0.001", which is easily possible with a shooting board and sharp, well-tuned hand plane. With a shooting board you (should) have adjustable wear bars on the fence, too, which eliminates tearout on the back of the work piece.

Lots of folks make their own shooting boards, and others buy one or more from LV, et al. I spent a lot of time last year developing a couple of shooting boards, one of which can handle any miter angle and a fixed 45 deg bevel, on either side, and another that can handle any miter angle and any bevel angle, separately or together, on both sides. I posted about them in the Neanderthal forum if you have an interest.

John

[mike stenson]

Shooting board. Way more useful. I shoot generally 90s, and 45s. Most of the time, it's shooting to get a proper fit, which is going to be very hard to do (as mentioned) with the miter trimmer.

[Bradley Gray]

If you are, say, fitting a rooms-worth of fussy panel mouldings, a Lyon-type trimmer is a lot faster.

[John Kananis]

Shooting board imho. I used a 62 forever and it was getting to the point I'd need to build a new board for it but I'd been eyeing the LV shooting plane for so long that I just went ahead with that and the matching board. The mechanism they use is really great, just a bit finicky to get it exactly 90° to start.

[Jim Becker]

As attractive as a fancy miter trimmer "guillotine" is, shooting boards (you can't just have one) offer nearly infinite flexibility for refining surfaces for joinery. Heck, you can use a simple piece of wood or plywood on your bench top to support a workpiece while running a hand plane with straight sides "on" the bench sideways to refine an edge. I learned that one from Brian Holcomb when we were faddling with something in my old shop one day a couple years ago.

The miter trimmer would certainly be the choice if one was making something like picture frames day-in, day-out, however. It's the right tool for the job.

[Kevin Jenness]

The Lion trimmer knockoffs are ok for small section mouldings but the ones I have used need to take a minimum depth of cut of close to .010" and the pieces need to be roughed out with another tool for efficient work. A shooting board is better for sneaking up on a fit in smaller increments or on larger sections. An accurate miter saw like an OMGA or an accurately set up tablesaw sled or sliding table saw with a good stop system will make accurate joints more quickly. Picture frame shops seem to rely on heavy guillotine choppers like the Morso line.https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=morso+miter+chopper&view=detail&mid=3398C74415B269B42B7A3398C74415B269B42B7A&FORM=VIRE

[Eric Arnsdorff]

493758
I bought the trimmer you linked to from Rockler. It appears a number of people carry the exact same one. Maybe there really is only one. I’m not sure. I did have to calibrate it which was relatively easy. I’m very happy with it and it does work well. It is definitely quick and easy. Whether it’s a shooting board or miter trimmer, you’ll have to pre-cut your piece to close the final dimension.

While I do have the Veritas low angle Jack plane which should make a very good shooting board plane (one reason I bought the plane), I haven’t made a shooting board for it. I do think the shooting board can do some things my trimmer can’t. But I think having the miter trimmer that works well has put my shooting board in the back burner.

I wish I had both setup so I could comment on which I think is better from experience. All I do know is the miter trimmer has worked well enough that I’ve not made a shooting board yet while having a high end plane for it. But I still want to make a shooting board one day.

[John TenEyck]

As attractive as a fancy miter trimmer "guillotine" is, shooting boards (you can't just have one) offer nearly infinite flexibility for refining surfaces for joinery. Heck, you can use a simple piece of wood or plywood on your bench top to support a workpiece while running a hand plane with straight sides "on" the bench sideways to refine an edge. I learned that one from Brian Holcomb when we were faddling with something in my old shop one day a couple years ago.

The miter trimmer would certainly be the choice if one was making something like picture frames day-in, day-out, however. It's the right tool for the job.

Actually, Jim, you can, and it's unlike anything else available. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?298291-A-New-Style-Shooting-Board

John

[John Kananis]

I don't think I mentioned in the thread but that's probably the best thought out design I've seen. Really nice man, really nice.


Actually, Jim, you can, and it's unlike anything else available. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?298291-A-New-Style-Shooting-Board

John

[Paul Koenigs]

It really depends on what you want to do.
I'm not criticizing a shooting board at all.. it can do some stuff that a miter trimmer can't
But if you have a lot of 45 degree angles to cut, the miter trimmer is faster.. Yes, it cuts bigger pieces off than a shooting board.
It's nice when doing trim to cut it slightly oversize and then have the lion trimmer in the room you are installing to sneak up on the f it
You could do the same with a shooting board but it would take longer, IMO.. Again, not casting shade on the lion trimmer.. the shooting board is more versatile.
Both have their strengths.. depends on what you are going to do with it.

[Derek Cohen]

Which one is more useful, a shooting board and hand plane or one of the commercial miter trimmers (https://www.rockler.com/miter-trimmer)?

Currently I have neither. I use my disc sander or table saw for trimming miters. If the shooting board wins out do I need an adjustable fence?

What is it you want to do?

If picture frames, a mitre trimmer rules. For all else, a shooting board has the greater range. If you now decide a shooting is what you are after, we can discuss what works best.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Tom M King]

I had both. I say had, because I sold the Lion Miter Trimmer. I made a whole stack of shooting boards, including dedicated ones with 45 fences going both ways. With those, it's not faster to deal with the miter trimmer. I used the miter trimmer for a couple of decades building houses, but once I bought the LV Shooting Plane I never used it again.

It's a lot easier to sharpen the plane iron than the trimmer cutters. The main reason I sold it, one of the few tools I've ever sold, is that it always scared me to think about other people handling the trimmer.

[Grant Wilkinson]

I do quite a few picture frames and found a use Lion Trimmer for a very good price. It does an excellent job, no doubt, but I find it very difficult to get the opposing frame pieces to the same length. Likely something I am doing wrong.

[Jim Becker]

Actually, Jim, you can, and it's unlike anything else available. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?298291-A-New-Style-Shooting-Board

John

The level of creativity "out there" is pretty amazing-that's a kewel setup that should cover most situations! But don't forget there's sometimes a need for one that's inclined at an angle to shave end grain, potentially with a compound angle. We are both correct, in other words. LOL

[John Kananis]

The level of creativity "out there" is pretty amazing-that's a kewel setup that should cover most situations! But don't forget there's sometimes a need for one that's inclined at an angle to shave end grain, potentially with a compound angle. We are both correct, in other words. LOL

That board does compound angles with the add on bevel ramp. I think he really did cover all the bases.

Edit: I'm sure there's some angles you'd have to make auxiliary pieces to achieve, I'm just impressed by its ingenuity.

[John TenEyck]

The level of creativity "out there" is pretty amazing-that's a kewel setup that should cover most situations! But don't forget there's sometimes a need for one that's inclined at an angle to shave end grain, potentially with a compound angle. We are both correct, in other words. LOL

Both can do compound angles, Jim, the second one any compound angle. It really can cover any situation. If you meant that the ramp isn't angled, you are correct. IMHO, that is unnecessary, 4 or 5 degress isn't going to make much difference in effectiveness. If you use a genuine shooting plane it's already built in.

So if you want to do a 45 miter at a 45 bevel, here you go, but any combination is possible:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEWCq3T3Qu7mh-vKG221BhuYPulT8tL4FemwpGxzP7UipsNF3L8uCKw3o5QP_DQd UsMsANTweNMoMXDIK4eMT4ic9WPwC2cQt_2wrXKz0bLpSUAXh0 1ji-wh8ZDdn-9w27X5hM1-gCDYc9AKqgeMS5HgAw=w1470-h828-no?authuser=1

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AL9nZEW0LqqIPDhCd4JWTAONkQOkUhRm9-cGFhj0ifXlLRa5vzbh_1UIF-YuZ21Wmi8nzFkEIvdmFcn6kG4fSuFeqlxVXC70iKW9d-8ATYEJSB9v91YDxONw4lWOiLkJc_Mg5_7ZcjQ9hQRGhDsVLdJf 8Gg95Q=w1470-h828-no?authuser=1

John

[Warren Lake]

they are two different things, guess it depends on the mitre trimmer. shooting board cant do all a morso can do like a beaded face frame. Never had a shooting board, be a good addition sometime.

[James Jayko]

Its not cheap, but the Veritas shooting board is pretty great if you're rather make sawdust than build jigs. YMMV.

[John TenEyck]

That board does compound angles with the add on bevel ramp. I think he really did cover all the bases.

Edit: I'm sure there's some angles you'd have to make auxiliary pieces to achieve, I'm just impressed by its ingenuity.


Thanks John. Both shooting boards can shoot compound angles. The Universal one can shoot any angle of miter and/or bevel, alone or in combination, because the plane ramp tilts, as needed. Both also can be equipped with LV's shooting board guides for those who have a shooting board plane, as well as other accessories.

I posted about them earlier this year. Here is a link to the Classified section where much more information is given, as well as links to even more.

John

[Mike Berti]

The two devices are designed for different applications. Shooting boards are aimed at heavier, thicker wood, while the miter trimmer is mostly for picture frames. Picture frame shops aren't really woodworking shops. They need a tool that quickly cuts thinner moldings, from materials like 1/2" composite wood, plastics, MDF, etc. Shooting board is not for cutting, but shaving wood.

[Derek Cohen]

I’ve been using shooting boards for about 25 years, and own the fancy-shmancy version, the Stanley#51/52. For another time. Below is a ramped shooting board I built about 10 or so years ago, together with a Donkey’s Ear, shooting edges for a mitred box (ring box for a wedding) …

https://i.postimg.cc/CYhpFFys/4.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/HdjGyBkJ/8.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/TGtM1ZfM/5.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/MqLCbVn9/6.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/D7btC0sn/9.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/YpQBS0qb/2.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/3rJs9Zjc/3.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

"Vally Ingtalesting!"

[ChrisA Edwards]

Looking at the picture with the Scotch tape roll, when you have a thin piece of work, on the 45 degree support, how to you stop it from sliding down or getting caddy wonky as you plane it. I could see me ending up with a lot of slightly elliptical edges as opposed to straight.

[Derek Cohen]

Chris, when you shoot the edge and create a mitre, this begins on the inner side. The more one planes, the closer the sides comes to become a mitre. It is relatively easy to see what is un-planed.

There is no doubt that these small and narrow pieces are trickier, and the aim is to hold them square when planing.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Robert Hayward]

Thanking everyone for all the comparison information. I took the dive into the deep end and went with a Veritas shooting setup. Have not had time to open the boxes yet. Board and plane setup will be a couple days. My plan is to use the commercial shooting board for 90's and miters. Then make another board for donkey's ear shooting. John's ready to use adjustable setup is really intriguing but I have overspent my budget for now.

[John TenEyck]

Thanking everyone for all the comparison information. I took the dive into the deep end and went with a Veritas shooting setup. Have not had time to open the boxes yet. Board and plane setup will be a couple days. My plan is to use the commercial shooting board for 90's and miters. Then make another board for donkey's ear shooting. John's ready to use adjustable setup is really intriguing but I have overspent my budget for now.

Just to clarify, my standard shooting board is $175 delivered to your door. It shoots any angle on both sides. The Veritas shooting track can be installed on it. The Veritas shooting board costs $239, plus shipping, and is limited to one side.

If you decide to make a shooting board for bevels, I highly recommend you consider beveling the plane vs. a donkey ear. With the plane beveled the board is just as capable as with it at 90 deg. The donkey ear is really limited in what size parts can be held on it.

John