I'm planning on building a bench hook/shooting board similar to the one in FWW/Taunton's "Hand Tool Skills" (the article first appeared in an issue of FWW in 2008), but due to material limitations, I'm going to make a few minor changes.
Specifically, rather than using a single piece of hardwood for the base, I'm going to use a piece of 1/2" Baltic Birch for the base (which the shooting plane will ride on), and then use hardwood for the rest of the unit, including the "built up" portion that the workpiece will actually be resting on.
Can anybody think of any reason I shouldn't do it this way?
Also, what's a good length (front to back) for a shooting board?