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Thread: Shooting Boards Do I really Need Them?

  1. #46
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    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    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.

  3. #48
    Quote Originally Posted by Sheldon Funk View Post
    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)):

    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
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 08-03-2018 at 11:18 AM.

  4. #49
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    .

    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
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 08-03-2018 at 12:20 PM.

  5. #50
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    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)):
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  6. #51
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    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....

  7. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    .....

    "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

  8. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    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.

  9. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    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
    Last edited by Simon MacGowen; 08-03-2018 at 5:38 PM.

  10. #55
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    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”.

  11. #56
    Like David, I'm still looking for that explanation of "candling" a joint.

  12. #57
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    Perhaps when you rub a candle over a joint...to show any high spots, or gaps....that you can then fix.

  13. #58
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    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. #59
    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

  15. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by steven c newman View Post
    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

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