Hand plane newbie, but I made my first shooting board

[David Leye]

I'm just sharing because the wife doesn't care a jot, and I'm feeling accomplished

So I finally got my first hand plane to see what all the fuss is about. A No.4 Faithfull for about £25 / $34.

There's a lot of horror stories about cheap planes, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But it's actually a lovely bit of kit for the price. Heavy, almost flat sole, nice handles etc. It's a nice tool to practice with. I spent lots of time flattening and sharpening. It's sharp and produces nice curls from pine, but it doesn't shave my arm yet so I reckon it could be much sharper.

Anyway, after watching too many YouTube videos, I decided I need a shooting board. And making one seems like a rite of passage for hand tool users!

It's made with super-cheap laminated chipboard (furniture board) and a pine few off-cuts. Maybe I'll make a nicer one later, but it performs just great, limited by my beginner skills.

collage - hand plane shooting board.jpg

Next up is a saw mitre box and a marking gauge!

[Nicholas Lawrence]

Welcome David. Looks like a good project. It does not need to be fancy to work well.

[William Fretwell]

Simple jigs like that work for a depressingly long time, guessing the 45 degree peice is fixed with dowels.
The plane looks decent for the money, the lower screw on the rear tote should be countersunk. It’s the blade that does the work, sharpened properly with the right gap in the sole it will work pine just fine. Hard woods may be trickier for the set up only.
Your wife will give a jot when you make her something she wants!

[David Leye]

Thanks William. The 45 degree piece is actually planed to a slight wedge. It just pushes into a snug fit. Dowels would have been a much simpler solution!

You're spot on about the screw on the rear tote. Good eyes! It's uncomfortabley sharp against my little finger. Maybe I'll fix that later if it becomes too annoying.

I'm curious, why do you say hard woods may be trickier to set up? (I haven't tried hardwood yet, but plan to later this week)

[David Leye]

Cheers, Nicholas. It does the job better than I expected.

[Michael Fross]

Looks like it will do the job really well. For mine, I cut a slot and used a plastic speed square. By overhanging the edge a bit, I sliced off the end of the plastic square so it goes right up to the end. It is surprisingly accurate.

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[David Leye]

Genius! I like the white plastic track too, looks like it would produce a smoother surface for the plane.

[Phil Mueller]

Well done, David. The proof is in the results...the miters look great. You should be good to go for a long time. Goes to show it doesn’t have to be pretty or be made with expensive materials to work well. Now make your wife a nice picture frame.

[Jim Koepke]

One of my experiences with a shooting board is to check it when starting on a new project. Changing humidity and weather can cause slight changes to a shooting board. Usually any discrepancies can be corrected with strategically placed pieces of masking tape.

jtk

[William Fretwell]

Hardwoods require a sharper blade, more carful tuning of the chip breaker gap and the throat opening may need to be smaller. Need to make a Paul Sellers oiled rag in a can.

[J. Greg Jones]

The miter pictured looks good, but the first 3 corners are easy. It’s how the 4th corner of a frame fits that will determine how well the miter part of your shooting board works. The joints can look great, but if they are not a perfect 90 degrees then your frames will have gaps.

[JimA Thornton]

Looks like it will do the job really well. For mine, I cut a slot and used a plastic speed square. By overhanging the edge a bit, I sliced off the end of the plastic square so it goes right up to the end. It is surprisingly accurate.

20170329_170439.jpg

I built one similar to that, based on one that Mike Pekovich did. I like the UHMW40 (or whatever it's called) that you added. I've got some, so think I'll add it to mine.

Jim

PS: Good job David. The wife might come around when she sees nice things coming out of your workshop.

[David Leye]

Hardwoods require a sharper blade, more carful tuning of the chip breaker gap and the throat opening may need to be smaller. Need to make a Paul Sellers oiled rag in a can.

Thank you. I'll give it a god on some teak and merbau offcuts this weekend. Can't wait.