Seems a lot of cash to spend, on a one trick pony of a plane.
Seems a lot of cash to spend, on a one trick pony of a plane.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
If you can strike a line you can plane to it or so I was told within the first month or so of my apprenticeship, and to an unlimited number of angles, all you need is a combination square, a bevel square, a vice, and the plane of your choice, all of which every woodworker already has. A shooting board and a special plane to go with it just become shiny trinkets.
Using one effectively is no argument for it. I'm quite sure I could use an expensive European combination machine that costs $30K+ quite effectively but that by no means is a per se argument for owning one given the alternatives.
Keep your kit simple.
But if you find yourself in a production hand tool shop (say hello to Mr. Chippendale for me) by all means set up a board or even several boards and have at it.
Last edited by Charles Guest; 05-21-2019 at 2:59 PM.
You're in luck: that day's today (http://www.leevalley.com/us/home/page.aspx?p=60912). Here comes my new combination plane and blades
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
Worth it I’d hard to answer. It’s definitely not a “money maker” in the shop but sometimes it’s just the perfect tool for the job. I was lucky and came across a LN bronze 9 for a fair price. Frankly I use my miter trimmer more often.
Derek, I agree the shooting plane is a pleasure to use. But I may have to disagree with the “more fun” than a miter trimmer. That amazing smooth and perfect slice sound is also a joy. For me, it’s “as fun”
I sold my Miter Trimmer, that I had used for 35 or 40 years, soon after I bought the Shooting Plane.
I use a LAJ for shooting. I keep a straight blade to use for the task. I admit that I don't constantly use a shooting board. I use a board when I feel it necessary for the work. If I felt that everything I cut with a saw needed correction or if I was making the same item a lot and it helped with the work I would buy a trimmer or a dedicated shooting plane. To me it's like buying a rabbet plane to make 2 rabbets a year. If you don't have your shooting board set up permanently you probably don't need it.
Jim
Tool setup is based on the work you do. I cut a lot of miters in small pieces about 1/4" x 3/16" and have a tiny shooting board on which I use a LV medium shoulder plane which only moves about 1/2". Perfect miters
Worth is in the eye of the beholder. Only you can decide if it is worth it to you. Are there other ways to accomplish the same task? Sure. Might you use other planes or tools? Sure. Will those tools do as good a job as a purpose designed shooting plane? Maybe. Will those other tools give the same sense of satisfaction of owning a shooting plane? Only you can answer.
Mike
For reference, I am not a dedicated hand tool user. I use hand tools where appropriate and to clean up, fit, etc. Anyway, Santa brought me a LV shooter a while back. I made a shooting board and started fiddling with it. I have found that I really like it. It is great to remove a whisper and also to straighten up a cut, etc. A little shimming here and there when trying to fit things can help too. Plus, I just enjoy using it. I later bought their track and is works pretty well too. As with most of this stuff, there is a bit of a learning curve and using one requires a bit of "English." Is it worth the money? I dunno. Mine was a Santa thing, so that makes it a little different! Ha! I don't think you will be disappointed if you buy one.
Another aspect of this for me was that it made me start looking at my joinery closer. I found that there was room for improvement! Now, I'm more picky that I used to be. Almost nothing off of the table saw is acceptable to me anymore. My gaps are much smaller than they used to be! I'm using much higher magnifying glasses to look too!
Tony
It's much easier to work to the accuracy of one's squares and other gauges than to the accuracy of the tools themselves. The saying "the tail wagging the dog" describes the latter alternative perfectly. Tools don't need to be perfect, the gauges just need to reflect the level of accuracy within which you'd like to work. This is a hard concept to get one's head around if you started out in the craft using mostly machinery and didn't have a baptism in hand tool work early on. In this scenario the machinery has to be accurate or you're left standing there with your manhood in your hand wondering what to do next when it isn't. You'll continue to chase your tail until you get this important concept.
If you can work to the accuracy of a crisp and not too deeply scribed knife line, that's almost always all that's needed. Removing the wood up to such lines doesn't require particularly accurate tools or expensive saws, planes, chisels, or jigs and fixtures that go out of truth when weather moves through. What's left behind is the mark you made with square or gauge and knife. There will be no evidence that a $40 plane, or an $800 plane, $400 saw, or $150 chisel, removed the waste material.
If you aren't working to lines you've become totally dependent on the accuracy that HAS to be inherent in tools, jigs and fixtures. You're back to square one as a machine tool woodworker at this point, without the labor-saving benefit, but you haven't realized it yet.
Last edited by Charles Guest; 05-23-2019 at 3:26 PM.