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Thread: 45deg shooting board question

  1. #1
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    45deg shooting board question

    I'm trying to shoot some walnut at 45 degrees and it gets to the point where I can't take a shaving, the plane just skips along the piece. The iron seems plenty sharp and no issue shooting at the normal 90 degrees. As you can see there is a little gap at the top so the blade isn't contacting the whole piece. If I go hit it with the bandsaw and roughen up the end I can get it cut, but that defeats the purpose of doing fine adjustments once I've got it close to where I need it.

    I just did a quick and dirty screw down a piece at 45 on my existing board. Anything I'm doing wrong here?

    IMG_0764.jpg

  2. #2
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    It looks as if you plane is quite far from the edge of your shooting board's table. It also looks like the work isn't touching the the sole of the plane.

    It might be your method needs some refinement.

    My first step would be to move you fence so the end actually is trimmed a little by the plane. Then make sure the plane is against the edge of the supporting surface (table) and the work is up against the sole of the plane. In this case with a right hand plane the work is held against the fence and advanced on each stroke with the left hand.

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

  3. #3
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    The 45 degree face is not perpendicular to the top face. So on this ~5/8" thick piece only the bottom 1/8" or so is in contact with the blade of the plane.

    I'll try adjusting the fence to be closer to the blade.

  4. #4
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    Looks like the iron needs to be sharper to me. Those chips off to the side don't look like shavings.

  5. #5
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    Looks like you have some adjusting to do on your board. Very difficult to tell from the picture. Looks like your plane is not riding at 90* to the table and that looks like a large gap between the plane sole and the table. If there is that much space in the planing rabbet you could take a huge cut but not a clean one.
    Jim

  6. #6
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    ok looks like I need to throw that shooting board in the trash and rebuild

  7. #7
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    Not that drastic. A little work it should work ok. All of the surfaces can be planed and should be ok. Doesn’t have to look great just do the job intended.
    Jim

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Crawford View Post
    I'm trying to shoot some walnut at 45 degrees and it gets to the point where I can't take a shaving, the plane just skips along the piece. The iron seems plenty sharp and no issue shooting at the normal 90 degrees. As you can see there is a little gap at the top so the blade isn't contacting the whole piece. If I go hit it with the bandsaw and roughen up the end I can get it cut, but that defeats the purpose of doing fine adjustments once I've got it close to where I need it.

    I just did a quick and dirty screw down a piece at 45 on my existing board. Anything I'm doing wrong here?

    IMG_0764.jpg
    Replace the fence. It needs to be longer and support the full length of the work piece. Example ...



    The edge of the mitre is thin and will flex when unsupported. That flex prevents it being cut.

    The alternative is a Donkey’s Ear type shooting board. Here you are planing across the grain, where the fibers are stiffer.





    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Last edited by Derek Cohen; 12-02-2022 at 9:52 PM.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thomas Crawford View Post
    Another thing coming to my notice on a second look is your table looks rather high. It only needs to be tall enough to allow the edge of the plane to have a surface to ride on plus about a quarter inch for the blade to cut into on the first few strokes.

    Here is one of my 45º shooting set ups:

    Miter Shooting 45º.jpg

    This is a piece of 2X3 with a carefully cut 45º angle. It can be clamped to either of my shooting boards and not only used left or right handed but it can also be turned 90º and be used like a small donkey's ear to cut bevels on the edges of small pieces.

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

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