I'd Like To Make a Shooting Board Part of My Life
Welcome! / Forums / General Woodworking Discussions / Woodworking Methods and Techniques / I'd Like To Make a Shooting Board Part of My Life
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by Larry Geib.
-
AuthorPosts
-
I hope to be making myself a shooting board sometime soon. Having never used one though, there are a few things I am having a hard time understanding.
1) Not that it shouldn’t always be in good adjustment, but To insure accuracy, you must need to be very sure that you have set the lateral adjustment of your plane very precisely every time you use it on a shooting board, correct?
2) How do you avoid breakout on the side of the piece towards which you are shooting?
Thank you!
T.Bird1) if your shooting board is square and your plane is properly set, you should get pretty accurate results. You can check your work with a square to see if anything is off/needing adjustment.
2) breakout is prevented by the sticks/edges/whatever they are called that your material is referenced against.
Tom, you are right about the lateral adjuster on the plane, and this is something I did not realize when I first used a shooting board. The shooting board squares the end of a board in two directions. A perfectly square fence guarantees that the board is square in one direction. And a perfectly set iron on your plane guarantees that it is square in the other dimension. So unless you have a dedicated shooting board plane, and maybe even then, you need to make sure your lateral adjuster is perfect by testing the edge you are shooting with a square and then adjusting the plane iron. However, though this sounds like an extra complexity, it is also a good thing. For example, suppose there is a slight irregularity in your shooting board or your plane side is not perfectly square to its bottom. You can correct these irregularities quickly with the planes lateral adjuster!
By the way, Paul’s shooting board is cool, and it was one of the first things I made when I started at hiswoodworking masterclass. But the one I made was not nearly as accurate as the much simpler shooting board I made a long time before I came across Paul’s when I really did not use hand tools much. Maybe I could do better now, but in the meantime, I am very happy with a very simple shooting board. Sanford
Thanks to both of you. This clear up a lot. I like that you mentioned simplers shooting board designs, Sanford. I like Paul’s a lot, but I think I am going to start familiarizing myself with the concept by beginning with one of the very basic ones I’ve seem out there.
Please allow me to add a third question:
3) I only own three planes. A block plane, a No. 4 smoother, and a No. 8 jointer. Which would be best for shooting? I’m thinking maybe the humble block just because of the low angle? That is assuming I will primarily be trimming end-grain with this board…T.Bird
I’d say the #4 because the block plane is likely too small to give a large enough reference to the shooting board that it may be more prone to error. It also lacks “heft” which can be helpful, particularly when slicing through end-grain. I have had good success using a #5 personally, though I’ll use a #4 that is more dedicated to grunt work (I’m fortunate to have accumulated 5 #4s over the last couple of years).
That would be my 2c anyway…
That said, if you’re shooting something very small/delicate, perhaps there is a role for the block plane.
@TBIRD since you have one, join me in the insanity of a #8 for shooting boards. It’s my favorite for this purpose. The #4 will work too. I like the #8 because of its weight, momentum, and more room for me to grasp it. Mine also just happens to be dead square, cheek to sole.
3) I only own three planes. A block plane, a No. 4 smoother, and a No. 8 jointer. Which would be best for shooting?
#8, imo, esp if you’re going to shoot a wide variety of components, but remember to build your shooting board longer to accommodate it and reap the benefits…you’ll have 6-7 inches of toe in the track before the blade even arrives on the scene, and that much past the piece you’re shooting when the stroke is over…
Sharpen the blade really well and the forward momentum will become your friend. The 2 5/8″ blade will give you the best possible capacity of the bench planes.
Sounds like I ought to just try them all, eh?
I like what I am hearing about the #8, but the frog on mine has had the lateral adjustment broken off. Therefore, the only means of making that adjustment (that I know of) is little taps with a mallet. This works, but might mean that I will not be able to reach the desired level of precision. Again… it sounds like this is all going to come down to experimentation.
You’ve all been very insightful so far. Thanks!
T.Bird
I find the #8 fits fine on Paul’s standard shooting board as far as length goes, but you may want to make a taller wedge at some point to take advantage of the wider #8 blade. Normally, you don’t need that, though.
If you’re left handed, remember to build the board reversed.
9 March 2018 at 9:22 pm #494149I like what I am hearing about the #8, but the frog on mine has had the lateral adjustment broken off. Therefore, the only means of making that adjustment (that I know of) is little taps with a mallet.
Don’t be too concerned. I was at a Lie Neilsen tool event last week and the demonstrators were using one of their little warrington hammers to do the fine adjustments on their $400 brass smoothing planes.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.