Shooting Board….HELP!!!
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Ok, I’m on my second Paul Sellers shooting board build. I have taken time to build both but have been unsuccessful getting a board planed true. This shooting board is about 1/64 off. I can see light under the square. The perpendicular fence that I place my wood against is perfectly square. When I shoot a board, it is the end next to the fence that ends up being “high” when I put the square on it. I have looked at my shooting board and everything looks square. Can’t figure out what I’m missing. And advice is welcome and appreciated!!! See attached photos. Thanks!!!
1. Just in case: Check your square.
2. Is there any chance the fence can move in its housing? Perhaps it is moving under the pressure of pushing the work into the stop with your left hand? To test this, you might find a way to clamp the work onto the board so there’s no pressure applied to the stop and see if that changes the result. You wouldn’t use the board this way…it’s just a test.
3. Are you getting shavings from the plane, or more like dust? I can’t tell from the photo.
Could it be that your perpendicular fence has a slight twist in it? Perfectly square wherever you measure, but slightly twisted overall? The perpendicular fence is square with the base at the bottom (where you measure it) but could it be slightly askew at the top? That could throw off your work piece if it was deep enough to meet with the fence higher-up.
If your fence hasn’t moved and your work-piece matches exactly with the board and fence, I would try adjusting the shooting-board base by taking a fraction off one end (the far end?).
Close the mouth of the plane by moving the frog forward and take very shallow shavings, as you would with a low-angled block plane on end-grain. Perhaps your plane is cutting at the start of the stroke where you give it more oomph, then ‘riding the wood’ towards the end of the stroke?
John,
Your shooting board looks pretty good to me (but what do I know being a novice) I’m learning that there is “science” accuracy and “Woodworking” accuracy. I read a comment from Paul that your shooting board angles don’t have to be square because you can fettle the blade angle of your plane with the lever doodad that aligns the blade.
Rowly
oh and when you turn the piece over doesn’t that even out the cut?
Are you referencing off the same edge that you put against the fence? Also, are the edges of the stock square?
square your fence to the plane( put square on plane in its position), fence should be set to that..
My first shooting board didnt work, now i got one that does and its awesome..Same Problem here. Finishes nu forst shooting board PS style.
But don’t get square and don’t hear planing sounds like on Paul’s movie.
Mostly dust.Plane seems sharp as I can get thin shavings on long grain.
Also seems my plane blade is slightly out of square. Could cause this?
Also how to hold plane on shooting board. Lift it up slightly so it is strict to the fence / working piece. Because of the slight rim on the bottom?(Thinking about getting grinder for just square my blades/chisels as this happens so often and takes decent time on sand paper 🙁 )
And Are there general tips on using the board?
Which side first?
How much can you do max with shooting board etc?
you have to have a square edge to reference against the fence. Have you tried possibly using a larger plane (a #5 might be less prone to accentuating small bumps)? Have you sharpened the hell out of your plane?
I still have issues with my shooting board (#2 for me as well) and sometimes I’ll just largely skip it and work manually in the vise, checking against my square and then making additional micro-adjustements as necessary–then I might finish on the shooting board if I think it will help. I’ve found that sometimes I’m trying to square an end that is so out of square that the shooting board results more in my dogging the wood instead of lightly removing excess material. Also, make sure to oil your plane well to minimize any friction/sticking.
I need to make yet another one. It seems that Paul has good success using MDF for his main one–probably the only real use for the stuff…
Thanks for the tips.
I had high hopes my shooting board would be a magic trick 🙂 but all in hand tools is just patience and practice…
So will just need more practice hours on sawing, planing, shooting board etc.
But when I watch a movie like this:
It all seems so simple and you get the nice swooossh sound of planing. Even when he is making the fence flush…!! What is the difference?
I sharpened with honing guide to 27 degree on coarse medium super fine and stropped. On face grain it seems sharp,
But it can be sharper I assume…Sometimes I understand that people fill a workshop full of power tools 🙂
On my board the plane is not perfectly against the wall, I need to tilt it. I assumed this happens because the first couple of mm there is no blade on the plane sole.
Correct?On this movie:
When he just puts the plane on the board it suits the wall perfectly; I have a gap.
What is the difference??[quote quote=331898]
Sometimes I understand that people fill a workshop full of power tools 🙂
[/quote]Believe me, the grass may seem greener, but power tools are not magic, either. Just like hand tools, they require skills (although it’s easier to become proficient with many power tools than certain hand tool imo), and even with skill, machines can actually be inferior to hand tools in a number of ways. Like any approach, there are advantages and disadvantages.
In the video you posted, the reason it seems simple and easy for him is because he is extremely skilled.
Shooting boards, jigs of any kind, power tools — none of it replaces the need for practice and experience and skill.
That why is used a smiley on it😃
Feel way to clumsy to work with power tools. So only way to go is to put more work in it.
But without a teacher it feels sometimes difficult. You fiddle for an hour and don’t have the idea you made progress. Because of lacking skills/ teaching and structural learning….
I’m not sure where the gap is for you because I’m not sure which part is the “wall.” Do you mean a gap between the sole of the plane and the wedge / stop? If so, you probably need to adjust your wedge to protrude a little, perhaps just with a couple mallet taps, and then run the plane to cut down the protruding bit of the wedge. The result should be having the plane perfectly flush against the wedge and the running channel.
If you mean there is a gap between the sole of the plane and the channel that it runs in, this can happen for a couple of reasons. If the gap is along the length of the plane, then it is probably because the wedge is protruding too far and is holding the toe of the plane away. Again, the solution is to run the plane against the wedge until it is perfectly flush.
IMPORTANT: Your wedge must not be taller than the mouth of the plane. If it is taller than the top of the mouth, then the plane cannot be used to cut down the stop to make it flush. You must either reduce the height of the wedge or use a bigger plane.
If the gap between the sole and the channel is vertical, then the plane is leaning relative to the channel wall. This could be because the cheek of your plane is not square to the plane. There’s nothing you can do about that, but it probably doesn’t matter. Still, I favor using my plane with square cheeks. If the plane is square, it could be a defect in how you cut the channel. You could run a shoulder plane or rabbet plane along the channel, but take care because this can change your 45 and 90 angles! But, again, it probably doesn’t matter.
Had to guess at what you meant…hope it still helps.
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