Shooting board
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I made the shooting board over Saturday afternoon. Overall it wasn’t too bad but I’ll be making another one this weekend!
The dado for the 90 degree wedge isn’t quite square but the 45 degree one is bang on. Very annoying. A small error that nullifies the purpose of the jig!
Great project though. Managed to resaw some 2×4 to make the wedges and was a good excuse to sharpen another panel saw.
Anyone else made one yet?
George.
"To know and not do is to not know"
Perhaps you can shim the face of the 90 fence with a bit of tape to return it back to 90. You might also be able to true the fence using a shoulder plane or rabbet plane. Just don’t leave behind the little feather of wood that will forever keep pushing you stock away from the fence (DAMHIKT).
Or just write it off to practice as you are planning to make another one anyway.
I need another shooting board like I need a hole in the head! I think 5 is sufficient but the wee-little one with adjustable fence is fun to shoot veneer for parquetry… I would however like to make a proper miter jack one of these days.
@george that picture hasn’t come through. Please try again. I have changed the upload limit (it was set ridiculously low).
@rwyoung I think I’m just going to write it off as practice. I’m still new to woodwork and don’t have a problem making mistakes as long as I know what I’ve done wrong and can correct it. The second version should turn out better and I can reuse the wedges which will save some milling time.
@joseph Thanks. I’ll try again now.
George.
"To know and not do is to not know"
Making a shooting board was also one of my first tasks, and while mine is only made from scrap particle board using dowels and screws, I don’t think that I will make a new one just for the fun of it. I’m still pretty happy with mine.
@george Hm, your wedges don’t look very wedge-shaped to me. Do they wedge properly in the mortise or do they just sit in there moving freely to the left and right? Especially the 90 degree one looks like it doesn’t remain in the mortise by itself. If they wedge properly, then I guess some corrective measures like the ones suggested above might work just fine. if not, instead of making a new board you might also consider to remodel the mortise for the 90 degree fence and make a new wedge for it. That might be a shorter route. Just my two cents.
@bjoern They’re certainly wedge shaped, just very subtle. They were made from a 3 1/2″ wide piece and I marked 2″ from the edge at each end, marked a line between the two along the length and ripped it. The 90 degree one wasn’t quite at 90 degrees so I altered the dado to correct it, which changes the dimensions (slightly larger) so the wedge no longer fits where it should, which is why it’s not sitting snugly. As opposed to trimming the wedge to fit the now correct dado I’ll make a new board and re-use the wedges. Nothing wrong with a bit more practice! The 45 degree one (which I did second) is a real snug fit after hitting it into place with a mallet.
"To know and not do is to not know"
@george Very nice indeed 🙂
I was all setup to build a shooting board out of some scrap MDF, but this one looks so much nicer I might have to reconsider that plan.
Located in Jönköping, Sweden.
Hi George,
Very nice work.
Another option (Instead of re-cutting the housing joint/dado) would have been to plane the face of your 90 deg fence until it sat precisely at the desired angle. Shoulder planes work well for tasks of this nature. 🙂
Thanks guys!
@gazpal I don’t have a shoulder plane, unfortunately. It’s on the shopping list though!
I’ve made another board which is awaiting glue-up. The dados are spot on this time around. Will post a photo when it’s glued and dry.
George.
"To know and not do is to not know"
I understand your dilemma George. Situations akin to this are where a Stanley/Record 78/078 or 778 can be a handy piece of kit to have, as they can be pressed into service for shoulder and such trimming work. 😉
I’m going to be building one of these this weekend. Would a 1/2 inch piece of oak plywood work for the bottom piece or should I use a 1×8? I’ve got a piece of that plywood from another project that is about 10 inch wide.
-Canada
Hi Dave,
1/2″ or 3/4″ ply is fine for shooting board material, but be sure to leave the landing wide enough to carry your shooting plane, with at least an 8″ bearing on the upper tier for materials being trimmed. 🙂
The upper tier width – as well as board size in general – can be varied to suit the dimensions of stock you’ll typically find yourself shooting.
I finished my shooting board over the weekend. I have never used one before. This thing is just fun to use. I think every off cut of wood in my shop now has square ends.
http://hillbillydaiku.com
Good job, Gregory!
I made myself a second one that is actually square and went through the same process as you – picking up every scrap of timber and shooting the ends. Had a lot of fun!
George.
"To know and not do is to not know"
Nice work on the shooting board, that bench looks good also. What planes are you guys using for shooting
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