For my shooting board needs, mostly two planes have been used. A low angle block plane, Stanley #65-1/2, has been used for a lot of work. It is fairly comfortable with the lever cap as opposed to the knuckle joint cap of the #65. The problem is when trying to power through bigger pieces it just does not have enough mass to keep going.

The other plane that has been put to work on this is a Stanley #5-1/2. It has good mass, but tends to stall after about 10 inches. The real problem seems to be that it is difficult to get a good grip on the plane to keep pushing. A #6 is just a bit too big without building a bigger shooting board.

So, in my attempts to make this a bit easier to push and a bit more comfortable for the hand, a piece of scrap ash from an old lathe turning was put to use.

First, it was put in place and given a few trial pushes. The best feeling angle was determined and then a pencil was used to scribe a location line to locate where a slot should be. A saw was used to put a kerf about 2-1/2 saw widths into the wood.

As a proof of concept, it does work and is much more comfortable than trying to shoot without it.

I will be doing more on this in the future. For now, has anyone else done home made mods to an old Bailey without drilling holes?

I have seen some with knobs on the side posted here.

Handle Slot.jpg
Plane & Handle.jpg
In Use.jpg

jim