Shooting Board Question

[Kevin Herber]

I have virtually nil Neanderthal experience but am intrigued by it. I have seen shooting boards in magazines and books. The question that always goes through my mind is:

Doesn't the planing action cut the shooting board face as well as the stock being planed? How do you keep everything in alignment or square or whatever with the shooting board face being planed too?

-- Kevin

[Dan Forman]

Kevin---The shooting board is actually trimmed on the first few cuts to the depth that the blade is set. In a standard bench or block plane, the blade does not extend to the very edge of the plane body, but ends about 1/4 inch shy of the edge. So that 1/4 inch of the base of the shooting board is not trimmed by the blade, and becomes the registration for the plane, preventing it from cutting any further into the shooting board.

I'm not exactly sure what your second question is, but the piece being trimmed is held square to the shooting board by the far edge of the shooting board, which functions as a fence, with the piece being pushed against it The plane iron is square to the piece by virtue of the plane's shoulders, which are (ideally) milled perpendicular to the sole, and regester against the top of the workbench, which must be flat for the system to work.

Any minor inaccuracies in the setup can be adjusted by means of paper shims strategically placed at the appropriate points.

If you are visually oriented, David Charleworth has a new dvd devoted to the subject of shooting boards, which is very helpful, as are his other two on sharpening and using planes.

Here is a link to the dvd's. http://www.craftsmanstudio.com/html_p/AV7-D.htm

[Alan Turner]

Dan has it right. The part of the sole of the plane between the side and the iron is called the lateral margin. On my cross grain shooting board, I inlaid a 1/8" rip of ebony at the bottom of the top piece so that the plane is not hung up as it slides quite well, and is very wear resistant. It is my most accurate 90 in the shop. I don't use it for everything, but can't imabine building a drawer without it. True 90's make a world of difference in building a proper drawer.

[Kevin Herber]

Thanks for the replies. The lateral margin explains it perfectly.

-- Kevin

[Roy Wall]

kevin,

when I made my shooting board I used the TS set to 1/8" shy of cutting thru the board.....this made a tiny "rabbet" or railing for the "lateral margin" (ref. Alan Turner) to slide on and not cut into the shooting board.

[Tim Sproul]

Yeah, you should plow a groove for dust to collect without getting between the cheek and board.

Dust....just in power tool use...is the enemy of accuracy and the whole point of a shooting board is accuracy.

[Derek Cohen]

I have built several shooting boards, some quick-and-dirty (MDF sheets) and others complex (e.g. ramped SB - with mitre angle attachment, below).

Before the fence is attached, it is necessary to "run them in", which simply involves running the plane along the runway, so that it cuts into the side, leaving a tiny unplanned edge at the bottom (where the blade does not reach). The plane subsequently runs against this low edge. Now attach the fence.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Brian Buckley]

Alan,

If you have time I would like to see a picture of your shooting board. I am intrigued with your inlay of ebony.

Thanks

Brian

[Harry Goodwin]

Kevin: Just an easy adjustment. I have a rather acceptible chute board but it can even be done with what used to be called a bence hook. For an easy adjustment on your set up if it's square great if it's a small bit out of 90 adjust the angle with the left and right adjustment on your plane ( sorry at 70 I forget its name). Don't forget to reset it after its use. Harry

[Roy Wall]

NOw you guys have me thinking........

I made mine out of MDF.....should I have used hardwood???

[Derek Cohen]

Roy

No, MDF is still good. Here are a couple of quickies - MDF and melanine. They work just as well as the jarrah version above.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Roy Wall]

Derek,

Thanks for the info! I've got lots of melamine too - gotta have several shooting boards.............!!!!!

[Alan Turner]

Brian,
I will try to remember. But, you should know that senior moments abound.

[Kevin Herber]

Thanks everyone. As usual, the wealth of knowledge here is amazing. It makes it a lot easier to observe practices when I understand the mechanics.

-- Kevin

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Great discussion! I don't have any shooting boards yet but I was wondering how you make sure it's perfectly square or 45 degrees? I don't trust any of my squares to check it with that. Is there another test you can use to verify that it's perfect? Alan in Md.