[OP]
Contributor
So I just made my first shooting board and I need to clean up the ends on some qtr sawn white oak. Boards are 87" long x 6" wide. I plan to cut them at the mitre saw station and then square them on the shooting board. I have a#6 bench hand plane, block plane and a jack plane I can use to do this. End grain on the oak is not the most friendly so I am unsure which plane will do the best job. Thanks Brian
Brian
Contributor
LA Jack plane would be my choice. But any plane will do. The more mass and toe length, the better. If your #6 has sides that are 90 deg to the sole, give it a try.
Member
Whatever plane you use, sharpen it frequently. End grain oak will blunt it in just a few passes. I use a plane with A2 steel. I have also used the PM-V11 steel. Not a lot of difference in edge durability when shooting end grain oak.
Contributor
It took a few minutes to go from the hand saw surface on the left to the finished surface on the right with a no.4 and the piece held in the vice. This was a cherry table top, the ends were about 20" wide. Granted, the requirement was for a clean surface, square to the eye to the top, I didn't measure the angle. Oak may be a bit more difficult, but sharp edges help with that. Try a smoother with or without your shooting board and see how you do.
20220925_231019.jpg
Contributor
If it has to be super square you may want to find a way to clamp the board to your shooting board.
Contributor
Which one of your bench planes has the most square sole to side?
~mike
happy in my mud hut
Contributor
My suggestion would be the #6. Get the blade as sharp as possible. A #5 will work but the extra mass of the #6 is helpful. A low angle plane will cut through the end grain with even less effort.Originally Posted by Brian Runau
Put a small bevel on the piece being worked on the corner at the end of the plane's stroke to help with avoiding blow out of the edge.
Clamping the wood to the shooting board sounds good but doesn't work out well.
Typically when shooting end grain take as light a cut as you can. Pull the plane back and push the work against the toe of the plane and then drive the plane forward with the focus being on getting past the end of the stroke.
One thing that is helpful is a 'hot dog' on the plane used for shooting:
Hot Dog on #6.jpg
This is a post on mine > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?130114
Derek Cohen also built a couple that look a lot better > http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...LV%20LAJ1.html
and here > http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...ck%20pics.html
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Use your #6. Rob Cosman uses a #5 1/2 and claims it works fine.
I use a Veritas Shooting plane. When I got it I felt it was an extravagance (but one I was worth). After two months I considered it money well spent. I use it on every project.
Edit: QSWO is a bear to cut end grain on. Make sure your iron is sharp, your cut is very light, and consider moistening the end grain with DNA. It really makes a difference.
Last edited by Rob Luter; 10-31-2022 at 1:34 PM.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
Moderator
When it comes to what's the ideal shooting plane, woodworkers are at 6's and 7's.
Any plane with sides square to the sole will work. If your track isn't built for a particular plane, try them all.
Way more critical than the plane is the fence.
Contributor
If the sole isn't perfectly square to the sides the lateral adjuster may be able to correct the discrepancy. Otherwise a judicious application of tape in various spots has worked well for me.Any plane with sides square to the sole will work. If your track isn't built for a particular plane, try them all.
Way more critical than the plane is the fence.
Old Shooting Board.jpg
Note the tape on the far side of the fence. This adjusted for the fence being slightly out of square. Tape on the bed can compensate for the bed or the plane being out of square.
The small rail on the left was to use left handed on some smaller parts.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Contributor
Any plane will work. I used a #6 for many years, like 30. I than bought an LV LAJ and it works very well. If I did more shooting i would buy a dedicated shooter. A block plane is small for the size of work you described. It can be used but a little tricky.
Jim
I'm fortunate enough to have found a Record T6 a few years ago. I've used LV BU Jack that worked very well too.
Contributor
Will echo most of comments above and agree that the #6 and lots of sharpening would be my choice of those planes that you mentioned. Also, I'll note that even a dedicated shooting plane like the LV (which I have and LOVE) will struggle with 4/4 stock or greater--shooting 1/4 is brilliant, 1/2 smooth and it gets exponentially more challenging after that...
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
--Yogi Berra
I don't have a shooting board nor any skew planes. Not to hijack this thread, but wouldn't a skew type plane be the best type of plane to use on a shooting board? The angled blade would tend to push the work piece down against the shooting board as you make the cut.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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I've used a Low Angle Jack (both LV and LN) and now use a LV Shooting plane. The skewed blade is very effective in slicing through the end grain. It may push the piece down as well but it's not noticeable to me.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
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