Hey all,

I am just getting into woodworking and could use some help on setting up a shooting board.

I'm working on my first cutting board and need to square up some thin pieces of wood for lines of color in the cutting board. Due to limited tools available and money to buy new fun ones (I'm still a grad student, so my wallet can't keep up with my dreams for tools), it was suggested that I use a shooting board. I've looked around and most boards seem to be for doing a short side on a piece of wood, usually end grain. However, I need to plane an entire side.

The difficulty comes in that my pieces are 14" x 3/8" x 7/8". I need to plane the 14" x 7/8" edge, leaving only the 14" x 3/8" (narrow) edge along the shooting board. I believe this would be difficult to hold nicely against the fence due to the small contact area, and also difficult to clamp down in any way. One of the thin pieces also has a slight twist to it, making it even more difficult.

Does anyone know how to incorporate into the shooting board something to hold the wood while planing it - preferably something adjustable, because I have a few other pieces that are different widths (1/2" instead of 3/8", and a few larger pieces).

I have yet to build the shooting board, so I'm not limited by a previous design.

Thanks a bunch for any suggestions!
--Tyler