Jigs and Fixtures #3: Shooting Board Basics - VIDEO

Great example on how to use a shooting board! Nice video.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

thanks for posting this Tom. It’s a great visual to add to the millions of written descriptions and still photos. I really like your setup with the ramp. Makes quick work of setup and breakdown! And the laminate running board is a feature i will certainly add to my own shooting board…. when i get around to building one.

-- Fritz Oakland, Ca http://www.muegenburg.com (dedicated to my other hobby)

first class vid. very nice of you to spend your time on it . thanks

-- if you aint the lead dog the scenery never changes

Thanks for taking the time to post this technique Mot.
Your efforts are making this place a go to destination for fellas and gals just getting into some of these areas.

Cheers

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Well done Tom. The video answered some questions I had! Thanks for taking the time.

-- Maplewood, MN

I’m enjoying your videos; simple and to the point with good information. I’m just starting the hand tool path and went to buy a plane and realized I know not of what I seek. Actually, seeing your shooting board cleared up a lot. Thanks.

-- If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a darn fool about it.

Thanks for sharing Tom. Great video, well presented.

-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python

Tks Tom. The information that I have read still left me a little confused. You filled in all the gaps.

Great job . . . I felt like I was there with you.

-- The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them

Tom thanks for the video, I have been starting to use my hand planes more and this looks like another good place to venture into with them. Like Fritz said, this aids all the photos and text that are out there. A picture is worth a thousand words but a video speaks volumes.

-- Joel Tille

Thanks for the comments, guys. There is alot you can do with them, for sure. Just get close with whatever means you use, then final fit with the shooting board. It makes things alot of fun to. You can really sneak up on a perfect fit.

Cheers!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Hi Tom;

Great video, and most helpful.

The shooting board as well as paring chisels are ideal for sneaking up on perfection.

Many of my finest woodworking joints are brought close with standard tools, and then using a paring chisel fine tuned to perfection. Prior to actually using these techniques, they seemed impractical, as I figured I could get perfectly fine results without them. Than after trying them out, I saw the advantages to working this way.
A miniature version of a shooting board is very handy for use with a paring chisel

This is also true where the joint might be a mortise and tenon, on two boards meeting on a curve. In this case the entire joint will be cut with a paring chisel, with flawless results. It sounds a little difficult, but with sharp tools, it’s fairly simple.

Thanks for the post.

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

I remember when you posted your recently constructed shooting board a few months back. Good to see it proved useful. On my to-do list. Well done.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

That’s great information, Lee, thanks! Yeah, Jeff, it’s really come in handy. Worth the 10 minutes it takes to make one.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

And I learn another new trick, Great video Tom.

-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/

That was super Tom…........right to the point and we’ve all got to have one of the planes you mentioned would work.

JEEEZZZ…..............we get you out of the stable and all sorts of good stuff keeps happening. Nicely done!!!!

Good video, Tom. I’ve known about shooting boards but haven’t used them yet. I’ll give it a try. It’s a simple and very effective and useful jig.

-- Dust collectors suck.

That’s awesome! I never fully understood how shooting boards worked untill now. Thanks.

-- Eric, www.themorningwoodshow.com

Thanks for the great video on your shooting board set up…I recently built a board based on the Charlesworth plans, but with ramps on both sides, which simply involved placing another layer of sheet material under the main board with the fence. Also, I have the “birdhouse” fixture glued up and ready to mill. With this fixture, you can cut those end grain miters/bevels as you described, but without fear of tear out, because the fixture supports the fibers at the end of the cut.

The shooting board has been on the list since you and Wayne C. posted yours some time back, and after a get together with Mike Lingenfelter recently, who has a very nice board…it was time!

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

thanks for the well made vid Tom. It was very helpful and informative.

-- bryano

Tom,

This was a great woodworking lesson. I can definitely see how using these shooting boards can improve accuracy. Thanks for helping me understand them and see them in action. Now I’ve got to make some!

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Thanks again, guys!

Dorje, depending on the depth of your iron, you’ll knock off a bit of that birdhouse’s fence and your main fence. If you are taking a finer shaving at a later date, then you might not be supporting the fibers as well as you might think. Hence the chamfer. When you experiment, you’ll see what works best for you. Post yours when you get it built!

Cheers!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

If you cut a piece of “stick” at or around 45° and place it behind your stock while sneaking up on the angle the stick will support edge fibers . It’s the same routine that we all use with cope and stick parts on the router table.
Like Mot says, there’s no support left after the first pass with the iron.

Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Thanks for taking the time to post a very informative video Tom. I made my shooting boards after you and Bob#2 original posts and they do come in very handy. Thanks for the reinforcement.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

Tom, I really appreciate this video. I have been looking at all of the previous posts, and not really understanding all of the excitement about planes. All of the refurbish, polishing, cleaning, and sharpening, now makes sense. This really clears up quite a few things for me. I have a couple of planes that belonged to my father. I am guessing that they are at least 35 to 40 years old and in excellent working condition. One is a Stanley #5 and the other is a small palm plane, both would clean up nicely. I had a couple of family heirlooms and didnt realize it. Thanks a bunch for sharing. Got to start the refurbish soon.
God bless

-- Gene, a Christian in Virginia

Nice, I don’t have one yet so this will be my next project. Thanks Tom

-- Just another day in paradise.

Tom – Great video!, very helpful and informative, I learned a few new tricks and am going to set out to build a new shooting board!
Thanks again Tom!
Schroeder

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

Thank you for the time and effort that went into making this. Great tutorial. Now I gotta go build one (or two or three!!)

-- Go http://ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=730

Thanks, Bill, Gene, sandhill, schroeder and gofor! I’m glad the video was of some use to you.

Tom

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

(first post. woo).. Thanks for the video, great stuff. Makes me even more keen to win the plane I’m bidding on ebay for, and gives me some ideas for how to actually get a solid mitre without buying a $200 tool.

-- Perth, Australia

Tom, wow! Like many of us here, I have been venturing ever more into hand tools and the shooting board keeps coming up. This video was awesome and really illustrates a way I can control the dreaded gappy bevel and mitre. I’m going to build one right away.

Just out of curiosity, why do you like the low angle jack best for shooting. I only have standard angle planes and I have been wondering about the low angle cousins.

-- Check out my new blog at www.rogersfinewoodworking.com/blog

Hi Shannon,

I prefer the low angle planes for shooting end grain. As the low angle offerings from Veritas work SO well for long grain as well, it just is the best all round plane for me. I’ve seen people VERY effectively use a standard angle frog, but the low angle just works better for me.

Cheers!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Thanks, Tom. I’ve never even heard of a shooting board. Top notch instruction & demonstration. See, you guys are teaching me new stuff already and I just got here.

-- Jason, AL