Shooting Board

Finish isn’t important. It imparts a smidgen of protection from spills, oils, et al. Unfinished is best for holding the workpiece still. On a tough workpiece you’ll be shocked at how it tries to shift about if the surface of the shootboard is slick. That said, I recommend a coat of paste wax on the sole and side of the plane as well as the raceway. Slickum is always welcome there. Just remember to keep your plane iron razor sharp for this kind of work. You’ll be glad you did. Nice work, Fritz.

always,
J.C.

-- "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -- Albert Einstein

Hi Fritz:
I think wax is a good solution. You can run it on your planes too.
When I made my board” I used and insert of arborite on the runner so the drag is substantially reduced.
I bleive the pics on my project show what I used for the beveal and ramp as well.

Nice job! we should start up a club and get shirts!

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

Since I do not have one of these my idea must be take with a grain of salt.
The design is simple for small items like boxes. This would work great and as in the film for 45 degree cuts.
But the finish … don’t you want the surface to grab.
I don’t think I wood want it to move on a slippery surface. Like wax.
I can see its easy and simple to make, and easy to store and pull out when needed.
You may want to plug the holes so they don’t mess up your work .

-- Dominic, Trinity, Florida...Lets be safe out there.

Great shooting board! I need one of those.

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

Dominic, you are right. We want to wood to stay put but the slide where the plane sits needs to be slippery.

“The chute” part of the shooting plane.

cheers
Bob

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

This is a nice shooting board. I watched the video as well and thought about it. But first I need to get some hand planes. This is one area of my woodworking techniques (among many) that has been neglected.

Obviously something to add to the to do list.

Thanks for sharing.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Thanks Fritz. I have one of these on the to do list. I don’t think I would use a finish.

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

Thanks for the feedback and compliments everyone. I think I’ll wax the runway and let the rest age naturally.. :)

Bob2 – I also checked out the white mountain design website you mentioned in your post. They’ve got a router table “how-to” that’s great! I didn’t see your post before I designed my board. After using it a bit, I think I need to add a second fence that sits a bit higher and can be shimmed/replaced if/when the time comes. t-shirts? haha!

Glue’s drying on the bevel ramp. I’ll post that too in a bit.

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

Great job Fritz.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Great work Fritz. I will be making one of these after I build my bench.

-- Chris

Where’s ScottB with that design for the Shooting Board T-Shirt?

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

Did you leave the edge of the Walnut rough to prevent the workpiece from sliding , or just not joint it ? I’ve used PSA sandpaper on some of my jigs to prevent slippage of pieces . Nice board you’ve made here and I was wondering what size your plane might be ?

-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .

Hey Dusty. I didn’t address the fence face at all. I haven’t had an issue. Considering the shooting board requires a balance between forces from the plane and forces from the workpiece meeting somewhere in the middle, I like the fence not resisting too much. My preferred plane (as shown in the photo) is a Lie Nelson Low Angle Jack Plane (14” long).

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