# Shooting board



## newt (25 Feb 2008)

This is my latest shooting board. The first image is in normal mode, the runway is a part of a Tesco cutting board, not the small vertical piece (woodbloke idea) that the sole of the plane rests against.







the second image is with the mitre attachment, note the clamp to restrict any movement on the back stroke. You will see in the third image that the mitre attachment engages with a 6mm pin on the left of the main board, you can just see the hole. To the right of the mitre board you can see a fine adjustment screw, this allows you to set the mitre board to exactly 45 degrees.


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## George_N (25 Feb 2008)

Pete, that looks like a very professional piece of kit, well done. Is the Tesco chopping board smooth...almost all the ones I've seen are textured to make them more 'grippy'...the opposite of what you want in a shootong board runway. Also, how is it attached?


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## Paul Chapman (26 Feb 2008)

That is absolutely brilliant, Pete =D> =D> Every time I think you've cracked it, you come up with something even better....... :wink: 

As the plane is running on plastic, there will be virtually no wear, so it will remain accurate, and I love that adjustment screw on the 45 degree mitre piece.

Thanks for posting those pictures, Pete - I must get in the workshop and knock one up.......

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## woodbloke (26 Feb 2008)

Pete - many thanks for posting that, I've almost finished my one now, need to set the angle on the 45deg shoot by making a picture frame this morning. Can't post pics of mine...no camera  but it looks the same as yours - Rob


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## newt (26 Feb 2008)

George, in fact the cutting mat does have a very fine texture, but it has surprisingly low friction, (Paul and woodbloke thought it was quite smooth to use) and if you want super low friction a small amount of Camellia oil does the trick. It is very hard wearing stuff, I have attached mine using double sided tape as I felt screws would distort the 2.5mm cutting mat material. Perspex scratches for some reason this does not, well not yet any way, I think I could get at least 4 replacements out of the mat. By the way they come in a pack of 2 one red one white the red one is much smaller. I cut mine on the band saw.


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## woodbloke (26 Feb 2008)

Pete - have shot in the 45deg attachment now and made a square pic frame with 60mm mitres that has gone together spot on, so am quite well chuffed with this shoot... very nice piece concept, will be interesting to see how you'll modify it to take the Donkey's Ear we nattered about on Sunday... apart from other stuff :wink: - Rob


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## George_N (26 Feb 2008)

newt":a7e2h8o2 said:


> George, in fact the cutting mat does have a very fine texture, but it has surprisingly low friction, (Paul and woodbloke thought it was quite smooth to use) and if you want super low friction a small amount of Camellia oil does the trick. It is very hard wearing stuff, I have attached mine using double sided tape as I felt screws would distort the 2.5mm cutting mat material. Perspex scratches for some reason this does not, well not yet any way, I think I could get at least 4 replacements out of the mat. By the way they come in a pack of 2 one red one white the red one is much smaller. I cut mine on the band saw.



Thanks Pete, I'll be giving the cutting mat a try.


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## Digit (26 Feb 2008)

Blast! Why didn't I think of a 45 degree insert, I made separate boards?  
For durability my plane runs on Acrylic and the cutting face has a brass rubbing strip. I've been using the same board(s) for 3 yrs now without any need to dress or recut anything.


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## Philly (26 Feb 2008)

Crikey! Very posh  
I "make do" with a MDF one,
Philly


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## lucky9cat (27 Feb 2008)

Yeah, very nice. I'm going to make me one of those  

Ted


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## bugbear (28 Feb 2008)

newt":n4u8bzh7 said:


> To the right of the mitre board you can see a fine adjustment screw, this allows you to set the mitre board to exactly 45 degrees.



Very nice.

BugBear


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## George_N (28 Feb 2008)

I made a 45 degree mitre insert for mine, similar to yours but without the alignment grub screw. I will pinch that idea, thanks for sharing it.


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## newt (28 Feb 2008)

I have finally finished the last accessory for the shooting board, this is for mitering wide boards. You can see it attached to the basic shooting board using the same method as for the previous mitre board. you can see on the final image that I have added 4 fine adjusting screws, one in each corner in case it did not come out at 45 degrees, it did, so they my be redundant. I still have incorporated the fine adjuster like the other board and the clamp stop any movement.


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## wizer (28 Feb 2008)

lovely, so how much are you selling them for?


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## Paul Chapman (29 Feb 2008)

That's even more brilliant, Pete =D> =D>  

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## woodbloke (29 Feb 2008)

Pete - *great* stuff...need to see this  - Rob


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## Anonymous (29 Feb 2008)

Piccies of it in use? (particularly a mitred joint)

Looks a lot better than my MDF effort


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## newt (29 Feb 2008)

Tony I will try get someone to take some action shots, I shot a couple of miters this afternoon and they were spot on. I will get a third party to give their opinion.


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## woodbloke (29 Feb 2008)

newt":2fvs3nis said:


> Tony I will try get someone to take some action shots, I shot a couple of miters this afternoon and they were spot on. I will get a third party to give their opinion.



Whose's that going to be Pete? :wink: :lol: - Rob


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## newt (29 Feb 2008)

Rob, guess


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## woodbloke (3 Mar 2008)

Having just seen and used Pete's long mitre jig I have to say it's *spot on* and adjustable in all three planes so the next project is to build one on my shoot - Rob


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## Paul Chapman (3 Mar 2008)

Sounds good :wink: 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Woodmagnet (4 Mar 2008)

Brilliant :wink:


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## manso (4 Mar 2008)

Pete,
As regards your original post - should it read "_*note*_ {sic} the small vertical piece...." or is indeed that made from a different material?
Regards


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## newt (19 Mar 2008)

Manso, sorry about the delay problems with PC. The vertical piece is made of the same material as the main runway, the plastic Tesco cutting board.


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## Jez (3 Apr 2008)

very nice  

the other day I made the mistake of making a shootingboard made from some spare Oak Vaneered MDF at work

"ooo, that will look nice" i said to myself

my jet black hands disagreed


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## bugbear (4 Apr 2008)

Jez":1qowt35t said:


> very nice
> 
> the other day I made the mistake of making a shootingboard made from some spare Oak Vaneered MDF at work



oak + steel = black. I once wirewooled oak windowsills. oops.

BugBear


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## Harbo (13 Jun 2008)

Pete - what are the rough dimensions of your board - I bought one from Tesco but it is only about 12" x 10" and seems much smaller than the one you used?

Rod :?


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## woodbloke (13 Jun 2008)

Rod - having seen and used Pete's shooter, I can confirm that the length of the runway is about 300mm - Rob


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## Harbo (13 Jun 2008)

Rob - thanks for that, just seems a bit small ? - the ones I have made in the past are in the region of 20" to 24" - to get up some momentum!  

Rod


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## newt (13 Jun 2008)

Harbo, the actual measurment is 352mm, and the runway is held down with double sided tape, which has not moved and I have used it a lot.


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## Harbo (13 Jun 2008)

Thanks Pete - I have just remembered - mine came from Sainburys and only measures 330mm!
I have got some very thin plastic cutting sheets that are 380mm long - I wonder if they will work?

Rod


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## Racers (13 Jun 2008)

Hi, Harbo

Cut a strip diagonally?


Pete


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## Harbo (14 Jun 2008)

Pete - I want to make a longer one as per the "improved mitre version" in Robert Wearing's book so even on the diagonal it is too short - I may have to join a couple of sections?

On my existing shooting board I have stuck, with spray adhesive, a strip of the thin nylon kitchen cutting sheet material on the running board.
Plane seems to glide along beautifully!

Rod


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## dennis (15 Jun 2008)

Pete

How do you mitre the opposite hand for moulded items do you have a pair or have I missed something that is glaringly obvious which is most likely.

Dennis


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## wizer (17 Jun 2008)

Just trying to get my head around this. Firstly. What is the purpose of the additional piece of cutting board? and what are the dimensions of it? Also how does that adjustment screw work on the mitre attachment? And how is it fitted? Threaded insert?

Thanks


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## woodbloke (17 Jun 2008)

WiZer wrote:


> Just trying to get my head around this. Firstly. What is the purpose of the additional piece of cutting board? and what are the dimensions of it? Also how does that adjustment screw work on the mitre attachment? And how is it fitted? Threaded insert?


Vertical piece rubs against the sole of the plane, prevents wear on the shooter.
Runway on Pete's board is about 350mm long, vertical piece sticks up about 5mm
Adjustment screw provides fine adjustment of the mitre attachment so that any wear (over time) can be compensated for.
Female part of the adjuster screw is a tight push fit, the screwhead on male part that screws in/out is just under the surface when fully closed - Rob


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## Harbo (17 Jun 2008)

Wizer - Newt's is a lovely design but it bit sophisticated if you are concerned about your first attempt and accuracy.
Make a simple one first - they are so easy and cheap and in the end disposable? Even the stop on them can be adjusted if screws are used?
The nylon running strip is also a luxury as all planes will stop cutting-in once the blade protrusion has cut in - the blades do not extend the full width on most planes so it will run/bear on the 3 to 5mm edge? The nylon strip will reduce friction though.

Rod


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## woodbloke (17 Jun 2008)

Harbo wrote:


> The nylon running strip is also a luxury as all planes will stop cutting-in once the blade protrusion has cut in - the blades do not extend the full width on most planes so it will run/bear on the 3 to 5mm edge


Rod - agreed, it's a bit 'bells and whistle' but it's essential to prevent wear on the shooter *if* (and I was prone to when I started to use them) you tip the plane in use, then wear will take place quite rapidly on the edge of the board. This is less likely to happen with a dedicated shooting plane like the LN No9 with a bigger bearing surface. That little wear strip is designed to minimise poor or incorrect technique - Rob


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## Paul Chapman (17 Jun 2008)

I was fortunate enough to have a go on Pete's shooting board with the plastic runway and vertical piece and I must say that it worked very well. The plastic runway seems to offer virtually no resistance and it makes use of the shooting board super smooth.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## wizer (17 Jun 2008)

Thanks guys. I just picked up some plastic cutting board material (380mm long) from Wilko. May have a potter in a bit.


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## Harbo (17 Jun 2008)

Rob & Paul - agreed - I was not knocking Newt's design but getting this confused with WiZer's other thread about making a shooting board and his concerns about accuracy.

Rod


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## woodbloke (17 Jun 2008)

Harbo wrote:


> getting this confused


Rod - easily done...it's an age thing! :lol: :lol: - Rob


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## Steve Maskery (21 Jun 2008)

I know I'm coming to this a bit late but here is my 2p.

First of all, I think the idea of having the inserts adjustable is an excellent one. I can see how that would give you very high levels of accuracy and precision. Excellent. I also like the fact that one board can be made to do several jobs - it saves on storage space.

Personally I would want a board longer than 300mm. If I am shooting with my No7 I don't think that 300mm would be a comfortable length, especially if the workpiece was wide. I've used cutting board material for other taks, like zero-insert plates, and as you say, it's not easy to find large cutting boards. But AX and Tilgear sell UHMW material which would, I think, be perfect for this sort of application. My own shooting boards are faced with Formica, which also works well to reduce friction, and of course, size is not a problem.

My bench is up against a wall, and the bench itself is not that deep, so sometimes I have a problem if I am using a long plane pushing away from me - it's easy to hit the wall. I intend to make my next one skewed at 45 degrees, so that I have more space ahead of me. It also means that very long boards will need to be supported on a a stand, but at least they won't be fouling my SCMS, which is what happens at the mo. I need more space!

Mine also has an adjustable sacrificial fence, which reduces breakout. I nudge it out then plane it away until the plane stops cutting. At this point the lateral margin of the plane is rubbing on the shoulder of the runway. When the workpiece is mounted now it will be supported right up to the end of the cut.

Finally, I keep a separate blade for shooting. It has a square grind, no camber at all, which gives me a perfectly flat end to the board.

I have an article on shooting boards that I started yonks ago and never finished. I thinks it's probably time to revisit it, especially as I need a new one myself.


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## woodbloke (21 Jun 2008)

Steve M wrote:


> My own shooting boards are faced with Formica, which also works well to reduce friction, and of course, size is not a problem.


My original shooters were also faced with Formica, great stuff, except that after a while the runway became convex, so the plane would never run true, hence the reason why I've changed to acrylic perspex which is screwed down. So far, it's stayed flat - Rob


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## Harbo (21 Jun 2008)

Here's my take on Robert Wearing's "Improved Mitre Shooter" using a piece of nylon cutting board as running strip












Here's my original shooter (using old melamine surfaced kitchen unit door) with very thin nylon chopping sheet as runner:






A version of "Newt's design"






The problem with this is that it will only cut very thin boards due to height - will have to raise running section for this one?

All made from odd bits of stuff which I had to hand - utilitarian but they work!

Rod



Rod


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## wizer (21 Jun 2008)

Nice Rod. I was thinking about making that long 'donkey's ear' version too.


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## newt (21 Jun 2008)

Harbo, very nice job looks nice and solid, you did not take long to make it. I could mitre 35mm boards on mine using my LA Jack although at that thickness, I think would be a struggle with any plane. One of the other reasons I configured mine so that the board was sloping down, it seemed more logical than others that slope up at 45 degrees, on a longish board it must be difficult to have to push up and take the weight of the board at the same time.


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## dennis (21 Jun 2008)

Someone mentioned shooting a square picture frame but I still cant see how you would shoot a moulded one without having a reversible mitre attachment or a pair of left and right handed shooting boards.

Dennis


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## Harbo (22 Jun 2008)

Newt - as I used 20mm veneered mdf, and my plane is 60mm wide, I can only trim about 15mm thick boards without raising the running board.
It's not very clear from the photos but the plane is supported on the nylon running strip which forms a groove. So it is just a matter of pushing back and forwards as any other board. The top mitre was designed to give about 10mm of running edge. As it is based around the No.9 it will manage a board just over 25mm thick.

Dennis - have not tried it with a picture frame, but my original board is long enough to take a longer right angled board to cut the opposite end. See third photo and imagine a triangular piece sloping from LHS to meet shooting edge?

Rod


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## woodbloke (22 Jun 2008)

Rod - excellent, I've yet to do my Donkey's Ear attachement  ..it's on the tuit list - Rob


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## Anonymous (22 Jun 2008)

Rod

how does the top one work for you? I made one and found its performance very poor, so it went into the Chimnea in the end.


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## Harbo (22 Jun 2008)

Tony - I gave it a test run on some Wellingtonia (Redwood) and it worked fine.
Will be putting both types to a fair bit of use in the next few weeks so will let you know after a better trial.

rod


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## newt (24 Jun 2008)

Tony what problems did you have with yours, I found mine ok. I make a lot of boxes so I really need this, I do not even bother with a rough cut for the miter as it does not take to long with the LA jack. I have use it on stock up to 15mm all in hard wood.


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## Anonymous (24 Jun 2008)

newt":35dt7b2q said:


> Tony what problems did you have with yours, I found mine ok. I make a lot of boxes so I really need this, I do not even bother with a rough cut for the miter as it does not take to long with the LA jack. I have use it on stock up to 15mm all in hard wood.



Mainly alignment I think, and it was difficult/awkward to use. Possibly if i made another with slightly different dimensions, it might work better.

I recently bought a large 45 degree router bit from Axminstr (around 1 " cuttting length) for use in the table and that is proving to be a good investment


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