Plane for shooting

[marcros]

I am looking for advice on the most suitable plane for using on a shooting board. I am looking to shoot end grain both straight across and mitred, and box mitres on a donkey's ear. Workpiece size in the region of max 150mm wide and probably 10-20mm thick.

I do not have a huge number of planes. A 3, 5 and 7, a wooden badger plane, and a couple of wooden jointers. I don't mind buying something if needed but don't want to spend a fortune (a dedicated shooting plane is out of the question at the moment and I don't really want to spend on the veritas bevel up range). I was looking on eBay for a

I am asking now, before I build the board incase it has a bearing on the design. In a way, I would rather have a plane that is dedicated to the board, so that I can add a handle etc. in this respect, I would have thought that a woodie would be easiest to square up and modify.

Thanks
Mark

 

[David C]

Your 7 would be my choice.

It may begin to struggle a bit at 20mm thickness.

David

 

[Cheshirechappie]

+1 for the No 7.

The No 5 would do if it's set up with a reasonably 'straight across' blade, but chances are it's set up for jack-plane work with a fairly cambered blade. The try plane is usually set up with rather less camber, and the extra weight does give a bit more momentum, though the length can be a bit of a pain. The No 3 is just too small for all but the tinyest jobs.

A dedicated mitre plane is nice to have, and has the advantage of a nice, large side face to slide on the shooting board surface; even better if it has a skewed blade to ease the shock of entry into the cut. However, short of building one from scratch, I can't think of a way of acquiring one without parting with quite a tidy sum.

 

[marcros]

Thanks. 20mm wouldn't be my norm- I tend to use 10-12 mm. I will have a go with the 7 and see how I get on.

 

[Corneel]

Make it very sharp, and sharpen often. Endgrain planing is very doable with a normal plane, but the bit wears fast on endgrain. And a dullish bit just doesn't work very well.

 

[PAC1]

As you were asking about a dedicated plane. Both Veritas and Lie Nielsen make dedicated shooting planes. Veritas do both left and right handed. I understand LN will bring out a left handed version soon. Both have considerable weight and a low angle and angled blade. The other advantage with Veritas is they also sell a track to run the plane in.
Having said that you do not need a dedicated plane any well tuned plane with a side that is alright angles to the sole will do the job. A low angle plane would be an advantage.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Thinking about it a bit, I think for any shooting board or jig with a plane runway, the 7 is the best bet, though one of the wooden jointers would serve just as well. However, for something like a mitre jack with a fixed and moving block between which the job is gripped, and the faces of which provide the jig surface for the plane, the smoother would be much easier to manipulate.

Dedicated tools are nice to have, but add to one's storage and maintenance problems. A couple of carefully-made jigs used in conjunction with the regular bench planes means the only extra maintenance problem is a bit of plane blade sharpening, which is (or at least should be) a fairly trivial matter.

(I have to say that as the years have worn on, and with the more woodworking I've done, the fewer tools I've tended to use. The fewer tools you have, the less time you spend on tool fettling and more time on butchering wood. The only fly in the ointment is that until you've acquired and tested quite a few tools, you don't really know which ones you actually need, rather than just want.....)

 

[John15]

My 5 1/2 Stanley does the job but at my skill level I find it sometimes doesn't cut so well. Corneel is correct in saying that the blade has to be really sharp for end-grain.

John

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

I have used regular bench planes as shooting planes and they work well enough, but I find them uncomfortable to use for longer periods. They are just awkward to hold and this makes them tiresome.

I was lucky enough to get a Record T5 about 10 years ago, when the prices weren't as high as now, and this has turned out to be a better proposition. I had to make a replacement side handle, as the original was missing, so I made one considerably lower than the standard one. I use this nesting between the web of my thumb and forefinger, rather than grasp it in my fist (as illustrations of T5 use show) and it works very well indeed.

However, more recently I got a used Veritas BU jack plane and this is the best so far. The LA blade is definitely advantageous, especially noticeable in very soft wood and very hard woods. The sole and sides are accurately square, the blade is nice and thick, a boon for end grain, it is comfy to hold and has some weight to it without being too long for convenience. I would recommend one if you could stretch to buying one, I doubt you would regret the outlay. QS or Stanley Sweetheart No 62 could be a lower cost alternative, though the ergonomics would not be the same. A home made hotdog handle could remedy that, though.

I have used shop made woodies as shooting planes, but they do tend to have a groove worn in the soles. I don't know whether this effects the accuracy eventually or not, but I decided I did not like it. It certainly means the plane will not be useful in regular duty again. In my early days, I did make a woodie that I epoxied a piece of old saw plate to the sole,to prevent the grooving. That worked very well, but the plane was stored in the damp, so did not survive. I would definitely try this again, though, if I could not afford a suitable BU jack or something. The bedding angle was just common pitch, but I think I would lower it to something similar to a strike block plane, if I made one again. A benefit of a custom woodie is the ability for it to run in a 'track', since it can be made into a truly parallel sided rectangle. This means that in use, only backward and forward motion is required, the work just pushed onto the planes sole. It is surprising how much longer the shooting boards fence lasts with this set up.

Mike.

 

[blackrodd]

Number 7, on the shooting board, That's what we used at college and night school.
You get really good as it's just right for the job, good weight and momentum.
Regards Rodders

 

[JimB]

Some fifty-five years ago at school we used wooden jack planes on shooting boards.

 

[bugbear]

Hello,

I have used regular bench planes as shooting planes and they work well enough, but I find them uncomfortable to use for longer periods. They are just awkward to hold and this makes them tiresome.

I was lucky enough to get a Record T5 about 10 years ago, when the prices weren't as high as now, and this has turned out to be a better proposition. I had to make a replacement side handle, as the original was missing, so I made one considerably lower than the standard one. I use this nesting between the web of my thumb and forefinger, rather than grasp it in my fist (as illustrations of T5 use show) and it works very well indeed.

However, more recently I got a used Veritas BU jack plane and this is the best so far. The LA blade is definitely advantageous, especially noticeable in very soft wood and very hard woods. The sole and sides are accurately square, the blade is nice and thick, a boon for end grain, it is comfy to hold and has some weight to it without being too long for convenience. I would recommend one if you could stretch to buying one, I doubt you would regret the outlay. QS or Stanley Sweetheart No 62 could be a lower cost alternative, though the ergonomics would not be the same. A home made hotdog handle could remedy that, though.

I have used shop made woodies as shooting planes, but they do tend to have a groove worn in the soles. I don't know whether this effects the accuracy eventually or not, but I decided I did not like it. It certainly means the plane will not be useful in regular duty again. In my early days, I did make a woodie that I epoxied a piece of old saw plate to the sole,to prevent the grooving. That worked very well, but the plane was stored in the damp, so did not survive. I would definitely try this again, though, if I could not afford a suitable BU jack or something. The bedding angle was just common pitch, but I think I would lower it to something similar to a strike block plane, if I made one again. A benefit of a custom woodie is the ability for it to run in a 'track', since it can be made into a truly parallel sided rectangle. This means that in use, only backward and forward motion is required, the work just pushed onto the planes sole. It is surprising how much longer the shooting boards fence lasts with this set up.

Mike.

Interesting. I own a T5, but prefer a #6 for shooting; the higher mass and longer toe make it easier, at least IME.

I note your concern at wear grooving the sole of a woodie; this is most interesting, and explains why Preston used to offer (at a premium...) wooden shooting planes with metal plating. Options were:

* Plated at mouth
* Plated face (I assume this means sole)
* Plated face and side

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

Any plane would do but I'd use a 5. Length for a straighter cut but narrower blade for easier sharpening.
I wouldn't dream of any of the expensive purpose made planes unless it'd pay for itself in terms of productivity. You'd need to be doing a lot of shooting for this to be possible!

 

[heimlaga]

Ordinary bench planes just don't work very well on crossgrain in the souft wood we have up here.
I was going to make a wooden shoothing plane with a skewed blade like the "philly planes" sold by a member on this forum. I could not afford to buy neither a philly plane nor a low angle jack plane.
Then I suddenly found an old Stanley number 62 at a flea market. The blade was missing so I got the plane for 5 euros. Then I ordered a new Pinnacle blade which wasn't too expensive.
I was a bit fortunate ......... but making wooden planes isn't very difficult.

 

[bugbear]

Then I suddenly found an old Stanley number 62 at a flea market. The blade was missing so I got the plane for 5 euros. Then I ordered a new Pinnacle blade which wasn't too expensive.
I was a bit fortunate .........

:shock:

BugBear

 

[woodbrains]

Interesting. I own a T5, but prefer a #6 for shooting; the higher mass and longer toe make it easier, at least IME.

I note your concern at wear grooving the sole of a woodie; this is most interesting, and explains why Preston used to offer (at a premium...) wooden shooting planes with metal plating. Options were:

* Plated at mouth
* Plated face (I assume this means sole)
* Plated face and side

BugBear

Hello,

I'm all for higher mass planes, a 06 would be better than a T 5 in that regard, it is just the comfort that makes me prefer the latter. I sometimes use an 08 for trimming veneers, super long and heavy. It is just an ergonomic thing with bench planes on their sides that could be better. As for wider blades, I often use plywood platforms to move the point of wear to different parts of the blade. I like the whole thing to be dull when I resharpen! Ramped shooting boards are not worth making, since they only distribute the wear on the blade by such a small amount as to be not worth the fuss. If wide boards are regularly done, then it might be worth it. I find a tall fence and some plywood stacked with dowel locators, gives better wear distribution.

So I wasn't the first to put a sole on a woodie for shooting, bah! :wink:

Mike.

 

[bugbear]

It is just an ergonomic thing with bench planes on their sides that could be better.

Did you see Alf's article on fixing a comfy handle to a Bailey?

BugBear

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

No, I'll have to look that one up. I suppose I should have made something before now anyway. Thanks for the tip. Might be useful for school.

Mike.

 

[G S Haydon]

Some fifty-five years ago at school we used wooden jack planes on shooting boards.

'andsome idea

Great value, very comfortable, lovely steel as a rule, stays ultra planted on the board thanks to the shape, same length as a No 6, friction free 8)

 

[JimB]

that takes me back - I can almost smell the linseed oil.