Ramped shooting boards - do they really work better?

[bugbear]

Well now, a light scrub with a large blade protrusion would just bounce off end grain in a shooting board, wouldn't it? Shooting boards are about accuracy and quality of finish, not rate of removal of material, and this is where momentum and inertia may be useful.

Keith

Yes - scrubbing is done with short, fast strokes; rapid changes of direction where inertia is obviously not desirable.

But shooting - long, slow strokes.

Different planing techniques, different plane design constraints.

It's why we have more than one plane.

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

Inertia doesn't help in either case.

 

[MusicMan]

Jacob, since you don't use shooting boards, how would you know?

I agree about lightweight scrub planes, thats what I use too.

Your own method of planing end grain may work just as well with a light plane, but I don't use it so I wouldn't know.

Keith

 

[Jacob]

Jacob, since you don't use shooting boards, how would you know?

I agree about lightweight scrub planes, thats what I use too.

Your own method of planing end grain may work just as well with a light plane, but I don't use it so I wouldn't know.

Keith

I have used shooting boards - that's how I know.
I used to have a purpose made one under the bench but it didn't get a lot of use as it's usually easier to improvise with a bench hook, or just up-ended in the vice.
In fact most end grain will be planed off from the finished item - end grain finishing before construction is not that useful.
They are attractive to amateurs as with so many clever ideas they offer an "obvious" solution to something which isn't particularly a problem.

PS I've just remembered - I used to use it a lot when I was making lots of little boxes, many years ago. Corner joined with a tongue and groove - each needing a final fettle for a close fit. So not totally useless!

 

[MusicMan]

Aha! He admits it! Sure, it depends on the work that you do and the design of the stuff you make. I find myself often banding plywood or MDF with ~5 mm hardwood, and the shooting board allows me to get the lengths very accurate so that the corners are neat. Fine length adjustments, e.g. of shelves is another use. And sometimes visible end grain is a feature.

This amateur finds them very helpful, anyway.

Keith