shooting boards.

[jlawrence]

Hi all,
OK, I've decided I need one - I've made the 90 deg board and a 45 deg fence to go with it.
Now I've come across a problem. I need a donkey ear. My thoughts were to make an attachment to go on the board. However, in order to be useful the donkey has to be exactly 45 deg - if it weren't then obviously the mitres won't be much good.
I'm looking to make on much like this one.
Has anyone actually got a step by step on how to build this thing. All the instructions I've seen say to cut the angles on the TS. If my table saw (or scms) were that accurate then I wouldn't need this donkey would I.
Am I missing something obvious here, or do you need a shooting board in order to make a shooting board ?

 

[Karl]

I think the idea with a shooting jig is that you can micro-adjust the workpiece in any direction, so that if your jig is off slightly, you can correct that error by shimming the workpiece.

Personally, I think that the donkeys ear in the link is of limited use - only really for small, short pieces. I think a better solution is to have the workpiece flat, and the plane run at 45 degrees to the workpiece. I've seen a jig on here somewhere which was constructed in that manor, but can't recall where. If I come across it i'll post.

Cheers

Karl

 

[Saint Simon]

For the beginners amongst us, please what is a donkey ear?

 

[Saint Simon]

Sorry! I posted before realising there was more to the reference than the first screenfull.

 

[jlawrence]

karl, if you come across that jig please post a link.
I can see that having the work piece flat would be a major advantage - certainly allowing bigger boards to be worked on easier.
I can envisage how to add micro adjustments to a donkeys ear but not to a 45 deg plane runway - will have to think on this one.

 

[Ironballs]

I built a shooting board with donkey's ear earlier this year and referenced Derek's site shown above, Alf's site and the one at White Mountain. I would also agree with Karl about the limitations of the ear.

When I made mine I started with cuts on the TS that were measured using a 45 degree bevel, it was then a case of going to dry assembly and fine tuning with a block plane until I got an ear at 45 degrees. Fiddly but if I can do it then anyone can

 

[OPJ]

I've seen a jig on here somewhere which was constructed in that manor, but can't recall where. If I come across it i'll post.

That's probably the one Chris (waterhead37) made a few years ago. I don't have a link, unfortunately. On day, I will make something very similar - I've been struggling with a donkey's ear board for a few years and it would make life a lot easier if the work piece was horizontal. :?

 

[woodbloke]

Pete (Newt) designed and made this fully adjustable (in all planes) donkey's ear:

that sits on top of a standard shoot. The design is so good that I copied it and also made one for Waka. If you want a really good reference for all things shooty have a look at the recently resurrected St. Alf's shooting board stuff - Rob

 

[Steve Maskery]

If you are still looking at options, I can heartily recommend this
mitre jack. I now wonder how I ever managed without it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Alf]

...shooting board stuff - Rob

Just this minute cleaned away the dead links. Ted Shuck's at the bottom is an interesting take on the design, but there's also a link to a PDF of the horizontal type made popular by Robert Wearing. Hardly anyone seems to bother with the classic design of donkey's ear any more, which is no real wonder when it makes so much more sense to have gravity working for you rather than against. But it does have the advantage of not limiting you in size of workpiece - if you can hold it, you can shoot it.

Cheers, Alf

 

[lurker]

...shooting board stuff - Rob

Just this minute cleaned away the dead links. Ted Shuck's at the bottom is an interesting take on the design, but there's also a link to a PDF of the horizontal type made popular by Robert Wearing. Hardly anyone seems to bother with the classic design of donkey's ear any more, which is no real wonder when it makes so much more sense to have gravity working for you rather than against. But it does have the advantage of not limiting you in size of workpiece - if you can hold it, you can shoot it.

Cheers, Alf

Just savouring the moment........................Alf posts on the hand tools forum.

 

[woodbloke]

Just savouring the moment........................Alf posts on the hand tools forum.

Agreed Jim...definitely worth a ccasion5: - Rob

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

do you need a shooting board in order to make a shooting board ?

Well, I couldn't resist that! :lol: Here you are ...

There are feature details in this article: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Advances in a ramped shooting board.html

The side angle is created by glueing on a solid strip, and then planing it to the exact angle required (4 degrees).

Build the upper section first, and join this to the lower section after you have completed the fence.

Shoot me an email if you have any questions.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Harbo]

I have two types - one similar to Robs and one with the 45degree rails.

Must admit the bottom type does not get much use!

Rod

 

[OPJ]

Here's that image of waterhead37's shooting board, found courtesy of Alf's site.

Not too dis-similar to Rod's second.

 

[jlawrence]

Had a play with my first shooting board today without much success. I'm only playing with pine at the moment but got loads of bits flying off the end grain and never once managed a shaving. Hmmm, I wonder if it's a bit beyond my cheap plane - I had sharpened it first.
I'll continue playing with it - perhaps even buying a decent plane. But in the meantime I had to cut the mitres on the table saw - it's the only way I'll get chance to finish the project before the deadline.

 

[lurker]

In my experience planing end grain on pine is far harder to achieve a satisfactory fininsh than say Oak or Beech, so maybe you & your kit are not far wrong.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Had a play with my first shooting board today without much success. I'm only playing with pine at the moment but got loads of bits flying off the end grain and never once managed a shaving. Hmmm, I wonder if it's a bit beyond my cheap plane - I had sharpened it first.

Sounds to me like you haven't set up your plane correctly. You should get shavings, even on pine. You need a very sharp blade and set to take very fine shavings. If I were you, I'd try out the plane on some end grain with the wood held in the vice to see whether you are getting nice shavings. That might help to determine whether it's the shooting board, the plane settings, or your technique that are the problem.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[bugbear]

If I were you, I'd try out the plane on some end grain with the wood held in the vice to see whether you are getting nice shavings.

But...

planing small surfaces is hard, and most end grain surfaces are small.

If only there was some device for making it easy ;-)

BugBear

 

[Paul Chapman]

If I were you, I'd try out the plane on some end grain with the wood held in the vice to see whether you are getting nice shavings.

But...

planing small surfaces is hard, and most end grain surfaces are small.

For planing in the vice he could try a larger piece - say 1/2" wide by 3" long. The point is that would be sufficient to tell if the plane is set up correctly. If he's getting "bits flying off the end", that suggests to me too deep a cut or a blade that isn't sharp enough.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

PS There's a good video clip here of how easily a shooting board works if everything is set up properly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMpp9xj9pVU