What stops the plane from cutting the shooting board fence, for example when using Ed Speas’ shooting board (FWW 106, currently featured under Skills and Techniques)for cutting mitres?
The fence has to have a dead accurate 45deg angle, how it that simply achieved?
Replies
Not sure but as a test.. Make a 'test one'
Seems to stop when the plane 'bed' 'shoe?'
(You know the iron bottom!') EDGES hits the wood the blade did not! Just funning you.. I had the same question till I made one!
The iron does not go all of the way across the plane bottom, therefore there will always be 1/8 to 1/4" of the shooting board edge that is untouched by the cutting action of the iron. Even the part that does get cut is gone after the first few strokes. Just make sure you don't use a shoulder-type plane, because those irons do run from edge -to-edge.
Thanks for the insight.
Handrubbed is right, the shooting board isn't cut after you've used it a few strokes, because the part of the sole outside the blade prevents further incursion. And no you can't use a rabbeting plane! :)
Also if you're using a bench plane you use for other purposes, remember you're going to be best off with a blade that's sharpened to dead flat across.
As to getting the board accurate to exactly 45°, just use a square or protractor to get it close and secure it temporarily. Shoot two boards and put 'em together against an accurate square. Or shoot four and put 'em together against a straightedge. Adjust until dead-on, then tighten it down.
You can also adjust fit with shims of paper between your piece and the fence.
I would HIGHLY recommend David Charlesworth's video #3, which addresses in very clear fashion the art of using a shooting board. It addresses all the questions you've raised, and more you might not yet have thought of (like shooting a little chamfer onto the back end of the piece before planing to a line).
I got a LN iron miter plane in the mail yesterday, and my wife gave me a Lie-Nielsen shirt for my birthday today. Maybe I've been a better boy this year than I thought. :)
This brings to mind all kinds of wife-swapping type jokes, but I will refrain. Let me just say you are a lucky guy. Tell me she didn't buy you the shirt and the plane too!
I'd give up woodworking long before I'd give up the wife. :)
I ordered the iron miter plane. I don't know what I'm getting from her for my main present, but the t-shirt is likely a hint. She knows of two different planes I still want from LN, but I know she's also keen to replace my shop apron -- the old one has more than a little visible blood on it from my accident in December -- and LN has a nice leather one with no external detritus collectors (I mean, pockets).My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
That's funny, I received that apron from my wife for Christmas. It is fantastic, like everything else that they make. You'll feel like a bloody blacksmith when you wear it. Maybe bloody is the wrong word. in your case. I don't think she would ever spring for a plane though. She sat in the car last summer while I toured the L-N facility in Warren.....read her book.
Let me know how that plane works out. I find that regular planes are a little awkward to grip while using a shooting board. I've used my #7 and #162, but they want to tip when working on harder woods.
Edited 5/10/2006 4:48 pm ET by Handrubbed
Edited 5/10/2006 4:53 pm ET by Handrubbed
My wife went to a woodworking show with me a couple weeks ago. She's in no danger of turning into a woodworker (I think) but she's really nice about me doing it.
The plane feels awesome. It does NOT have a tendency to tip, that's what it's designed for. I got the hot dog. Between that and the two knobs, it's very easy to work the plane back and forth against the shooting board, and find a comfortable hand position that gives me good control. It is much easier to work with on the shooting board than my #6.My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
John,
I read a comment in a shoeing book once about turning up your trouser leg and dropping the clinched off ends of the nails in the cuff so that they didnt litter the client site and puncture tyres.
Seemed like a good idea and works really well untill thos little 3/4" bit of nail finish up stopping the extraction pump of the washing machine.
Dave
Happy birthday John. A very full and useful reply, thanks for all the information. I didn't realize that the LN mitre plane blade did not traverse the full sole width. Enjoy the plane and the shirt, maybe they're to keep you being a good boy and to remind you that it pays to be good.
Another article on shooting boards that may be of interest is this one I wrote for the Old Tools forum:
http://www.wkfinetools.com/MUTools/shootBoard/index.asp
Below is a picture of the ramped shooting board in the article. The top image has my original fixed fence. This was later replaced by a micro-adjustable fence, seen in the second image.
View Image
Regards from Perth
Derek
G'day Derek
Nice board and write up. I particularly like the adjustable fence and how we seem to put lots of effort into our first work but the mods are done to get the job done.
Have you found that some ability to adjust for wear on the fence would be useful? And similarly, did you elongate the mitre attachment hole a bit for fine fitting?
My current ramped shooting board was knocked up from ply, and sags in the middle of the ramp, making it not all that useful, the full length wedges on yours certainly stop that. Also, do you have some sort of rest for the long end. Last time I was using mine was on some 19*200*850 maontain ash. The weoght of this was such that I had to prop up the tailing end to do the wok, but not having a matching ramp o the rpop made height adjust difficult.
dave
Have you found that some ability to adjust for wear on the fence would be useful?
Hi Dave
One of the reasons for a (micro-) adjustable fence is that it can be re-set after wear on the board. For example, I inadvertantly used a too-deep blade projection with one plane and this planed away more of the sidewall of the runway than I wanted. As a result I needed to use a shoulder plane to reduce the depth of the side fence (I hope this makes sense to you). Then the main fence needed to be reset as well. Well this is much easier when you can just re-adjust the angle slightly.
And similarly, did you elongate the mitre attachment hole a bit for fine fitting?
It is not necessary to do this as the mitre attachment is tuned via the micro-adjustable main fence. In other words, you can dial in the angle exactly, give or take about 5 degrees each way. This would not be possible with a fixed mitre- or straight fence.
As I mentioned in the article, I do not like using shims (unless they are for custom angles).
Regards from Perth
Derek
In the white mountain desig, there is a separate "sub-fence" attached to the permanent fence by screws. It would be very easy (and accurate) to either remove and plane the sub-fence, or shim it to achieve high accuracy.The sub-fence seems a much more convenient idea than the traditional (must-be-accurate) sliding dovetail. BugBear
Hi Derek,
A very useful article. Many thanks. I am flying to Perth WA this evening from Canberra for a conference and a visit to my son and grandkids. Please save some good weather for me.
Hi Hermes
You are welcome to drop by for a beer, a chat and some shavings. I am in Rossmoyne which is quite central (south side of the city, on the Canning River).
Regards from Perth
Derek
[email protected]
Tel. 9457 4105
Best shooting board write up I know:
http://www.whitemountdesign.com/ShootingBoard.htm
BugBear
Great article. Many thanks.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled