I’ve been looking at various designs for shooting boards that incorporate aluminum rails or a strip of HDPE to reduce friction.
I’m wondering if anyone has ever used 3/4 HDPE to make all the components of a shooting board. It’s absolutely flat, never warps and very low friction. I’ve used it for other projects, but this is just an idea I’m contemplating.
Thanks,
Mike
Replies
I never thought about it. Mine is all wood, and it works just fine. I've never had a desire for anything fancier.
Never thought to try it, but I'd love to see it if you build it. Does the material wear at all? I've used UHMW a fw times, is it similar?
^^^^
I've never worked with UHMW plastic, so not well versed in the differences. HDPE is easy to cut and machine and is very durable in marine applications, but I'm not sure how it would hold up to concentrated friction like running a shooting plane repeatedly over the same track.
The LV track is the easy solution, but I'm not sure I want to run a nice shooting plane against metal, even with anti-friction tape applied. Doesn't seem like a very nice way to treat tools.
Maybe make a simple 90° track and test it before you commit.
I wouldn't want slippery plastic for where the wood sits, or the fence. You want those grippier.
I was also considering that as a potential pitfall to the idea. I guess Lee Valley wouldn't recommend their aluminum track to be used with their $350 plane if it was going to damage it.
Now, just to get their shooting plane back in stock. It seems to be on an infinite rolling backorder with the date getting kicked out multiple times.
I used UHMW on a previous board. HDPE is only truly flat if milled that way; just as extrusions are sorta straight, plastics are sorta flat. If your material has been milled, rock on.
IT seems to me that making a whole shooting board out of HDPE will be an expensive proposition that won't really gain you much. I made my shooting board from wood, the old fashioned way. My plane track is a shallow cavity that guides my dedicated shooting plane on three sides. I placed strips of UHMWPE tape on the bottom of the track and it's as slick as snot on a doorknob. I could line the sides too but wouldn't gain anything. The good news is that every component on the board is re-manufacturable and renewable using basic tools and materials.
Slick as snot on a door knob? That’s quite an expression. Do you have first hand knowledge of how slick that would be? And is it wet or dry snot? Brings to mind Monty Python and the hoy grail, the whole laden or unladen swallow :-)