Official Luthiers Forum!

I want to make a shooting board and I'm looking to see if any of you have a nice design for one . Perhaps a quick way of clamping the plates down or something that would help with shooting top and back plates. I'm looking for some ideas.

Here is mine, no handy hold down for jointing tops and backs, i just hold them down with my free hand, although i have thought a lot about making some quick clamping jobbie for a while. I like this design, it is like the bench hook Todd Stock posted, except it has an L shaped hook, so that it hooks on to a corner of a bench from the side and back end, that way it doesn't move around on you while planing. Some improvements would be ramping the board so that more of the plane iron was used and for a skew cut, and a hold down like you talked about.

_________________
Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

I do mine a bit different. I move the wood not the plane. Plane is held down by a few toggles, and is registered off a few blocks for alignment. Made from Phenolic faced plywood for smoothness/slickness. Plane is a Lie Nielsen #7

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

100% free hand here, I just put and press the plates on a squared and smoothed neck blank (overhanging by half inch or so). I guess a good plane is the most important part of the process; a nice shooting board is cool, but not a necessity.

_________________
Build log

Mine's about as simple as they come. Coupla strokes with the little #4, a few more with an old Craftsman that's about a #5 (surprisingly good plane, BTW). Very easy, quick and cheap.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Pat, why do you use two planes?

_________________
Aoibeann

I drill a couple of holes through the outside corners of the plates through a piece of MDF that is clamped to the bench. Tap a couple of dowels into the holes and the plates register in the same location each time. Just a couple of minutes to set it up.

_________________
Gabriel Regalbuto
Carlsbad, California
Freedom 35!

The only hold down you need is your hand or your hand on a piece of ply or mdf. The trouble with clamping things down is you have to undo the whole thing to check the joint, then put it back together again. Maybe it's just me but I rarely nail it on the first try. At the thicknesses guitar backs and tops are when we join them they shouldn't be too floppy or wavy and need much of a hold down. More important than a hold down is some kind of end stop and some kind of support at the back. With a support or stop at the back you can take your wood check the joint and put it back on the shooting board and register it perfectly with out having to line up edges. This makes it easy to shoot the edge, check it, put it back and shoot again, check and so forth. I did a post a month or so back about making a simple but effective board. Also ramped boards are cool but you don't need one to shoot one or two joints. Your plane iron will stay sharp long enough to join a top and back or two.
Link

_________________
Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Chris,
Here is the link: http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=22032

_________________
Cut to size.....Beat to fit.....Paint to match.

Thanks Link, I don't know how I missed that one. I'm getting a pretty good idea of what I'll make. I also saw another board today where they just had another strip of wood in place of your pins.

Link's is fantastic. I'd like one similar someday with the addition of the ramp Jordan mentioned. For now I clamp them on top of a scrap top just to raise them, and use my #5.

Lillian,

Couple reasons.

The little one is lighter and I use it to sort of "pick and choose" the high spots. It's set up for a bit more of a bite, though still small. The #5 is the no-brainer. It's set up to barely make a shaving, and in two passes, if I hear the sssssss the full length of the stroke, it tells me I have a straight edge and I'm done. I could do with just the #4, but the #5 gives me an extra margin of comfort.

Also, I try to use different height pieces on the bottom so that different parts of the planes' irons get used, rather than the one part of the iron that would always make the cut if I always had a piece of 3/4" on the bottom.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

John,

With your setup, moving the wood, do you do both halves of the plate at the same time?

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I also use 2 planes like Pat. I have 1 #5 set-up to take a a few swipes first to get pretty close, then another #5 set-up to take a minimal shaving. I am a beginner, and so far I have been able to join backs and sides pretty well. Seems to work for me.

Glenn

Well I have an inside source that Todd Stock will possible have a video of a shooting board and it's use by Monday. I think this is one of the subjects that shoud have been addressed for some time. The only other ones I've seen have been on the jointer and I haven't had all that much luck with a jointer and it can start to remove a lot fast. I'm thinking the jointer needs to be setup pretty good to get good results.

Filippo: Forgive the ignorant question, but how are you getting the plane flush/square to the granite plate? I assume you're using bench dogs to lock everything down, but I'm puzzled by the other. I too have a nice, flat granite plate and would like to try what you're doing. Could you clarify? Thanks.

Bill

_________________
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

yes I do.

_________________
John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Thanks, John.

Pat

_________________
formerly known around here as burbank
_________________

http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I've used a jointer for backs/tops and you're right. The jointer has to be set up just right with sharp blades and, in my limited experience, they barely do the job as well as I want. When set up for this they are not too useful for normal jointer work until you readjust to take a deeper cut which messes up the setting for backs/tops. Next batch for me will be with a shooting board.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Well, After gathering some of your ideas I broke down and whipped on together today with parts I had laying around the shop. It has a front hook that hangs under the front that also butts against my vise or I can secure it in the vise too. The back fence is adjustable. I had a piece of track left over from my router table. I figure it can be used as a bench hook too and I can make a 45 degree piece that can bolt down to the track too for miters. I could probably slide the fence up and put some wet stones there to . Made from Malamine.

I can't wait to see the things you come up with in the future, Chris.

I think I have a quick way to clamp down the edge to allow for two hands use if need be. I'll sleep on it tonight and post if I make it.

I get them close with a jointer. Then I put them between 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood clamped to my bench and use a 24" level with 120 grit adhesive sandpaper on the edge of the level.

_________________
I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

Thanks Pat. That makes sense.

_________________
Aoibeann

Very nice, and well worth the wait, I'm sure!

I've been using a jointer. The most important element in getting a jointer to provide good results is practice. Then more practice.

If I ever feel the need to make a shooting board, its going to look a lot like this one.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/