Offcut Shooting Board

I've wanted to make a shooting board for some time now and finally got around to making one. This was made from offcuts I had lying around the shed. The only part I had to buy was the Formica which I picked up from a recycling centre for five dollars.

A shooting board is used to square up the end grain of a board with a hand plane. It's really just a jig for a plane! The backstop of the shooting board also supports the workpiece and prevents the back from tearing out.

1. Offcut of Formica or old shelf
2. MDF or Plywood
3. Bits of timber
4. Wood Screws
5. PVA Glue
6. Sandpaper
7. Hand Plane
8. Drill
9. Knife

The first part to cut out is the 'slide' that the plane runs on. If possible get an offcut of some formica or an old bookshelf, the smooth surface but you can just use another piece of timber. I also cut a second piece of MDF the same size as I wanted to make sure the shooting board was solid.

Now cut out the top piece that your work will sit on, and make sure the edge next to the slide is as straight as possible.

Lastly, use a plane to cut a small chamfer on the bottom edge of the top board, this will create a small gutter for any dust or shavings and will prevent them from moving the plane out of square when using the shooting board.

One of the most important things before gluing or painting is to prep the surface and that really true if you're trying to glue a smooth surface like the piece of formica.

Make sure you mark the formica with a pencil so you don't score that surface!

I used a Stanley knife to score both sides of the formica and then roughed it up with some coarse sandpaper. I also gave the MDF boards a quick sand and wiped them down to make sure there was no dust anywhere.

Now apply some glue to both boards and clamp the parts together and allow everything to dry. Once the glue had dried I removed the clamps and used a block plane to smooth the edges and make them flush. I then gave everything a quick sand to make sure there were no sharp edges.

I recently cleaned out my shed and threw out all the little pieces of wood I thought I would no longer need, but I should have kept more. I did find one board that I ripped into two pieces with a handsaw and then glued and clamped so I had a decent block to use for the backstop.

I then cut it to length and a bevel on the backside.

Now you just need to mark out and drill the holes in the backstop, I also used a countersink bit to countersink the holes.

For the bench hook I just used a strip of thick plywood and planned the edges straight. Once again drill and countersink the holes.

Make sure you mount the backstop perfectly square, to do this I clamped my square into place. Now apply some glue and carefully screw the backstop into place.

The end of the backstop should be slightly over the edge, don't worry we'll trim this later.

Now repeat the same process on the underside for the benchhook, though it's not as important to keep this perfectly square.

I used some longer screws for the thicker side and a couple of shorter ones on the thin side. Make sure you don't screw all the way through and damage the surface of the slide.

While a shooting board is a pretty old and simple tool there are a few fancy modifications that people make, but my own twist on this was to add a few 20mm holes for an adjustable bench dog. This will help clamp the workpiece in place, though it's fine to just hold it.

Now to take care of the small overhang on the backstop just run the plane along the edge until it's flush. It's important that this is flush as it helps support the workpiece and prevent tear out.

To use the shooting board lay it onto your workbench and secure the workpiece into place with the adjustable bench dog. Now lay your hand plane onto its side and slide it back and forth over your workpiece until it's flush.

Make sure your plane is sharp!

You can use any hand plane, but a heavier model works best. I don't have one of the fancy expensive shooting plans but I made an adaptor to rotate the handle, but that's not required.

This is a great way to make sure your work is perfectly square without having to buy expensive electric tools.