October 14 Meeting: Build a Shooting Board

Saturday, October 14, 2023
831 Broadway Avenue
McKees Rocks, PA 15136
Virtual Meeting Available
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Meeting Agenda

Meeting Date: October 14, 2023

9:30 AM Doors open
10:00 AM Presentation
12:00 PM Meeting ends

A basic end-grain shooting board is a jig to assist in accurately trimming and squaring the ends of a board. It is very helpful for hand tool users and handy for power tool users as well, especially when working with small or thin pieces.

During our October meeting, we will teach you how to use and build a shooting board. Our goal is for you to walk out of the meeting with a new jig that will improve the accuracy of your woodworking. All the wood will be provided pre-cut by WPW, and we will assemble it during the meeting. 

To participate, please bring the following items:

·         A sharp and well-tuned hand plane. The sides should ideally be at a 90° angle to the sole. Ensure your blade is super sharp ahead of time. Please note that a plane with the blade reaching the edge, such as a rabbet or shoulder plane, will not work well for this project. Suitable planes for this purpose include bench planes numbered 4 to 8 (number 5 is a good choice), a low-angle jack plane, or even a block plane if you don’t have a larger plane. Please don’t let the absence of a “sharp and well-tuned hand plane” stop you from participating in this hands-on meeting project. Even if your plane is dull (or you don’t own a plane), please join us to build a shooting board, take it home, and then when your plane is sharp, give it a try. There will be plenty of sharp planes at the meeting, and when you see what they can do with a shooting board, it may motivate you to get equipped to use your own.

·         A couple of pieces of scrap wood to test your newly built shooting board.

·         A square.

·         A standard Phillips head screwdriver.

During the meeting, we will discuss many variations of shooting boards. This basic model we will build together will serve as a springboard, or in this case, a shooting board, for you to explore and pursue those other variations.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting! Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your woodworking skills.

Please indicate if you would like to attend this meeting and build a shooting board so that we know how much material to prepare by sending a confirmation email to IWantToBuildAShootingBoard@gmail.com .