October 14 Meeting: Build a Shooting Board

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

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Date: October 14, 2023

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

RSVP link if you want to build a shooting board: IWantToBuildAShootingBoard@gmail.com

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. 

If you have the following on hand, please bring:

• A sharp bench plane like any Stanley or Stanley-like plane from No. 3 to No. 8 or, if that isn’t available, a block plane. The blade must not be reaching all the way to the sides like a shoulder plane.

• Some scrap pieces of wood—a couple of varying thicknesses between ¼” to ¾” would be ideal

• A try square or an accurate rafter square

• A medium Phillips head screwdriver

• A battery-operated or manual drill with drill bits

• A countersink bit

During the meeting, we will discuss 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.

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 .

Please don’t let the absence of a “sharp and well-tuned hand plane” or other tools 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 use your own.

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