Shooting Board

The shooting board task is to allow planing a piece square to the surface that rests on the table. There are various models, with different building solutions. The board I am proposing is useful for planing and square end grain sides or to finish a 45° angle, such as is necessary for frame assembling. As the shooting board fundamental characteristic is plan and angle accuracy, using pre-worked material can be convenient.

I used lamellar beech, but plywood is a good alternative. For the base I used a 3 cm thick board, while the plan upon which the

workpiece is held is 2 cm thick. The length is about 60 cm, width about 25 cm. The support board is narrower to make room for the plane side.

After screwing the upper board to the base, I installed two holders (3 x 4 cm section) that will serve for workpiece supporting. Their precise positioning is critical for proper shooting board working. The pieces are screwed flush with the upper board edges and have an elongated hole at the rear to allow a fine angle adjustment. Place the two holders to exactly 90 and 45 degrees respect to the sliding edge. Chamfer the holder rear edges (not that one where the piece rests) in order to prevent their damage when the plane will produce the first shots.

Another holder is placed under the board so that it can be hooked to the workbench and/or locked in the vice. In my case I have used two holders, so I can firmly held the board between the vice and the bench well. A useful operation will be to cut a groove at the plan intersection in order to collect chips and dust and avoiding problems with plane sliding.

The first shots will remove some shavings from the sliding side, but only until the lateral sole portion under the blade will not come in contact with the edge.

Stanley 113

The Stanley 113 is a plane for planing curved surfaces. It has a flexible sole, able to assume a concave or convex shape, with a variable radius regulated by turning a large knob. A toothed gear mechanism guarantees the correct sole movement. The #113 iron is identical to the Stanley #3 one, the size being 1 3 / 4 " (4.4 cm).

The lever cap and the cap iron are different from those of #3, so you need pay  attention to this detail when buying it. My # 113 was in good condition, just a lot of surface rust. I proceeded to disassemble the plane into its parts and treat them with a  vinegar bath.The flexible sole should be dropped from the metal arms using a punch.
 
The sole is welded to a dovetail shaped piece; it fits in the body plane. To take it apart I first lubricated with a descaler (WD40) and then gently hammered it using a punch of a suitable form (for the purpose I used a more little hammer, placing a smaller cardboard piece to protect from blows;  alternatively you can use a wood piece of  suitable form).








 If your sole does not want to move, better  stop the action for avoiding damages to the cast iron parts, very difficult to repair! A common #113 defect  is a mismatch between the iron seat  and the mouth.
The blade  does not not rest properly  and could create problems in planing (chattering). To solve this problem, I simply added a 

 

couple of shims (business cards are great)  on the plane seat. The flexible sole should be free from rust. Use sandpaper attached to a flat surface, paying particular attention to the mouth area. The plane must be used with straight shots following the workpiece horizontal axis.  It is also useful for the chamfer job.

 

    




  

Safety Loop

 

When we use a block plane with one hand for planing a piece held in the grip, there is the risk of tripping on the edge and see the plane flying to the floor, almost always with tragic consequences for our tool.

Of course precautions are taken only after having experienced the event and so my vintage #9 1 / 2  has experienced how hard the lab floor is! Fortunately, the body plane was not damaged: the only consequence was the cap lever breaking.

I had the idea for the problem solution from Nintendo Wii remote to wich I removed the safety loop and secured it in the slot created by the mouth regulating lever. In other block plane models it can also be secured directly around the front knob

It does not interfere with the planing action  and avoid any danger of falling.