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What do you use, and how do you ready your top and back plates for joining?

I use a shooting board, which I've just redesigned, along with a 19" squared and trued tubing, with 100g psa sandpaper.

Part of the problem with my old shooting board was clamping evenly and quickly, plus it wasn't long enough.

I made a new board that's 24" long. I installed a strip of wood which the boards being readied, lay against, to ensure that the boards being readied, are always lined up the same. I also installed a secondary strip, that's 24" long, and 1 1/4" wide, which I've put 2 bolts with wingnuts, which easily clamps my work.

The shooting board is wider, so that I can easily accommodate wide boards, but I keep a long strip of wood, so that if I have wood that's much narrower, I simply slide a piece behind it, pushing the narrow boards out. In fact, if you look at the photo, you'll see a white strip of wood, that I've placed behind the rosewood, because the rosewood was a bit narrow.

I found the tubing on eBay. It's guaranteed to be within .0001" flat on all sides.

If my jigs look a little ragged, it's because I use whatever scrap wood I have laying around.

I use a #7 plane (22" jointer), then follow with a block plane to finalize. Sharp sharp.
Ed

I use a #6 Stanley (18" fore), then follow with a block plane, like Ed, or finish with 400 grit sandpaper attached on a granite surface plate.

-d.

Shooting board, usually a #5 plane, and sand paper attached to the side of a long aluminum level.........works quite well.
Diane, I like the idea you have there to clamp your stacked back and tops down while planing.......I'd like to steal that idea :)

You won't be stealing Kevin. I started this thread with the hole that we could all find elements that we could use in each other's methods.

I would like to use one of my planes, but I think I need the shooting board longer, so I have more area to lay the plane really flat before it touches the edge of the wood. I tip the plane too easy, when I start to shoot. I don't have that issue with the aluminum bar and sandpaper.

DIane

I longer guide will help, but it can be done with more practice. I just use a piece of 3/4" plywood (any thickness over 1/4" will do) laid on the bench with the plate on top, then use the bench as the guide for the plane. With this method, you are relying a bit more on technique and the length of the plane than on a guide like in a shoot board. Best to be dead square at the edge, but because the plates are so thin, a tiny bit off is no problem:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ruby1638/ ... 776959267/

Ed

Thank you Ed.