Quote Originally Posted by Dr.Al View Post
That's interesting to hear. I think it's very likely that I first heard of a shooting board from someone in England just because of where I live, but I wasn't aware of how it's more common in the UK than in the US.

It can't be that rare in the US though: I think of Lie Nielsen as an all-American tool maker and they sell a dedicated shooting board plane.


Wood by Wright is an American woodworker who has a few videos about shooting boards too:

...

I'm pretty sure I've seen Canadian youtubers Rob Cosman and Tom Fidgen using them too, so definitely not just UK.
I didn't learn about them until I was a (nominal) adult. But there weren't any fine woodworkers in my family. Mostly rough carpenters. Sometimes very rough!

I have a book on woodworking jigs and fixtures that I bought after I arrived here in Oklahoma, about 26 years ago, that was my introduction to a lot of techniques for fine woodworking. Pretty sure that book is where I learned about shooting boards, though it might have been Fine Woodworking magazine. Mind you, I took a woodworking class in high school, about 50 years ago, but it was mostly power-tool oriented. Had to buy our own wood, mostly, unless we could find something in the scrap pile. My class project was a pigeon-hole cabinet made of 1/4" plywood, that being all my family could afford to buy me. Last I saw it, my dad was still using it in his workshop, but he passed in 2014, and I've not been home since well before that. Did also make a cutting board from ash and black walnut scraps. Step-mom was still using it, also last time I was home. Laminated blocks in alternating colors, about 2" thick, and maybe 10x16 inches. And that was probably made in 1972. That was also my last attempt at fine woodworking. I read the book, grabbed a few ideas from it, but I was mostly rebuilding walls and such, not making furniture. Or even cutting boards.

Bill