Official Luthiers Forum!

Do you have a favorite shop tool/technique/shortcut, that you feel would benefit others ? I built 3 shooting boards last winter to accomplish 3 seperate tasks. Board 1 is for shooting and crosscutting fingerboards, Board 2 is for shooting the edges of backs and tops. Board 3 is for sides. For the small veneers on board 1, I use a razor saw or dozuki , to shoot edges a lie nelson large shoulder plane or small 12 deg block plane. For long edges a bevel up 14 in plane. Previously I just mounted everything in a large record vice, or wide woodcraft vice and went at it with a homemade 18 in try plane =#6. It took me a long time to make the transition to using the shooting boards , but eventually I got the hang of it and prefer to use it for milling thin stock.Plans for these shooting boards are in Bogdanovich/s video and books.