Mini shooting board

Never mind its look, because it’s made from scraps. It works great, though, and even if it’s not made of very durable materials, it should last for a while. I wanted to see if I need one, and how does it improve my work? I used MDF, plywood and some off-cuts to make it. All glued together, reinforced with nails. A simple jig, used in combination with a block plane to trim and square up ends of boards. I think it does the job, can be quickly pulled out for a project and easily stored on a shelf. It was also very inexpensive to make, if not free! Good.

I started by cutting all parts to size using my table saw. I used some scrap, but flat plywood, MDF from disassembled children’s toys and other off-cuts I had on hand. Once cut, I gave them a quick sanding and glued together the top and lower bases. It dried overnight, as the glue I used was a slow-drying adhesive with a longer assembly time. On the next day, I nailed down the hook (using glue as well), and then moved on to the stop. I clamped it at a perfect 90º angle, pre-drilled holes and again nailed everything together using some glue.

I sanded all the pencil marks and applied some wax to the sub-base lip. That way, it was all done and ready to go.

It worked well. I was able to square up small parts quickly, and accurately. It should work for bigger pieces too, but I wanted to have something small and portable to work with tiny parts. Sometimes I like using hand tools and having the job done without tons of dust and relatively quiet. I also like small and quick projects from time to time, projects that can be completed in one afternoon or so. This is one of them, and thanks to it, I can complete other projects faster.