Home made shooting jig

Another craftsman-made design from Colin Sullivan, this time a nice modification that makes a standard S/S plane into a much more useable shooting plane, much like the Record T5, but perhaps with a better handle. Colin writes:

The main weakness with an ordinary shoot board is the way the plane can easily be tipped over and spoil the stop. To overcome this I have given the plane a sliding track section it fits into. Now the plane can be pulled and pushed with out the need to hold it up against the work. The sliding section is 3mm thick ply profiled to fit the plane and fixed to another piece of the same ply underneath. The lower piece of ply runs in two guides. The plane I use is a no.6.5 which is quite heavy giving the momentum required. To make things easier I have added a vertical handle to the plane, which is simply attached by a peg that fits in the curve of the plane handle. Another refinement would be to make the guide runner thick enough to take a couple of thin magnets to hold down the plane even more securely. This jig is not only simple to make but easy to use and more reliable than the normal one. The Tools and Trades History Society has a wonderful tool Museum at Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre where I can demonstrate various tools and jigs I have made. I have a working drawing of this jig I will pass onto any one who wants to make one.