Shooting board wear

[Mister S]

A couple of weeks ago I made a 45 degree shooting board, nothing fancy, just using some scrap I had lying around. The base was MDF which seemed ok at first. But after only a couple of weeks of use, it seems the MDF on the "runway" has worn, so the plane sole no longer sits at 90 degrees to the work, it has moved a couple of degrees. The runway on the opposite side, which I haven't used much yet, is still spot on.

I suppose I can tilt the blade to compensate, but this is just a temporary fix. I will need to change the base board.

So my question is, have I been unlucky, or is MDF simply not up yo the job? Should I be thinking of using plywood instead?

Maybe in an attempt to avoid tilting the plane into the work, I have put too much pressure on the opposite side?

Any ideas?

Steve

 

[TheTiddles]

The quality of the MDF will make a difference but generally, I'd say no, it will last a while but not a long time. Try using some thin plastic for the runways

Aidan

 

[Eric The Viking]

I've got melamine faced chipboard on mine (coz I'm a skinflint!), but it works very well, especially if I polish it with machine wax as well. Melamine is staggeringly hard wearing as long as you don't let it get gritty.

E.

 

[Mister S]

Thanks for that.

I have some melamine faced chipboard (I never throw anything away!). I'll try that tomorrow.

Steve

 

[woodbloke]

The quality of the MDF will make a difference but generally, I'd say no, it will last a while but not a long time. Try using some thin plastic for the runways

Aidan

A bit of acrylic plastic (Perspex) is also good - Rob

 

[Alf]

My experience is solely with rather unexceptional far eastern ply and wax; works okay. Might be worth checking the front edges of the sides of your plane aren't sharp and acting a tad blade-like though, 'cos that seems pretty speedy wear to me.

 

[Paul Chapman]

My shooting boards are made from MDF, which I wax occasionally. I've had no problems with them wearing and they've had a lot of use.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Benchwayze]

The quality of the MDF will make a difference but generally, I'd say no, it will last a while but not a long time. Try using some thin plastic for the runways

Aidan

+1 for the plastic/nylon :wink:

 

[Mister S]

Thanks for all the advice. I have some perspex sheet as well as the melamine faced board. I might try both, one on my 45 degree board, and one on my 90 degree one.

I really didn't expect my waxed MDF to wear so quickly, so I'm not surprised to hear that others have used it successfully.

Alf, you might have a point. The plane is a LV BU jack. The edges aren't too sharp, but neither are they rounded over. I suppose it's possible the edge could be acting like a scraper with a 90 degree angle. I might try just easing the edge ever so slightly.

Hopefully my next incarnation of boards will be a bit longer lasting!

Steve