Best material for a shooting board?

[JR1]

I built a small shooting board with ¾" MDF on ply base and it's OK. But I'm building a larger board using the 24" Veritas® Shooting Board Track and want something better than MDF. I'll likely use BB for the base but would like something lighter and not easily dinged instead of MDF.

[Admiral]

I used 3/4 cabinet grade domestic plywood, with cherry top fence and runner for the chute slot. Dead on. I really don't think it matters much what you use, just not Chinese ply.

[cputnam]

I used some left over maple veneer ply for both layers with an 18" Veritas track. I'm going to build another board - only set up for miters this time. Whatever ply I have will be used for the base and maybe the top or maybe MDF. I consider shooting boards to be precision instruments so I try not to ding them up.

[Steve N]

You provided the link. Did you look at the page? It has both written, and video instruction for how to build a board with the rails you linked to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPBPWUl7KM

For a guy who gets every bit of woodworking knowledge he has from Google, you don't do well at it.

BTW the answer is 1/2 BB plywood, 2 thicknesses.

[Peter Tremblay]

My $0.02 is that the materials don't really matter so long as they are seasonably stable.

Scrap cabinet ply or even MDF would be fine.

[AHill]

BB is fine. That's the material I used for my base. My fence is also BB, faced with hard maple. My fence is removable and therefore replaceable.

[Bibliophile 13]

Any good-quality plywood works just fine.

Heck, even a good, stable hardwood could work okay. I've seen a really nice one made entirely from mahogany off-cuts.

[Derek Cohen]

JR1 said:

---

I built a small shooting board with ¾" MDF on ply base and it's OK. But I'm building a larger board using the 24" Veritas® Shooting Board Track and want something better than MDF. I'll likely use BB for the base but would like something lighter and not easily dinged instead of MDF.

---

Don't bother unless it is Jarrah ...



... except if you can make it out of cast iron ...





Seriously, you can build a shooting board out of anything, and it will work if constructed carefully. However, if you really want a shooting board that is a pleasure to use and will last, treat the venture as fine furniture and construct if from a decent hardwood. Keep the design simple, make the fence adjustable (because they wear and go out-of-square). Try to use quarter sawn woods if you can (the base of the one above is quarter sawn Tasmanian Oak). An alternative is to use veneered plywood lined with hardwood on the edges that will take the knocks and wear. That will be very stable, and can look the part.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[JR1]

Thanks everyone! The installation instructions don't specify a material, although the video looks like they used ply. Colombia forest products is ½", BB ply is 12mm so it should work. I'm going to take Dereck's advise and put a hardwood edge on it after I try an experiment in the way I build it. If it works I will post pics if not I will make it conventionally and post pics.

Hopefully it will warm up above freezing so I can give it a try soon. Tanks again!