Help with Identification

It’s use for leveling the bottoms of wood-mounted photo engravings.

I’ve always referred to them as “a Shooting Board or a Shooting Board Plane.” We have one here at the museum that came to us from a wood engraver who used it to square up end grain blocks. It’s pretty common for larger wood engravings to be made from a bunch of smaller blocks glued together, and a shooting board is really the best tool to fine tune squareness and fit up.

They are also pretty common in fine woodworking shops, although boards made for woodworking typically have built in options for common miter angles, printers generally stick to right angles. Woodworking boards are also generally made of wood and are light and storable, something you pull out when you need it, and not something kept permanently on the bench. The cast iron printers boards are comically overbuilt for most woodworkers.

Here is a blog with an old catalog entry for a saw/shooting board combo. (https://bringbackthehandtools.blogspot.com/2014/02/unique-shoot-board-pl...) This is how I understand their most common use in a printing office, as a finishing pass to compliment a type saw. We have a small CNC router here at the museum that we use to make extra or replacement wood type sorts. We typically leave a little extra margin around the letterform and sort of sneak up on it with the shooting board until the letterform is flush with the block.

I totally think it’s worth donating. I’m not sure where you’re located but I’d look for anyone doing wood engraving or woodcut relief printmaking and start there. It might also be a good fit if your local college has a printshop in their art/design program. I’ve helped a few schools setup cnc wood type operations similar to what we do at the museum, and a shooting board like this would be an awesome addition.

If you’re in the New York/ New Jersey area, I might be able to connect you, just let me know!

Very nice shooting board set! I’m sure a museum might be quite interested in one for donation. Normally I’d recommend Hamilton, but perhaps not with things lately.

I’ve always hoped to find one and try it out, but they’re expensive. Lovely piece sir!

Here’s a photo of the “Improved Shoot-Board” page from a 1930s Ostrander Seymour catalog (No. 23). The shoot-board you have may be an older model since there are clear differences in the plane…and this one is called “Improved”.
Hopefully photo works otherwise I will resend.
-Bob P. in WI

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Greg, if you let us know whereabouts you live, we can give suggestions on places to donate. I’m sure shipping it would be kinda pricey, looks like it’s cast iron.

Brent

Thank you all for your comments-quite helpful. What a great group! You are right about his being very heavy and likely not easily shipped. The tool is in the Detroit area. I live in Southern California and only get back to Michigan every few months. There are a couple museums in the Detroit area that have historic print shops (that I know of)- Troy Historic Village and the much more famous Greenfield Village. I’ll give them a try. These demonstration print shops could be from an older period but it doesn’t hurt to try. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.