I have been using my shooting board a lot the past week.  It was becoming hard on my hand because of a lack of handle.  You just kind of grip the side and push.  After a while that starts to hurt.  Some of the more expensive planes made for this purpose have an angled handle, or a “hot dog” handle near the middle of the plane.  I decided to make one that sits in the middle of the plane.

I took a chunk of maple I had sitting around and got to work tracing out the shape of the plane onto the wood.  The edges of the trace were chopped out to allow for pairing with a chisel.  This is one of the many times that I wish I had a router plane.  Maybe next year.  With the center area cleaned out I cut out the handle and did some rough shaping.  The plane sits well in the cut out pocket, and with a strip screwed down across the back, It feels very solid.  I can still get the blade in and out even with the handle installed.  I might continue to shape the handle for comfort as I use it.  Otherwise, it is a huge improvement over the nothing I had before.

Trace

Chop down the edges

pare down the center area

Cleaned up and cut out

A little shaping to fit my hand

The plane sits well insde

A small brace helps hold it in place

A nice beefy handle for my big hands