The full-scale Veritas Shooting Plane with its adjustable mouth is a superb shooting plane. But at 7-3/4 pounds and just under 16″ long it’s overkill for trimming small, thin, narrow stock. Model makers, small box crafters and the like are going to love the new Veritas miniature shooting plane, a fully functional 1:3-scale version of it’s big brother.

Like all Veritas hand planes, the fit and finish on this mini shooter are perfect. It’s made of stainless steel with a walnut tote and incorporates a Norris-style blade adjustment mechanism. Southpaws will understandably be a bit miffed – the mini shooter is only availably in a right-handed version.

You can purchase the plane separately for $95, but for an additional $14 I recommend you get the set, which includes a shooting board with an extruded aluminum track – you really can’t use the plane without a shooting board. Besides, it’s going to cost you more than $14 in materials and time to make  your own shooting board. The plane comes in a handy storage case though I use the plane so frequently I keep the plane on a small shelf above my workbench.

For shooting planes more mass is better, particularly when trimming cross grain. But at only 5-5/16″ long and 5-1/4 ounces in weight this mini shooter is almost feather-light. Fortunately because it’s used primarily for thin narrow stock, its light weight isn’t much of an issue.

The base and shoulder are at a perfect 90° and the mouth is skewed 20°. The thickest piece of stock you can trim with this plane is 11/16″.

The bevel-up blade and skewed angle, coupled with a low 36° effective cutting angle makes it easy to push the plane and creates a smooth finish on your stock.

The Norris-style blade adjuster, which has a single arm to move the blade laterally and vertically, works beautifully. The only issue I find is that because the adjuster knob is so small, it’s a tad finnicky to maintain the blade parallel to the mouth while manipulating the adjuster. It helps to keep a finger pressed down on the lever cap as you adjust the blade forward or backward.

By the way, the toe locking knob, which on the full-size model enables you to adjust the mouth opening, is just for show on the mini shooter – the mouth isn’t adjustable. The other item on the full-size model that you won’t find on this plane are the setscrews that prevent sideways movement of the blade if it encounters any difficult grain during heavy trimming.

A small Allen screw in the base of the handle enables you to rotate the handle to any position. There is no ‘right’ handle position – choose one that suits your hand best.

I’ve been using the mini shooter for several months and find that I get better control of the plane by exerting pressure on the top of the plane, keeping my thumb against the blade adjuster knob, and not using the handle.

The shooting board has an aluminum track that holds the plane against the side of the platform. Before using the plane I had to adjust the track in order for the plane to glide smoothly along the full length of the track. Just loosen one or more of the 3 screws that hold the track in place and adjust until the plane slides smoothly. Also, the wooden fence extended slightly over the track and needed to be shaved back a tad. Not a big deal as both procedures are painless and take all of 90 seconds.

If you do much in the way of small work, then the Veritas miniature shooting plane & board set is well worth considering. It’s well made, does an efficient job, and is plain fun to use.