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Details of my wooden try square

February 5, 2010 By

During a recent weekend I found myself with a little “free” time. Not wanting to just be idle, I decided to make a large wooden try square; I had read about them in several places, and the idea sounded attractive. I wanted to be able to use the large square  on large assemblies; of particular interest was its reported lighter weight, compared to my rosewood and brass try square. Because I had abundant  scrap maple around the shop, I used it for a prototype square.

I recalled seeing a nice try square in Moxon’s The Art of Joinery (commentary by Christopher Schwarz); I even wrote a short entry some time ago. Armed with this information, I proceeded to fashion my version of the square on the following photo, and even gave the handle an ogee pattern of my own design:

Photo by Al Navas.

However, I forgot the details. A few pages before the photo above was the following image (rats! – did I put the ogee on the wrong side of the handle?):

Photo by Al Navas.

The following photo of a modern square in the Woodworking magazine blog reinforced what I wanted to do (is it the same square as in the Moxon book? I believe it is!) – notice that the cavetto (thanks for the correction, Chris!) cyma recta (ogee) tapers toward the inside of the handle (from Schwarz’s My Favorite Try Square, in this article):

Credit: Christopher Schwarz, Woodworking Magazine blog.

Sure enough, I put the ogee on the “wrong side”, based on very old design by Roubo. Christopher Schwarz recently made a gaggle (or is it a herd?) of try squares using cavettos (coves) as the decorative detail on the handle, and showed them off in a recent article in his Woodworking magazine blog:

Credit: Christopher Schwarz, Woodworking Magazine blog.

As a result of my own confusion, I called Schwarz, but he was unavailable. However, he answered in an e-mail message:

…I don’t have enough information to say which is more common or which is correct. Seeing as the detail is decorative, I don’t imagine it makes all that much difference. I believe it to be decorative because neither Moxon nor Roubo discusses the decoration at all in regards to the functional characteristics of the tool. Heck, they don’t even mention the decoration at all…

— Christopher Schwarz, February 5, 2010

If you decide to make your own wooden try squares, and you are in doubt how to orient the decoration, make two and try it both ways- these are fun to make! The next time I have a little free time I will use a straight-grain hardwood, and I will make a really good, light, and attractive try square.

As I read the blogs this morning, I learned that Bob Easton also tried his hand at making this square, and he got it right, per Roubo; you can read his article here.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Joinery, Layout Tagged With: , ,

Revisiting the use of a template to make a divider

February 3, 2010 By

Following the initial fit of the drawers, I want to re-visit how I went about making and fitting the divider rib shown in this photo (please bear with me, as I already described this process in an earlier article; however, the drawers were but a twinkle at that time). It is a simple process; and I keep this in mind as I approach making the drawer guides required to keep the drawers in place.

Critical layout using a large framing square is a must, to ensure proper alignment of the tapers on the side aprons with the taper on the divider. Now we can see the divider in the context of the drawer locations:

I suggest using the back of the back apron as the reference surface for the edge of the framing square, for best accuracy.

I made a template using ¼-inch plywood, carefully adjusting the length to the space from the back apron to the front apron. But, most importantly, to ensure proper alignment with the side aprons:

Fine tuning the angles became trivial, using a block plane, measuring, re-measuring, and measuring one more time:

Satisfied with the fit, I used the template to transfer the outline to the piece of quarter-sawn white oak that will become the divider:

Before cutting to the line on the band saw, I measured one more time:

I cut close to the line on the band saw, leaving the line. I then used the Krenov-style hand plane to trim to the line, for final fit:

Why did I use quarter sawn white oak for this divider? For the simple reason that the side aprons are also quarter sawn white oak, and I want the divider to move identically with changes in humidity. This is a design element that should ensure long-term flatness of the top.

But first I must tackle the 61-inch long stretcher between the legs; that will require mortises on the front-to-back stretchers, and tenons on the long stretcher. I will do this later today.

— Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, furniture, Joinery, Layout Tagged With: , , ,

A rule stop and a story stick

January 15, 2010 By

Sometimes I prefer to not use my tape measure, especially when I have already made a prototype piece. In this case I had already made a drawer sample, to show my client for his approval (click on all images to enlarge them):

After receiving the green light to make the remaining drawers, I completed the drawer boxes but not the slips and bottoms. During the machining of maple stock to make the solid wood bottoms, a new tool arrived in the mail: the brand-new Czeck Edge Rule Stop – Introductory Price is $27.95:

From the Czeck Edge web site:

…Besides a rule, the unique design permits the Czeck Edge ruler stop to clamp tightly to practically anything that can fit between the 1 1/4″ maximum jaw width. A shop made straight edge of any length, a story stick or a machine fence can all benefit from the repeatable accuracy the Czeck Edge ruler stop provides. The jaws can also grab round stock to just shy of 1/4″ diameter, making a handy depth gauge…

I took on the challenge, as I needed to duplicate the prototype drawer bottom dimensions, and also wanted to set the blade height for another little project. For the drawer bottoms I wanted to get close to final length:

I simply inserted a 3-foot rule into the jaws, allowing an extra inch for the length:

Using this technique I had the new boards marked in a few seconds – and I did not have to put difficult-to-read pencil marks on the rule!

For the drawer width, I wanted to use the little story stick I was using for the drawer slips. So I simply marked the distance from the edge of the tongue on the far edge, to the edge of the nearest tongue:

The last thing I did was to to set the blade height for a slot on another board:


BobZ, I love this new Rule Stop – thanks!

Disclosure: Czeck Edge (Robert Zajicek, Owner) is a sponsor of my blog. I received the first-run Rule Stop for evaluation in my shop and projects.
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—  Al Navas

Filed Under: Blog, Czeck Edge, Layout Tagged With: , , ,

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