handwork Winding sticks guarantee accuracy TRADITIONAL HELPS WITH MILLING, JOINERY, AND ASSEMBLY

BY BILL PAVLAK

Uses LOOK FOR TWIST Because they are typically longer than a workpiece is wide, winding sticks exaggerate any twist, making it easier to see if things are off-kilter.

KEEP ASSEMBLIES SMALL STICKS IN LINE FOR TENONS Whether he’s making With one stick a chair, table, or case, placed across the Pavlak checks for end of a tenon twist during dry-fitting cheek and the and glue-ups. Well- other just behind placed blows, the shoulder, you changes in clamping can discern if pressure, or additional there is any twist. clamps can bring Though the sticks things into alignment. are at different If not, evaluate elevations, they whether the twist can work just as well. be planed out later or if you need to work individual joints.

26 FINE Photos, except where noted: Barry NM dima; top right, p. 30: John Tetreault

COPYRIGHT 2019 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted. • Fine Woodworking #276 - Jul/Aug 2019 ost winding sticks are essential woodworkers for fine work. quickly grasp how vital From milling ... squares and winding sticks excel when you are flattening a board’s are in checking their work for face. Just first remove any Maccuracy. Yet neither of those cup, which causes the sticks essential indicates twist, to seesaw, resulting in a false just a bit of which can throw reading. For the same reason, everything off-kilter. it’s important to center your That’s where winding sticks winding sticks on the stock, come in. In essence a pair of so I knife a vertical line at narrow boards with parallel the middle of each stick as a edges, winding sticks allow handy visual guide. you to determine if a board, Similarly, make sure the joint, or assembly is—or is board’s face and the bottom not—free of twist (or wind, if edge of each winding stick you prefer to speak the old- are clean. Just one shaving timey way). How do they do trapped between them can this? Simple. Place one stick lead to inaccuracy. across one end of a board If a board is twisted, and the other at the opposite generally the high points end and then, with one eye are on diagonally opposite closed and level with the stick corners. To bring them down, nearer to you, sight across either on a diagonal the top edges of the path from one offending two. If they are parallel, corner to the other or plane there is no twist. If they each corner individually. The are not, then there’s approach I choose depends twist that you need to on how the grain is running address. what’s more, a and how much bow and twist single winding stick can there are. If the board still has Contrasting helps with sighting. double as a , Adding two strips of inlay to one of the some bow in it, I might hit winding sticks causes the upper edges letting you examine each corner independently, of the sticks to stand out from for cup and bow, too. feathering my strokes to avoid one another and the From milling to assembly, creating further irregularities. background.

CHECK FOR STRAIGHT A single winding stick is essentially a straightedge, making it handy for examining if a board is cupped or bowed.

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COPYRIGHT 2019 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted. • Fine Woodworking #276 - Jul/Aug 2019 handwork continued Make your own Winding sticks are fundamental to successful furniture making, so while you can whip up a pair using any two pieces of with parallel edges, they’re a lifetime tool that deserves a more careful approach. Fortunately, you can make a nice pair in an afternoon.

Carefully mill the stock

True the bottom edges. This will be the reference surface, so act like you’re creating Let there be no light. Hold the bottom edges against one a proper glue joint; in other words, make them dead straight. Make sure to dress a another to inspect for gaps. If you see any, plane them away. face perfectly to this edge, too. You’re making the tool you’ll use to check all of your future work, so don’t skimp on this step.

To treat smaller and less bowed boards, I sometimes plane from corner to corner.

... to assembly While most discussions on the use of this simple tool begin and end with stock prep, there are plenty of other ways for twist to wind its way into your work. Essentially any surface that is supposed to be flat, no matter its size, can be twisted Scribe and plane to width. Using a enough to throw everything , scribe off. Winding sticks are the a line across the top tool to diagnose this. of each stick to mark When dry-fitting most the desired width structures and again during (above). Plane the top glue-ups, I will check for twist. edges down, but don’t For example, even though a take the line. The remainder will get table may have legs of equal planed off when you length and sit on a level make the inlay flush surface, it can still rock and to the stick. wobble because of twist. To

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COPYRIGHT 2019 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted. • Fine Woodworking #276 - Jul/Aug 2019 handwork continued SIMPLE TOOL FOR ACCURATE WORK 3 Quartersawn inlay, ⁄16 in. ADD CONTRASTING INLAY 7 or riftsawn hardwood, thick by ⁄16 in. wide 1 3 1 ⁄2 in. to ⁄4 in. thick by 4 ⁄4 in. long Mortise for the 1 by 1 ⁄2 in. to 2 in. wide inlay. After scribing by 20 in. to 29 in. long the layout lines, make a series of cross-grain chopping cuts to remove most of the waste. When you’re close to depth, use a wide to pare the walls. Pavlak cleans up with a plane.

5 , ⁄8 in. deep 7 by ⁄8 in. wide

Flush inlay to Glue and . the surface. It’s Apply firm, even easier to leave pressure. A caul on the inlay proud the other side of the of the surface at stick protects it from glue-up than to being marred by the try to dial in the clamp’s movable jaw. depth perfectly.

PLANE A BEVEL check, place winding sticks of tenons, placing one at Top edge gets a across the table frame, from the end of the tenon’s cheek heavy bevel. On apron to apron, and sight and the other right behind a winding stick, a along them. If there is a little the shoulder. Essentially any wide bottom edge wind, try to find the cause. surface that is supposed to is good for stability Sometimes it’s uneven or be flat, no matter its size, while a narrow excessive clamping pressure, can be twisted enough to top edge creates a while other times a joint might throw everything off course. cleaner line for the eye, making precise not be fully seated. If neither’s Winding sticks are the tool to readings easier. the issue, and the twist is not diagnose this. □ extreme, perhaps you can simply plane out the twist Bill Pavlak is the supervisor at after the glue dries. If that the Anthony Hay Cabinet Shop at seems unlikely, disassemble Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. everything to evaluate each joint. To be safe, I check for wind during dry-fitting and Online Extra again at glue-up. Bill Pavlak answers our I also use small winding questions at FineWoodworking .com/276. sticks to check the accuracy

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COPYRIGHT 2019 by The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and distribution of this article is not permitted. • Fine Woodworking #276 - Jul/Aug 2019