Tips & Tricks
Switch location of Rotate remaining Book-matching legs 1 diagonally opposed legs. 2 legs 180°.
When making a project with four square legs, such as the jewelry chest on page Use riftsawn stock 36, a nice visual touch is to configure the (with diagonal annular rings). legs to display book-matched grain when viewed from any side of the piece. Here’s how to do it: Begin with a square piece of riftsawn stock the length of the legs. It Triangle reference should be twice the thickness of a finished mark leg, plus about 1/4". Draw a triangle on one end, and then rip the piece into quarters to make four individual leg blanks. Using Book-matched Book-matched the triangle as a reference, reconstitute the faces faces pieces back into their original order, and number the ends as shown. Then switch the position of two diagonally placed legs, Share a Slick Tip. Win Cash or a Prize! and rotate the remaining two legs 180°. Awards Send your ideas to: Top Tip award: $250 Woodcraft Gift Card Tips & Tricks, Woodcraft Magazine, Maintaining this relationship of the legs Published illustrated tip: $125 P.O. Box 7020, Parkersburg, WV 26102-7020 on the project will create book-matched Published non-illustrated tip $75 or visit woodcraftmagazine.com and click “contact”. leg grain on each face of the piece. Important: Please include your phone number, as an editor may need to call you if your trick —Geoffrey Noden, Trenton, New Jersey is considered for publication. Published tips become the property of Woodcraft Magazine.
16 Tape rule gauge
For accurate work, you need accurate measuring tools, and that includes your tape rule. Unfortunately, the sliding tang on a tape rule—which allows for taking inside and outside measurements—is oft en the tool’s Achilles’ heel. Inexpensive tape rules are particularly prone to inaccurate measurements taken from the end of the tape. When buying a new tape rule, make sure that both the inside and outside measurements made using the tang are accurate. To check this, I bring to the store a very accurate gauge block I made for the purpose. To avoid parallax when gauging the tape, roll it over slightly so the edge of the tape actually lays on the workpiece. Th e gauge is also useful for checking the accuracy of your tape rule aft er dropping it and possibly bending the tang. A bent tang can easily be corrected with a pair of pliers. —Paul Anthony, senior editor
Press tang against side of groove to check accuracy for taking inside dimensions.
Pull against edge of groove for outside dimension check.
1" 1" For best read, roll edge of tape against gauge block.
videoTIP Go to woodcraftmagazine.com and click on the videos tab to see this tip in action.
Illustrations: Christopher Mills April/May 2017 | woodcraftmagazine.com 17 Tips Tips& Tricks & Tricks
Rotate chuck by hand, Leveling a drill and use nail on gauge as press table table-leveling reference.
When leveling my drill press table, Install 16d nails into slightly undersized I’ve tried the old trick of mounting pilot holes in stick. a bent coat hanger in the chuck and rotating it as a reference. However, I found that the hanger fl exed too much for reliability. Instead, I use a sturdier gauge made from a ¾ × ¾ " stick and two 16d common nails. Make the stick long enough to reach from the chuck to the edge of the table, and drill slightly undersized pilot holes to fi rmly hold the nails without splitting the wood. Install the nails as shown, mount the gauge in the chuck, and adjust your videoTIP table to barely graze the head of the nail Go to woodcraftmagazine.com when rotating the chuck by hand. I and click on the videos tab —John Worst, Orlando, Florida to see this tip in action.
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