Thread: Small bevel gauge - wip

Pic 5: The “rough casting”, well cured, and some brass screws driven into shallow countersinks. The idea is to have enough of the head to provide some grip, but be able to file away the driving slot as you make it flush with the surface. Relatively easy with slotted crews, but as I discovered when making the trysquare, the drive-slots go very deep on Philips-heads. It’s also a good idea to pein the screw heads well after driving, to make sure they have seated & filled the countersink. This step is probably overkill, as the epoxy makes a strong bond, when all is well, but I have had a few occasions where these sorts of joins failed, for reasons I don’t understand.

Pic 6: The stock has been rough sanded & checked for squareness, then the slot cut for the blade & a test fit made. I cut most of the slot with the slitting saw I use for my brass saw spines, and finished the bottom off with a finely-set saw made from the same gauge material. That gave me a very neat, straight slot, so the blade went in nicely, & locks easily. Just a bit of adjustment required in the setting of the shaft to get the lever to lock in the right spot.

Pic 7: A final sanding down to 400 grit, then a quick buff with green compound, clean off any residue (metho works well) and apply U-Beaut Shellwax liberally. Then back to the clean buffing wheel, & that silky Sheoak just glows!

Pic 8: I deliberately left the comparison til last so you can see what a tiddler it is – blade & stock are both approx. 100mm long, & the stock is 18mm wide by 16m deep. Just what I wanted – easy to hold & set, but any smaller would be too fussy, I think.

Cheers,

Very nicely done.

(carbide tipped d/bits - how many times have I caught them in drilling something then stuffed them before 5 minutes of use? )

Originally Posted by Waldo

Very nicely done.

(carbide tipped d/bits - how many times have I caught them in drilling something then stuffed them before 5 minutes of use? )

Thanks Waldo.
Yup - after destroying two brand-new bits in quick succession, I've decided there has to be a better way! Those 'cobalt' drills do a bit better than the regular HSS, but even they get pretty dull after about 6 or 7 holes in the saw plate.

I guess it's good for improving my (very poor!) drill-sharpening skills.

Cheers,

Very nice

You've done a lovely job there Ian. Good to see that you are making the most of that spring steel. I like it.
All the best
Kevin

Another little beauty! Is the screw epoxied in place?

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Another little beauty! Is the screw epoxied in place?

Thanks, WW.

No, the screw is loose - I didn't take a pic of the other side, for some reason, but if you look at the picture of it in the clamps, you'll see the brass plate on the back is thicker (1/8"). This is tapped, to take the screw. It has to remain adjustable, so that you can scew it in or out a part of a turn, to get the locking lever to tighten in the right spot & not stick out & get in the way. After a bit of wear, this will change, so will need adjusting a tad every now & then. You would think it necessary to fix the screw in the back nut, in case it wants to turn a bit as you lock the blade, but in practice this doesn't seem to happen. When I got the old Stanley it was way off, so I adjusted it & it has never been a problem in the 20 plus years I've had it.

Cheers,
WW

Hi Ian,

Very sweet, I can see immediate use for a little sliding bevel that gets into those nooks and crannies where the big one won't.

You have been very careful to keep the bluing intact, but I fear it will scratch over time. I personally haven't used it but I believe that brownells (the gun supply mob) sell a blueing compound (oxpho blue or something similar) that can be applied cold.

Another one added to the todo list!

Regards
Ray

Edit: Here it is.. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1...XPHO_BLUE_reg_

Originally Posted by RayG

.........You have been very careful to keep the bluing intact, but I fear it will scratch over time. I personally haven't used it but I believe that brownells (the gun supply mob) sell a blueing compound (oxpho blue or something similar) that can be applied cold.

Hi Ray - There are already a few unsightly scars. I handled them reasonably carefully, but the blueing doesn't tolerate the edge of a file, I discovered!

Funny you should suggest the gun-blue, too - a colleague who is a shooter was in my office an hour or so ago & I asked him if he had a bit spare. He hasn't, but has offered to get me a tube next time he goes to his gunshop. I have used it before, with somewhat mixed results (it turned out a bit blotchy in places), but I reckon it's worth a try. They look much better blued, IMO, but if I can't reblue them to my satisfaction, I'll just polish them instead.

The people who make these scraper blades for Bunnies might be amused to see what other uses can be made of them. I've got a couple of other ideas up my sleeve, yet, just waiting for another round tuit to come along. But that may not be for some time, as I am informed by a reliable source that a few more mundane, but necessary projects have reached the top of the priority list.......

Cheers,