Thread: Saddle Square

Nifty - I would be keen on a 1:8 dovetail marking guide.

Where do you get the brass?

Also how is the brass affixed to the wood? Do you file down screws for that finish?

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

Nifty - I would be keen on a 1:8 dovetail marking guide.

Where do you get the brass?

Also how is the brass affixed to the wood? Do you file down screws for that finish?

Hi TS,
AWR make and market a beautiful dovetail marking gauge.
It is 1:7 and its price has been reduced at the moment.
See here:
http://shop.woodreview.com.au/details/163294.html
It comes as a pre-cut kit including brass strips and brass gauge, which you assemble yourself.
Have a look.
SG

Originally Posted by derekcohen

With a little luck it turned out well.

You're being modest Dere. To finish something like that to that standard, takes more than luck. I think maybe just a little bit of skill, yes? Beautiful work as always.

Well come on then! Lets here the process. The steel pins you used to secure the brass strips. What did you do there...

Looks good by the way.

Hi SG

This flexible saddle square is quite different from the AWR tool, the latter being aimed at marking dovetails.

For dovetails I have very nice dovetail saddle from Woodjoy (in the USA) ..



The saddle square I present here is also slightly different from the one from Lee Valley, which I have owned and used for some years.



The advantage of mine is that it can wrap around a non-square corner, has greater heft and does not unwittingly move as easily from its position, and the brass side makes it easier to see lines than a black side does.

TA

Construction was quite time consuming (for me) because of the need for absolute precision. It is not a useful tool if you are slightly off here. So you begin with a very, very tight joint, drill it out, then tweek the sides to make sure it remains square in all directions as it is moved.

Attaching the brass - I cut to size, then epoxied on the brass sides (brass from Bunnings). Then drilled this for the steel rod (stakes from the gardening section of Bunnings) - careful, the heat can soften the epoxy and the sides will lift off (DAMHIK). The rods go in about 1/2". The fit is very tight so a combination of epoxy and friction hold them together. Note that the pivot rod extends all the way across. Once done, the sides were trued and ground flush on my belt sander.

Easy peazy

Regards from Perth

Derek

Very nice work, Derek.

I've never seen a hinged one before - looks very useful.

Derek,

It doesn't look easy to me; I am in awe. I am afraid I just make do with the Lee Valley one. Have you considered improving on their sliding square? I have one of those, and find it very useful, but its design probably could be improved.

Rocker

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Hi SG
SNIP!

TA

Construction was quite time consuming (for me) because of the need for absolute precision. It is not a useful tool if you are slightly off here. So you begin with a very, very tight joint, drill it out, then tweek the sides to make sure it remains square in all directions as it is moved.

Attaching the brass - I cut to size, then epoxied on the brass sides (brass from Bunnings). Then drilled this for the steel rod (stakes from the gardening section of Bunnings) - careful, the heat can soften the epoxy and the sides will lift off (DAMHIK). The rods go in about 1/2". The fit is very tight so a combination of epoxy and friction hold them together. Note that the pivot rod extends all the way across. Once done, the sides were trued and ground flush on my belt sander.

Easy peazy

Regards from Perth

Derek

Got to be honest with what you produced there why do you want a bridge city. Heck I want one!

Beautiful work Derek.
Saddle squares are truly useful and just the ticket in some situations.
In the immortal words of Dale Kerrigan " You could sell that....."

Originally Posted by thumbsucker

Nifty - I would be keen on a 1:8 dovetail marking guide.

Where do you get the brass?

Also how is the brass affixed to the wood? Do you file down screws for that finish?

Hi TS,
Are you still after a dovetail marking guide?
If the AWR offering is not exactly what you are looking for, then you can of course make your own quite easily.
Rob Cosman, who is the hand cut dovetail guru, uses a simple home made one in his instructional videos.
Of course it doesn't look as professional as these here, but it has 1:7 and 1:8 ratios on each side and works a treat.
Happy dovetailing
SG