Normally when I need to strike a line cross-grain I reference a square off an edge and knife a line. I rarely depend on the end of a board for a reference surface. However, for those infrequent times when I do, I can now use this cutting, or slitting gauge.
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New slitting gauge
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Here's how it's made. First, a quick sketch to define what it will look like. The beam fits tightly in a mortise through the fence. The beam is tightened to the fence with a wedge that fits in another small mortise on the side of the first mortise. The blade is held by a small wedge in a mortise in the beam.
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The plan
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Started with scraps of maple and a piece of crappy old saw blade
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| Planed an overlong piece 13/16" square for the beam |
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Glued up three 1" thick pieces to get a blank about 2 13/16" x 4 1/8"
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Marked out a mortise about 1/32" less than 13/16" square on front and back
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Then bored out ...
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... and chiseled to the lines, paring the inside walls flat
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You can see the small mortise for the wedge marked out at the side of the main mortise in the above pic.
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Chopped out the wedge mortise - 1/16" wider at the back than the front
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Planed the beam to fit the mortise
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When making the wedge, I needed a way to get the side with the little "finial" (not sure if there's a better word for it) straight and square to its sides.
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Used the fence to reference a chisel on the flat surface to slice the wedge flat
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Then fitted the wedge in the mortise - tiny gap here ...
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And no gap at the back, so plane a little more off the back and refit
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Planed more from the bottom of the wedge to get a more even reveal front and back
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Made a 5/16" wide mortise in the beam, 3/8" long at top, 5/16" at bottom
and fit a small wedge to the hole |
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For the blade, cut a 5/16" wide piece from an old saw blade,
later hardened and tempered it, then sharpened |
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Put it together and realized I didn't have enough fence below the blade ...
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... so glued another 1/2" to the bottom before shaping
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And here's the fence shaped and the parts all fitted together
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Finished with two coats of shellac and certain surfaces got a coat of wax
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Iron shaped for a right-handed person to pull the tool
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I have the blade's bevel facing the fence. If I need to place the bevel on the blade's outer face, the angle of the blade will reverse, so I'll use the gauge with a push stroke.
Another one off the list ...
