I need one for a few different projects, so I decided to make it. Yes, I know these are cheap to buy. More about this project here: ibuildit.ca/projects/wooden-c... How to make the featherboard: ibuildit.ca/projects/table-sa...
I love how the little fingers are more stout than the ones you can buy in the stores. I have a Stanley version and the fingers are constantly bending or just fall out. This seems like it would really stand the time and hold together. Great video, I always enjoy them John!
An excellent project. I have one with metal fingers but stopped using it because it bruised some soft finishes. If I ever get a table saw (hard to justify for a turner) I'll make one of these. Best Wishes, Brendan.
Thanks Brendan. These are a good tool for turners, especially if you need to reproduce a spindle or leg that's in place. Just copy the pattern, trace it onto paper and use that for reference.
Steel contour gauges found at the hardware store are fine, but in many cases just too small. This is a must project for me. Now I will build to need. Thanks! :o)
Wish you would've shown more of fiddling, and also, use a light dusting of spray paint to remind you which side is up... An old metal one I picked up at a yard sale had protractor angles inscribed. Believe it or not, it's amazing how simple it is to line up for weird corners, just knowing you're 30* or 45* off center when you transpose takes a ton of guesswork out of it, and so simple to add them..
I don't know if this would've helped, but you could've made a small "dado" (4 1/2 inch long by something like 1/4 inch deep) to help retain the pieces in the "gauge" so they never fall out of it... obviously this would reduce the travel of the parts itself but you could make them longer or narrow the 2 cross sections... great idea though :)
Very nice. I've been thinking on a similar one for ship modelling purposes. You say «cheapy to buy», but here, when you have a 500 € income monthly, 47€ for something that will not increase your home economy, is considered 'very expensive'. Well, the world is what it is...It's great that we can find ways to go around crisis. Thanks for sharing.
if the small sticks don't have any thing to stop them from traveling completely through the 2 retaining pieces your going to be playing pick up sticks. If before cutting them you rabbited the entire thing except a small piece on either end, then they would stay held in securely and you could easy off the pressure on them, until it was time to lock them in place. All that aside would have made the fingers out of something a lot thinner, like a cut sheet of tin, it would be way more accurate.
At the prices these gauges sell for, this would be a great project. However, I'm not clear on what you mean at the end by "narrower." What needs to be narrower - the outer boards which hold everything together, or the contour strips, or what? Or do you mean that the overall gauge should be shorter, say 10" overall rather than 12 or 15?
Just wondering when you sanded the fingers did you sand them leaving about an eighth from the tips so when it was used they couldn't be pushed out of the frame in case it dropped on something. Looks like a wonderful tool, I am so making one of these or maybe a few so I have different lengths for longer or shorter projects. Thanks John
John Heisz Cool thanks for the info. But I do suppose you will have to sand the replacement fingers to match the other ones, correct? So I best not be breaking any out LOL but I believe they are fairly durable if you make them from good hardwood?
Professional Shop, i'll be using popsicle sticks as a quick cheap alternative project with daughter, talk about free labor LOL Nah it's called quality time. i Like, OLE!
Maybe it is easier to compress the whole stack sideways instead of the edges. This would make a consistent pressure at any strip. Maybe as an Addition to the actual design.
John Heisz I mean the Long grain side of the sticks, not the end grain. But i did not try it. I dont know how good it will slip to copy the Profile. Just a thought.
LilFluffBall It is not cost effective to make one when you can buy a real nice one for less than $10 dollars. You can also build yourself a broom from a branch and hay but why do that when you can buy one for $5. Waste of time !
