Marking Gauges Part 2

I made a layout wedge out of scrap to help mark the mortise for the locking wedge.  I can't swear to it but I think I used 10 degrees.







I knifed in the first line about 1/32 inch above the bottom of the beam mortise using a square.  I deepened the line slightly with a chisel then chiseled out a little wedge of material.  I deepened the knife line again and removed more material until I could set my layout wedge against the knife line.  This way I could use the wedge as a guide to knife the second line.

I used a carcase saw to cut down both sides of the mortise then removed the bulk of the waste with a chisel followed up by a router plane.

The front piece has the knife lines and chiseling to guide the saw.

In the back, you can see the beam extends slightly into the wedge mortise.

This shows a test fit with the layout wedge holding the beam in place.

Here are both parts of the head before glue up.  The front piece is a little more than 5/16 inch thick.

By leaving both parts a little bit thick, I could come back and plane off the layout lines later.



I resawed and numbered the parts so I could match up the grain when I glued them back together.  This makes it look more like a single piece of wood when it's finished.

I used numerous spring clamps to hold it in place while the glue dried.  I also used an F-clamp to keep the edges aligned.








I used a plane to clean up the long sides, making sure to keep them square to the top and the faces.  Then I used a square, marking knife, and marking gauge to transfer the mortise location to the opposite side.  I tightened my layout wedge into the wedge mortise to keep from blowing out the fibers inside the part when I chiseled through.  I had some tear out but it was minor and won't be seen when the gauge is assembled.

I used the lid from a can of spray paint to mark the radius on top the head.  I cut these on the bandsaw then cleaned them up at the disc sander.






I failed to get photos while making the wedges.  On the first batch, I fitted the wedges before gluing the head halves back together.  I think this made it a little easier to see just how well the wedge fits.  I forgot this lesson on the second batch so it took a little longer but everything still worked out fine.

The back of the head gets a 30 degree bevel and the back edges were rounded over at the router table.  I think I used a 3/16 radius, could be wrong, the bit was already in the router and it looked good on a test part. :)



Unlike the first batch, I made sure that I situated the parts so the thickest part of the head stock (the part with the wedge mortise) was at the back.  This way, when I cut the 30 degree bevel, it doesn't expose the glue line.  As you can see here, the glue line is practically invisible and the grain matches very well.

I broke the corners along the length of the beams with a block plane and chamfered both ends with a chisel.

Stay tuned for the conclusion.