Got it straight?

Let your finger do the work:
When scribing a straight line near the edge of a board, use your finger as a guide (but only if the edge of the board is straight). Hold the pencil between your thumb and first finger, and rest the tip of your middle finger on the edge of the board. Slide your hand along the board by adjusting your arm at the elbow and shoulder and keeping the wrist steady. With just a little practice your finger will soon be gauging straight lines.

Clothes peg on the line:
Here’s how to turn an old clothes peg or similar object into a handy gauge. Cut off one prong at a right angle. Then drive holes at measured intervals along the length of the intact prong; making the holes large enough to take a pencil point. Butt the, head of the peg against the work, and slide it along to mark the line.

That versatile square:
A combination square is an accurate aid for marking straight lines. Adjust the blade to the desired length, and position the square along the edge of the wood. Set the pencil at the end of the blade and pull the two toward vou in a smooth motion. If you have problems keeping the pencil steady you can file a notch into the end of the blade; the notch should be just wide enough to accommodate the pencil point.

No more bumpy lines:
When you’re using a marking gauge it’s not unusual for the scribe to be a little wavy near the edge of the wood. (The reason is that as the body of the gauge passes the edge of the wood, the pin may jump.) Instead of pulling or pushing the gauge all the way to the end of the work, stop just short of it – say about 1/2″ (12 mm). Reposition the gauge, so that the pin is at the end of the wood; then push or pull it until the two scribed lines meet.

Down the centre:
Use a jig to mark the centre of your work without first measuring. You’ll need four 1/4″ (6 mm) dowels and a block of wood at least 2″ (50 mm) wide and 8″ (200 mm) long (longer if you’re working with material more than 12″ (50 mm) wide). Mark centre lines down the length and across the width of the block on both faces. Drill a hole wide enough for a pencil through the centre of the block. On one face drill two dowel holes on the longer centre line, 1″ (25 mm) in from each end. On the other face drill two holes on the same line, centered 1″ (25 mm) on either side of the pencil hole. Glue dowels into the holes so that they stick up from the surface. To use the jig, insert a pencil and place the jig over the work, with the dowels pressed tightly against the edges of the work.

Going round in circles

Double-duty rule:
If your compass isn’t large enough to make the circle or arc you need, try Using a cheap wooden rule. Drill a hole large enough for a thumb tack at the 3/4″ (20 mm mark). Then drill holes for a pencil point at the distances you need along the rule. When you’re ready to use this home-made compass, insert a tack through the hole at the 3/4″ mark and into the work. The rule will pivot at the tack. (Because the pivot is set at the 3/4″ mark, make sure you add 3/4″ to your measurement.

Adjustable rod:
An adjustable curtain rod is ideal for creating a large adjustable compass. Tape a 3″ (75 mm) nail securely to one end of the rod as a pivot; then tape a pencil to the opposite end. Slide the curtain rod sections to the desired radius, and clamp them together with a G-clamp. You’re ready to scribe a circle.

Irregularities

For the perfect fit:
To fit together two objects, one of which is irregularly shaped (for instance, a lipped cabinet against a wall with a molding), use a compass. Set the compass point on the wall and the pencil point on the cabinet. With a steady motion and without varying the distance between the compass legs, follow the original contour with the point. The pencil will trace out the shape.

Shape it with solder:
Malleable wire solder can become the perfect contour gauge, especially when you’re making duplicates of odd shapes. Place the solder against the irregular object and push it in to fit the contour. Then position the bent solder on the workpiece and trace the contour onto it.

Dressmaker’s trick:
TO transfer patterns — especially curved ones — to wood, slip a sheet of dressmaker’s tracing paper between the work and the pattern. Then use a tracing wheel to copy the pattern onto the work. The radiating points on the wheel will pierce the pattern and press against the tracing paper, leaving a dotted ink line on the work that’s easy to follow.

Save your pattern:
Often-used woodworking patterns soon become frayed and worn. To preserve your patterns, use the originals to make longer-lasting templates. Suitable materials include cardboard, which is easy to cut with a utility knife, thin pIywood, hardboard and acrylic plastic sheet, which is easy to shape with most woodworking tools. An extra advantage to the clear acrylic template is that you’ll be able to see the work under the template and know exactly where the pattern will fall — which means you can avoid knots and select sections of limber that have better looking grain.

Make it larger (or smaller):
A three-sided drafter’s rule is the tool you need to reduce or enlarge objects or patterns. To make your own version of a drafter’s rule, make photocopies of a 12″ (300 mm) ruler, scaled to various percentages (ratios) such as 50 (1:2), 75 (1:1.3), 100 (1:1), 150 (1.5:1), and 175 (1.75:1). Cut out and glue the rules to two four-sided sticks — one with decreasing ratios, the other with increasing ratios. Use the 100 per cent rule to measure the object or pattern that you wish to copy; then look for the final measurement you want on the rule with the desired ratio.