spar makers gauge

[Clint]

Beginners seem to have a lot of trouble getting the flats off the sides and bottom of their stocks. Mabey it's from handling cheaper production guns or even new centerfire stuff. At any rate here is a layout tool, used by spar makers to lay out tapered timbers for making masts etc. The gauge here is of course small, but it can be any size. It will lay out lines on tapers or funny shaped wood at the correct ratio for eight siding. I know that there is a ratio for spacing the stops and the markers, but I can't remember it so here is the "manual" way to get the spacing. Rip a piece of wood square 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" and clean the end grain. Cross mark the end from corner to corner then strike an arc from the corner to the center. Carry the arc to the flats and mark all of the flats.  The stock,(second piece of wood) which carries the markers (pencils) should have about 2-1/2 inches between the points and the cutout should be 1/2 inch or so deep. I made this one from a scrap, one inch thick by 2" wide. The width is important because it needs to carry a pencil that has been sharpened in a P sharpener , the taper is about 3/4" long and will not be supported. The length should be enough so that it won't get lost easily, 6 or 8 inches..   Set the gauge over the square stock you ripped and transfer the lines that were struck with the dividers up and onto the gauge. If you rock the gauge to the opposite angle the lines should line up. If that is true, droll the holes through, on center, with a 5/16 bit. The pencils should slide through with a little resistance.    Chop a simple slot into the sides of the pencil holes with a morticing chisel and fit a wedge into each one this will keep the pencils from falling out . By laying out parts of the stock and cutting down to eight sides, it's really hard to get a flat spot, this little gauge self adjusts to changing widths within the scope of it's size and should be handy for any rounding up work.

 

[smallpatch]

Clint,
It looks really nice, but I'm totally confused as to what it's used for.

[cglynn]

I have a halfway decent background in wooden boats, mostly rowing craft these days, and have made several sets of oars, and a mizzen boom for a friend.  I use the spar gauge all the time.

The way it works is that not matter the shape of the stock, as long as the edges of the tool (the triangular pieces on the gauge shown) are touching the sides of the stock, the two pencils will draw lines an equal distance from the vertical face of the stock.  You use the tool on all four sides of the stock that is to be rounded, marking each face.  When it comes time to remove wood, you drawknife, spokeshave, rasp, file, scrape, etc, until you have removed the wood between the lines on adjacent faces.  When I do this for an oar shaft, I end up with an octagon that tapers down its length, as the square blank is tapered.  You can then remove the wood to make a 16 sided shape, and then from there I usually eyeball the rounding, using much the same techniques one would to ensure that a forestock or buttstock is in plane.

And if that wasn't clear enough (my daughter often jokes that the only part of me that speaks understandable english is my hands), try this out.  Its about boat mast construction, but a spar gauge is a spar guage, and the method is the same no matter you're building....http://www.boat-building.org/learn-skills/index.php/en/wood/using-a-spar-gauge/

Hope that helps.

CG

[smallpatch]

I get the idea now.

[Tim Crosby]

 I'm still not sure how it works or what it does. I'm thinking it may come in handy in making walking sticks.

  Tim C.

[Clint]

Thanks CG for the link . I suppose if you have never seen or used one of these things, it would be sort of mysterious, It is a tough thing to photograph. Basically the tool is used to lay out, with pencil marks, the cut lines used to define where to cut to in making a long square edged piece into an octogonal piece. On large stock you would use another gauge to define 16 sides but this is overkill for rifle stocks. This is a simple project, make one and try it, then you will say "aha". The important thing about the gauge is that it will give you the correct geometry as the width of the material being marked changes. How's that for confusing?

[Clear Spring Armory]

I seen one of these in an advertisement post on Facebook a few weeks ago, they made it seem like a new invention. I thought "Wow, it seems like someone would have thought of something that simple a long time ago." Guess I was right, lol.

[Notchy Bob]

Clint,

Can you show a photo of the underside of the tool with the pencils in place?  I'm not understanding quite where the pencils come out between the points cut into the tool.

I had heard of devices like this one, but did not know how to lay it out.  This was interesting.

Thanks!

Notchy Bob