Work in Progress: brass and walnut try square for travel chest

[SteveMP]

Yeah I know, the travel chest is only partway built and already getting sidetracked. But i went to the metal store to get some bits and bobs of metal for the chest like planing stops etc. and found a cheap piece of brass in the “artist’s scrap bins”. So decided i wanted to try making a wood and brass try square. I had previously made an all wooden roubo style one.

Cut out the piece of brass thanks to help in my other theead on how to cut it. Then found a scrap of walnut in my scrap bin. Cut to length and the shot square.




Marked out lines for kerf in center and then used a ryoba to cut, flipping over and using the triangle technique to keep it straight.

 

[SteveMP]

After kerf was cut, folded some sandpaper to smooth it out and open it a tad.


Then did the old sandpaper ryoba trick to keep the kerf flat and straight and open it up a bit more until the brass would not pry open the kerf.

 

[Dr.Al]

already getting sidetracked

It sounds like you're just like me: starting one project and then starting another three before the first one's finished! I'm going to be a terror once I eventually get a bigger workshop and having multiple projects on the go gets even easier

Looks like it'll be an interesting project.

 

[Dr.Al]

I've never seen that sandpaper and saw technique - that's a good idea.

 

[SteveMP]

It sounds like you're just like me: starting one project and then starting another three before the first one's finished! I'm going to be a terror once I eventually get a bigger workshop and having multiple projects on the go gets even easier

Looks like it'll be an interesting project.

well, yeah then you add in my wife's honey-do list and its even more stuff. And anything she sees on Pinterest she assumes that I can do, so now needing to figure out a timber-framed sort of pergola for some outdoor lighting too!

 

[SteveMP]

Sanded kerf enough to where the brass is not wedging, dry fit: i still have a lot to do, as i want to chamfer all the edges of the stock. And my good friend has my drill press (he makes battery packs for parking meters and has to drill lots of holes), so need to find a time to take this over to his house to drill the holes for the pins or see if he is done with it.

 

[AndyT]

Looking good but if you want to get really sidetracked, now could be the perfect time to look into how to cut the traditional decorative shapes into the stock, to fit decorative surrounds to rivets that secure the stock.

First, you'll need to make yourself a passer drill...

 

[SteveMP]

Looking good but if you want to get really sidetracked, now could be the perfect time to look into how to cut the traditional decorative shapes into the stock, to fit decorative surrounds to rivets that secure the stock.

First, you'll need to make yourself a passer drill...

I did that on my roubo wooden one from Chris Schwarz plans. This one i am going for a simple design, loosely based on the Seaton chest square but with a brass blade instead of tapered wood, and without the complex joinery.

This Try Square is a Little Bit of BS - Lost Art Press

To reward myself for finishing my edit of the translated text of “To Make as Perfectly as Possible: Roubo on Marquetry,” I spent the morning in the shop

blog.lostartpress.com

 

[AndyT]

No, I mean the cut-out to fit a fancy bit of brass, as seen here:



Ok, that's on a mitre square but that's because it's the only fancy one I have. A passer drill was a production tool to rout out that sort of shape, by muscle power, quickly and precisely.

There's a good explanation here

The Passer Drill: A Video Contribution from Roy Underhill

By Lara B. Miller In an upcoming interview for The Chronicle, which will be published in the coming weeks, famed woodworker, author, educator, and EAIA member Roy Underhill (from PBS’ long-running show, The Woodwright) tells us about one of his favorite tools: the passer drill. He says...

www.eaia.us

 

[SteveMP]

No, I mean the cut-out to fit a fancy bit of brass, as seen here:

View attachment 58056

Ok, that's on a mitre square but that's because it's the only fancy one I have. A passer drill was a production tool to rout out that sort of shape, by muscle power, quickly and precisely.

Oh geez, that is WAY beyond my skillset lol. Never heard of a passer drill, would have to look it up. I have seen those french saws for marquetry in wood, i forget the name, like chaveliet or something like that.

Found this demo of a passer drill. I still don't quite understand how it works...

 

[AndyT]

I thought you'd like it!

I think it works because of the relationship between the holes in the template and the twin tips of the tool, sprung apart. One tip will be against an edge of the hole and the other will be cutting arcs across the opening.

I hope that makes sense, it's easier to imagine than it is to describe!

 

[SteveMP]

I thought you'd like it!

I think it works because of the relationship between the holes in the template and the twin tips of the tool, sprung apart. One tip will be against an edge of the hole and the other will be cutting arcs across the opening.

I hope that makes sense, it's easier to imagine than it is to describe!

Yeah, kind of makes sense that way. I could probably do a square plate, which i've never actually seen before. I have seen ones that have for example 3 or 4 diamond shaped separate inserts, that could be doable but a time sink for me.

 

[AndyT]

I was joking really... I think it's probably a fairly challenging bit of blacksmith work to get the tips the right shape and hardness, and the middle bit just springy enough. There aren't very many originals to borrow for copying!

 

[Cabinetman]

I wonder if after managing to make the business end it could be put into a battery drill? Or is that sacrilegious lol.
Ian

 

[SteveMP]

I wonder if after managing to make the business end it could be put into a battery drill? Or is that sacrilegious lol.
Ian

Oh man, that would be like duct taping a chisel to a reciprocating saw lol