Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Ugly Jigs that Work Great: Part 3

This next jig is aided by the discovery (thanks to my student Bill Rainford) of a brand of pencil that can replace the fabled "No Blot Bottle of Ink in a Pencil". The "No Blot" is a pencil that writes on wet wood and like all things right and good, it's out of production. I saw someone the other day on a website selling them for $15 a piece!

Lee Valley has a version, but the lead is way too soft and is worn away or broken by rough wood.


It's the Sola KB24, and I bought mine from Kuker-Ranken in Seattle, for $1.50 a piece, plus they are huge and can be sharpened to a chisel point. They do have an odd shape, so I fussed with some drill bits and small files to make the hole in an old marking guage that you see below.


Now I have an easily adjustable marking guage for all my green woodworking.


It may sound like a small thing, but when I saw the fine consistent line that I could get, I knew that my work just got a lot easier and more accurate.


Just a few of these will be a lifetime supply. 
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3 comments:

  1. BillJuly 19, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    I'm glad to see they are working well and arrived in good shape. Thanks for the shout out. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tico VogtJuly 20, 2011 at 7:20 AM

    Peter, can you tell us your technique for sharpening the point?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peter GalbertJuly 20, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Tico,
    I shave it like a chisel point parallel to the wide face of the pencil with whatever is sharp. PS I haven't forgotten about the info you wanted, I've just been a bit swamped!

    ReplyDelete