The tool which is most necessary next to the scale is the square (Fig. 4), and this should also be made with great accuracy. It is used to test two adjoining edges, to see if they are square with each other. In making anything of wood, one of the largest surfaces is generally made perfectly true, and marked with a little cross (x), designating it as the “face.” One of the adjoining edges—not a cross-grained one—is also made true and square with the first surface, and marked with a second cross, as the “working edge.” Then all the other measuring and squaring is done from these two surfaces.
Fig. 4.
The piece of wood to be tested should be held in the left hand, on a level with the eye, and the square held in the right hand, with one of the inner edges resting against the wood, and the other projecting over it is moved back and forth. Any unevenness in the wood will readily be seen. The outside edges of the square may also be used for testing the evenness of wide flat surfaces. It is made like the pattern, of two strips of wood, with a fitted joint glued together.
Fig. 1.
The knife strop shown in Fig. 1 is a great help in whittling, because it will keep your knife in good condition. A piece of the heavier wood at the end of the egg crate may be used for this. It is made from a strip measuring 11⁄2″ wide by 11″ long, and the strip of leather (cut from a discarded razor strop) is glued on. The 1⁄8″ bevel is continued all the way around the handle on both sides to make it fit the hand. The hole in the end is to hang it up by, and may be made with a hammer and nail, or with a bit and brace if you have one.
The pencil sharpener (Fig. 2), is also a very necessary help in whittling and it is very simple to make. A strip of thin wood 11⁄4″x7″ forms the foundation. This is narrowed down at the handle end to 3⁄4″. The curves may be marked on the outline, free hand, and in cutting you must be very careful to remember the grain of the wood. The curves at the ends should be cut from each side toward the middle of the end, gradually working into a cross-cut. The curves at the sides must be cut from the wider part toward the handle, using the point of the knife, and working with great care so as not to split the wood. A strip of sandpaper 1″x3″ is glued on and the sharpener is complete.
Fig. 2.