The block was then placed upright in the vise, and the ends planed square with the block plane. This required much explaining and practise, as the block plane has a bad habit of breaking off the farther corner.
Ralph showed Harry how to use this tool safely by planing only part way across the end and then finishing from the other side. Both ends were tested with the try square.
The piece was now sawed in two by using a rip saw on the pencil line, the wood being held in the vise in an upright position.
This made two pieces of stock 12 inches long, one 2 inches wide, the other 8 inches nearly, as the saw cut had removed some of the wood.
The 2-inch piece was laid out as shown at b. The marking gauge was set at 13⁄4 inches and from the joint edge—that already planed—a line was gauged on each flat face, and the sawed edge planed to these lines as at b.
It was then laid out as shown at c, two knife lines being squared around the four sides 1⁄8 inch apart. The piece was then sawed apart carefully between these two knife lines, and the ends block planed and tested.
Fig. 91. Method of using the bench hook and back saw
Two 1⁄4-inch holes were bored, as shown at d, in each piece, and countersunk with the countersink bit. This makes a place for the screw heads, so they will be below the surface where they cannot be in the way of tools or scratch the bench.