Fig. 29.
A fence, sometimes called a stair gauge, is manufactured of metal by the Cheney & Tower Company, Athol, Mass., which I show at [Fig. 28], and is considered about the best thing of the kind. It consists of a piece of polished angle metal, each side being ⅞ inch wide. One side is slotted to accommodate the heads of the set-screws and to allow the slides to be fastened at the desired points. The gauge is fastened to any square and is useful for laying out stairs, cutting in rafters, cutting bevels or other angles. In marking off stairs with an 8-inch rise and an 11¾-inch tread the gauge would be fastened at 8 inches on one end of the square and 11¾ at the other end. The square would then be laid on the plank with the face of the gauge against its edge and the mark made around the point of the square. This would be repeated until the required number of steps were marked. The gauges are made in two sizes, 18 and 28 inches long. It is stated that mechanics who have used it find it one of the handiest tools in their kits.
Another style of fence is shown at [Fig. 29] in conjunction with a slotted square. This, perhaps, is the handiest of all the devices for a fence, but it is expensive, and as constructed requires a square with a slot in each arm, and as a rule workmen do not take kindly to squares with slots in them. A shows the square, B the fence, SS set screws to hold the fence in position, and ff the points of the square.
The application of the square and fence combined for laying out a housed string for stairs is shown at [Fig. 30]. In this example the fence is a single slotted one, and three screws are employed to hold the square in position. The rise is seven inches and the tread is laid off nine inches on the blade. The square at the foot of the string shows how the latter should be finished to make the floor and the base-board. In case no pitch-board is required, as the square when adjusted with fence, as shown, does the work of the pitch-board.
Fig. 30.
There are many other applications of the fence in connection with the square that I may have cause to refer to as I proceed, as it is my desire to present in this work everything I can collect regarding the square that I think will be of service to the workman. Doubtless there will be many descriptions and illustrations some of my readers will have met with before, or which they have been acquainted with for a long time. The great bulk of readers, however, will be new hands and unacquainted with the use of the square beyond its simple application as a squaring tool, and what may appear to be a useless rule to the expert or old hand will prove a choice tidbit to the beginner and will whet his appetite for further knowledge on the subject. Indeed this book is prepared more particularly for the younger members of the craft, although a majority of the older workers will find much in it that will interest, amuse and instruct.
It will be seen that the fence or guide used in connection with the square is, after all, a very simple matter, and would, no doubt, suggest itself to any clever workman who was laying off rafters with the square.