Fig. 273.——Method of Marking with Cutting Gauge.
Gauging.—After squaring up the timber accurate gauging of the ends is another important point. The gauge used should be a cutting gauge, so that the line is incised about 1⁄32 in. in depth, thus effectually cutting the cross fibres of the timber.
[Fig. 273] shows the method of using the cutting gauge. The stock of the gauge must be held well up to the end of the timber. The gauge is a most difficult tool for the novice to use, and his trouble is generally caused by holding it too flat. Tilt the gauge a little so that the thumbscrew shown in the illustration goes nearer to the floor; the blade will then not bite so keenly, and better results will be obtained. The dotted lines indicate the positions which the dovetails will occupy when marked out.
The gauge is set a trifle less than the thickness of the drawer sides to allow for the thickness of the steel cutter, and a gauge line is marked on the inside of the front and all round the drawer back. The gauge is now readjusted so as to leave a 1⁄4-in. lap on the front, and a line marked on the ends of the front and all round the ends of the sides which will engage the drawer front. A glance at [Figs. 270] and [273] will make this clear.
Fig. 274.——Removing the Waste Wood.
The dovetail pins on drawer part and back are spaced out and marked on the end with the aid of the joiners' bevel, the lines being then squared down to the gauge line by the method shown at [Fig. 272]—that is, by using the try-square and marking awl.