Auditory winding sticks
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5 May 2019 at 4:35 am #558037
I had to stock prep (with hand tools) about 50 lengths ranging from 400 mm to 920 mm which included removing twist. I generally use regular winding sticks but wasn’t keen on the constant laying on of sticks, bobbing up and down to check the twist and repeating after each bout of planing. I also work outside so a small breeze can affect things.
Instead I set up two 1.5 metre lengths of straight rectangular aluminium tubing parallel to each other and apart by about 90% of the length I was preparing. I then laid the piece to be processed on these. If it was twisted it would rock a little (or a lot!) and I could quickly feel and hear which side was tipping down. I then planed the twist out – while quickly checking it on my set-up.Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.Nice idea. Another option is to use the bench top. Put the surface being worked face down on the bench and test diagonally opposite corners. If they rock, then the other two corners are high. Well, usually. Take care that, if you develop a hump in the middle or thin up the ends too much, this can be another cause of rocking, but that’s good to know, too. If you press on the middle of the ends and get rocking, that’s a hint that there’s a hump. If the piece isn’t too long, just put a straight edge on it now and then to check for humps.
I’ll go as far as I can with this and then switch to winding sticks for the final check. Often it’s just that, a check, and no further work is needed; other times, a little more is needed. I much prefer to work against a planing stop than in the vise because I can just flip the board over in half a second, give it a rock, flip it back over, and return to work. This is quick, but only as accurate as your bench top. My bench isn’t great, actually, but the method still works reasonably well.
In the end, I think winding sticks are more accurate because they amplify things and can be placed exactly where the joinery will go, but this saves time leading up to the winding sticks. Sighting winding sticks is getting harder with age, though. Presbyopia is such a joy.
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