Drawing Rods
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Does any one else draw out and use joinery rods? Personally I find them just as interesting to do as chopping mortises, cutting tennons etc. (Nothing comes up on a word search btw)…A lot of folk seem to use sketch up or other computer stuff, but I like to see the full size drawing to get component lengths, positions for mortises etc in relation to face side/face edge. Maybe it appeals because I was taught engineering drawing at school? Any way I use a piece of venner faced blockboard which I repaint white for each new project and draw the item out with pencil/dividers/framing square/straight edge etc. I was taught if the rod is the job will come out right….!
Any thoughts on this? cheers Jonathan
Drawing rods ideal for joinery items like doors and windows. Can be used for other items.
I was taught how to draw rod at college.
Rod are good for checking work for measurement profile joints.
I have never worked in a joinery shop so I have not used method since college. I have always worked on site on the carpentry side of things.
I do not have enough space in shed to set up a drawing station.
So now every thing is a bit ad hock. Which I don’t think is a bad thing making furniture. You can change the look to please yourself more. Think you are better off with a little sketch and run with it don’t get to constrained by measurements.Dagenham, Essex, England
I have heard of Story Sticks but not Drawing Rods…please explain…
Located in Honeoye Falls NY USA. The Finger Lakes region of Western NY.
"If you give me 6 hours to fell a tree, I will take the first 4 to sharpen my axe" Abe Lincoln
A drawing rod can be draw on a piece of hardboard ,MDF, ply, or even lining paper used on wallpaper hanging. Hardboard, MDF,and ply can be painted white so can be used again. A rod basically a full size drawing of a piece of joinery like a window or a door. You can offer your timber directly on the rod and transfer marks to timber like shoulder lines.
file attached pdf of drawing rodDagenham, Essex, England
Thanks Jonathan and Mark, that is very interesting. I have never heard of or seen that before. Like Brett, I have heard of and used Story Sticks, but that is not quite the same thing shown in your attachment.
Memphis, Tennessee
This picture inludes the lower right hand corner of a rod I drew recently
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For this coffer chest
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Seen here complete and painted up
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Here is a picture of a complete rod I drew a fortnight or so ago for a 3 legged cricket table
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And the complete table, painted and waxed (the smaller one on the left-I ommitted the lower rails in the end
[/url]The beauty of this method is that you dont really need to do any “measuring” as such. I tend to have an idea of a form-developed through sketches and study of existing forms-then use wood laths or offcuts to mock up proportions and dimensions on the white board. When I am happy with the arrangement, I then firm it up putting in pencil lines accurately with a straight edge, framing square, sliding bevel, dividers etc. I then get my face side/face edge orientations, dimensions for planing the stock, and positions of joints/rebates etc directly from the rod, and can refer back to the rod whenever I need to. It vastly reduces the chance of error.
Cheers JonathanVery good Jonathan good use of rod. The correct way to do things. Very nice pieces of work too 😉
I only have a shed to work in and no space at all. I change pieces all the time till I get what I want by my eye. So a rod for me would go out the window.
If I was to make something a certain size that was critical I probably would do a rod.Dagenham, Essex, England
Thanks Jonathan and Mark. I have drawn full size pictures of difficult joints to make sure they will work, so I guess I have used “rods” before….
Located in Honeoye Falls NY USA. The Finger Lakes region of Western NY.
"If you give me 6 hours to fell a tree, I will take the first 4 to sharpen my axe" Abe Lincoln
Thanks for sharing, I have an Engineering Background and have not heard that term used before, interesting. Like mentioned I do use story sticks which are very accurate. I also draw the old fashion way with pencil, squares, scale, compass etc. I haven’t learned sketch up or cad yet.
Steve
Steve Massie, I live in the great State of Florida, US
I guess the ultimate version of the joiners (or carpenters) rod is in the French Scribe timber framing tradition where they literally draw a full 1:1 scale drawing of the structure (eg a roof truss, or gable wall for a building) on the floor, and use it to position the beams for marking out the joints. If they need say 5 trusses, they simply use the same drawing 5 times. Another fascinating feature of that type of joinery is that it works with timber that is wany, bowed, twisted, or rough hewn with an axe etc. Despite those defects, the joints still come out solid, with tight shoulders, and the beams end up with a good flat face to the outside of the building.
http://www.traditionaltimberframe.com/V1_0/index.php?mod=galerie&action=img&id_gal=41&id_img=783Very nice cabinet and stools Jonathan!
This Drawing Rod reminds me of when I would build RC Airplanes out of balsa. I would roll out the plans on an old door, covering with waxed paper then pin and glue it together right on top of the plans.
Memphis, Tennessee
Thats exactly it Steve, the same thing. Its kinda hard to go wrong when the drawing and the physical project are so closely related! Theres a direct link between the plan and the item being made. What I like also is that theres no real need to fuss about feet/inches or the dreadful (to me) metric alternative…its more like directly transferring dimension from the drawing, to the material, into a finished construction..I was taught, where possible transfer a dimension (eg with pinch rods)-which is a more accurate method than using a tape/ruler.
I use story sticks too sometimes, usually for things like fencing (setting rail positions from a datum level) or fixing horizontal wall cladding (useful to ensure the boards stay horzontal and parrallel) Or if I am making several of the same component such as rails or something. Sometimes simple rods are basically 2 or 3 story sticks (in correct structural relation to each other) on the same drawing.
At school I was taught engineering drawing (pre computer era) I find it very useful to see an object in front elevation/side/plan etc Maybe this is why rods appeal to me so much!
cheers Jonathan
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