1-2-3 blocks

[Dwight Makepeace]

Howdy.

Do you guys know of / use 1-2-3 blocks ? These are precision machined blocks that are 1" by 2" by 3". They are really intended for metalworking I believe, but I find them very useful in woodworking.

A simple example is cutting tenons. Say you want a 1 inch tenon. By judicious use of this block and a stop block, you can cut to length and then precision cut the tenon shoulders.

The above idea can be augmented by the addition of `gage blocks``, which are basically precision shims. You can get them from 0.050 inch up to an inch or whatever. In parts of that range, the typical set of gage blocks will increase by just a 1000th of an inch.

The above blocks are durable and the sweet part for woodworking is that you don`t have to buy Starrett or whatever. The cheaper versions are more than good enough for a woodworker.

MSC Industrial Supply is a good source. Check out their flyers for super deals on this sort of thing.

Dwight

[Aaron Berk]

I've got a set of 1-2-3 blocks I've had em just over a yr and they still have packing grease on them.
I haven't come up with one single use for em yet.

But I will one day, and then I'll be glad I've got em on hand.

[Richard Bell CA]

Dwight:

I agree completely that there are a number of relatively inexpensive metalworking tools that can be used in woodworking. In the recent thread regarding the size of the Grizzly catalog, a number of people stated they skipped over the metalworking section. My first thought was "you don't know what you're missing".

One of my favorites is a cheap set of transfer punches, great for laying out holes to match another part.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=830-0100&PMPXNO=946207&PARTPG=INLMK32

Tools like these are available from a number of sources including Grizzly, Enco, MSC and even (gasp) Harbor Freight.

Richard

[Dave Verstraete]

Dwight
I know of and use my 1-2-3 Blocks all the time. I have a set of four that I made during my apprenticeship (1977 to 1980). I also have my Dad's (Jacob was his name)) set (Pre-WWII). They are sitting in his Gerstner Toolbox that my son Jake uses. It's all in the family here, as you can see. My son Dave gets my set, though.

[Aaron Berk]

Richard,

Transfer punches------ I have a large set of those.

Now that's a tool I use allot, I love the transfer punches.

[glenn bradley]

I have 2. One (along with 4" Whiteside brass setup bars) at the router table and one (also with setup bars) at the DP. Love 'em. I used them immediately after trying setup bars and never looked back. Too easy.

[Dan Hulbert]

I have 8 or 10 pieces of 1/8 thick tool steel that were left from a weak attempt to make my own tools. They have more than paid for themselves as tool setup devices. I stack them up and can easily feel the height difference between them and whatever cutter I happen to be setting.

[Dwight Makepeace]

Dwight:

I agree completely that there are a number of relatively inexpensive metalworking tools that can be used in woodworking. In the recent thread regarding the size of the Grizzly catalog, a number of people stated they skipped over the metalworking section. My first thought was "you don't know what you're missing".

One of my favorites is a cheap set of transfer punches, great for laying out holes to match another part.

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=830-0100&PMPXNO=946207&PARTPG=INLMK32

Tools like these are available from a number of sources including Grizzly, Enco, MSC and even (gasp) Harbor Freight.

Richard

Hi Richard:

I agree totally. There are a lot of metalworking tools that are actually really useful to a woodworker. What I usually do is go thru MSC's flyers and try and think of what I, as a woodworker, can use something for. As you likely know, MSC has some serious stuff, like a 24" dial caliper for example. Overkill, maybe, but I find as my eye sight wanes, this sort of thing is increasingly helpful.

And then there's all the metalworking stuff that we need for things like drilling/tapping holes in saw tables or whatever (ie. actual metalworking). A guy can learn a lot about what will give you a good result just from browsing these metalworking haunts. Take industrial quality cobalt drill bits for example - a lot more effective in hardened steels than regular HSS bits or even black oxide coated ones.

Dwight

[Jim C Bradley]

I have 2. One (along with 4" Whiteside brass setup bars) at the router table and one (also with setup bars) at the DP. Love 'em. I used them immediately after trying setup bars and never looked back. Too easy.

I'm with Glenn. It was Glenn who put me on to 1-2-3 and set-up bars. I would really be deprived if I did not have them.

Aaron, Get the grease off of them. Put them someplace real handy so you don't have to hunt for them. I use them constantly at the DP, the TS, the BS and the router plus other places as the need arises. They are a great way to obtain uniform spacing and other things that we do all of the time.

Use them a bit and you will never want to give them up.

Enjoy,

Jim