Story Stick Gauge

[Jim Koepke]

The tea cabinet for my wife has received a lot of positive feedback from friends and family. It also seems like a good addition to our farmers market items.

For production use I thought having a story stick with a stop might be a good idea.

304137

My story sticks get the base reference end blackened with a marking pen.

This is my first gauge type tool. Still needs some refinement, but this works fine for now.

Thinking maybe rip a bunch of different sticks to the same thickness so the locking/sliding head can be used on a bunch of different projects.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Here is a shot of the SSG being used to mark for a rip cut:

304144

Kind of like using an Odd Jobs or a combination square for the same thing.

jtk

[Frederick Skelly]

Looks like a good idea Jim!

[lowell holmes]

The block on that gage looks like the one I made for a marking gage shown in an "Arts and Mysteries" article in Pop Woodworking a few years back.
I made several, so if I made a long beam. I could have a story stick like yours.:)

[Bob Glenn]

Jim, it must be cold out there in your shop. Got the same problem here in Indiana, but I use a couple of space heaters to warm the shop up to about 50 degrees. Just made a story stick also, for a bunch of bird houses I'm making. Bob

[Jim Koepke]

Jim, it must be cold out there in your shop.

It has been in the 40s of late. That isn't too bad. If it gets much lower I have a little heater I plug in and aim it toward the bench. If it gets into the 50s I work without the gloves. :D

jtk

[Daniel Rode]

It's so cold in my shop right now that some of the florescent lights wont start. I have a large heater but it's expensive to run, so I only heat the shop on the weekends right now.

[Jeff Ranck]

I like the story stick idea and have used one a little bit on a few projects. I am not all that great at working with them yet, and would love to hear about folks' experience with them. Maybe I'll go back and see if I can find an article that deals with their use and blow the dust out of my brain and try them again.

My shop used to be like yours when we lived in the Seattle Area and I often had to work with a heater in the winter. My new shop is somewhat of a "walkout type basement" that is hooked into the downstairs heater. Of course, the wether here is colder than Seattle in the winter, but it is nice to just "leave the heat up" a bit when I have a glue-up going with PVA glue and know that it won't get cold enough to cause a problem. Have to say, the heater has me spoiled. I'm working on a bench for my shop now and doing some of the rough dimensioning with hand planes. The heat goes way down when I'm doing that!

[Jim Koepke]

It's so cold in my shop right now that some of the florescent lights wont start.

I get that on occasion. They eventually warm up.


Of course, the wether here is colder than Seattle in the winter, but it is nice to just "leave the heat up" a bit when I have a glue-up going with PVA glue and know that it won't get cold enough to cause a problem. Have to say, the heater has me spoiled. I'm working on a bench for my shop now and doing some of the rough dimensioning with hand planes. The heat goes way down when I'm doing that!

With a lot of dimensioning and other planing, it gets warm enough without the heat to take my jacket off, at least until there is a pause in the work flow.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Jim, are these the gages similar to the one you made?

The link here is to a podcast making the gages.


https://logancabinetshoppe.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/more-marking-gauges/

[Pat Barry]

304137

My story sticks get the base reference end blackened with a marking pen.

This is my first gauge type tool. Still needs some refinement, but this works fine for now.
jtk
Very neat idea Jim! I would need some instructions for myself (I suppose you can write those right on the stick).

[Jim Koepke]

They work on the same principle. Mine doesn't have a scribing pin or a back bevel, didn't think of that.

I have seen rounded top slides on gauges and do like the look. To me rounded over end grain is very appealing.

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Jim,
I apologize for hijacking the thread. It was not my intention.

I was excited to see you add a dimension to the utility of the gage.

[Jim Koepke]

I apologize for hijacking the thread. It was not my intention.

Apology not needed, I wasn't even aware of the hijacking. Not sure if comparison, questions and more information could really be a hijacking.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Very neat idea Jim! I would need some instructions for myself (I suppose you can write those right on the stick).

Thanks Pat,

I try to remember to write what project the stick is used for at the top. This one has a hang hole that my permanent sticks tend to have. Some sticks get erased with a swipe of a plane.

The lines are then also marked as to what they measure.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

After a little use it seemed it would make sense if one edge was shorter than the thickness of the stock used on most of my projects. So the base was trimmed.

304625

There is a note to myself about positioning the block for the shelf dado layout.

[Stew Denton]

Jim,

I like the looks of it, great idea. I have never used a story stick, per say, but have marked one piece and marked others using that original piece as a master. I have been thinking about using a story stick for a project I have in mind, my project is not as nice as your cabinet, but is a practical shop storage cabinet. Thus, your post came at a good time for me.

I have also been thinking about making a marking gauge, because I don't have one yet. The older I get the closer to a Neander I seem to be getting. I am currently working on restoring planes.

At any rate your idea seems extremely practical and so useful it looks like one of those "why didn't someone think of that before" ideas!

Stew

[Glen Johnson]

Jim,

I think it's that would be really handy. One could have an entire projects dimension on one stick. There would be four sides to work with. I think I will have one in my future.

Glen