Ready to Cross the Great Divide

[Jim Koepke]

I couldn't help myself today... Well maybe I could but the lady of the shop made an offer I couldn't refuse on an inexpensive drafting set:

368260

jtk

[Rob Luter]

I bought the same set.....in 1978.

[Patrick Chase]

Staedtler makes good stuff. I think I used to have one of those, but I have a similar Alvin set (https://www.amazon.com/Alvin-729JS-Combination-Universal-Speed-Bow/dp/B004CZ0K1S) now.

There is also a drafting version of trammel points (https://www.amazon.com/Alvin-961B-Beam-Compass/dp/B000HEOI66/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1505962865&sr=1-3&keywords=beam+compass) that can be useful.

[Frederick Skelly]

I have one pair of those same dividers. Nice tools.
Fred

[michael langman]

You did good Jim. That looks like a very nice set.
I have a Staedtler compass for drawing circles and enjoy using it.

[Jim Koepke]

You did good Jim. That looks like a very nice set.
I have a Staedtler compass for drawing circles and enjoy using it.

This will likely be the house set for those times drawings are done by hand in the house instead of the shop.

My shop compass/divider set has a couple of Staedtler items:

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They were bought individually when drafting was my job. It was at the time when CAD was just getting into use.

The small compass and divider were picked up at estate/yard/garage sales.

jtk

[bridger berdel]

The biggest problem I have with drafting tools for woodworking is robustness. Or the lack of, specifically. Maybe I just have a heavy hand but most of the times I've tried I've had less than satisfactory results. A hard fine lead makes a nice crisp line on bright white paper with hardly any pressure. Wood seems to need more pressure and a softer, stronger lead. Drafting tools without locking pivots have been a complete bust for me for wood layout purposes- enough pressure to make a useable line changes the setting.

[Jim Koepke]

The biggest problem I have with drafting tools for woodworking is robustness. Or the lack of, specifically. Maybe I just have a heavy hand but most of the times I've tried I've had less than satisfactory results. A hard fine lead makes a nice crisp line on bright white paper with hardly any pressure. Wood seems to need more pressure and a softer, stronger lead. Drafting tools without locking pivots have been a complete bust for me for wood layout purposes- enough pressure to make a useable line changes the setting.

This has been a problem for me in the past. My problem was a heavy hand.

For many operations it is better to scribe light and scribe often. Just like marking a square line with a knife. Press hard and the knife may start to follow some wayward grain. A light approach will keep the knife against the square and sever fibers in a controlled manner. It is the same with a friction held compass. Use a soft lead and draw the arc in repeated light strokes.

When marking dovetails with a divider my square is moved to the leg of the divider and a line is struck. Most of the time my tail boards are cut first. One tail board is marked and the second is marked from it. They are then held together in a vise and two tail boards are cut together.

There are many different ways to do a dovetail layout. My dovetails tend to have approximately the same size for tails and pins based on the size of wood being used and the chisels that will be used to clear waste. My dovetail usually have one more pin than it has tails. The end pins are half pins. When laying out along the base line an odd number of even divisions is found with the dividers. From one end one is measured then divided in half. This half size is also marked at the other end. From there it is stepped off with the remaining space. It can be done with two steps or resetting the dividers to twice the half pins size.

For drawers or boxes, if there is a plowed slot a piece of scrap to match the slot size is in the slot to keep the two pieces in alignment while being sawn.

jtk

[steven c newman]

See what you have done.....while out and about today, spent $10
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6" divider, and an inside caliper.....I guess these will go with the other toy..
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Will have to do for now. Guess I won't have to build one from scratch...