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What Is It? |
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Adjustable Chamfer Gauge for Drawknives
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The chamfer guide shown in use with
a straight–bladed drawknife. |
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Intended for use on straight-bladed drawknives or drawshaves,
these guides or gauges allow the user to create a controlled 45°
bevel or chamfer on the edge of a square or rectilinear piece of timber.
While there had previously been attempts to market this type of guide,
this model is the one that lasted the longest in the commercial arena,
being manufactured and offered from approximately 1880 until the late
1920s. Goodall-Pratt Co. manufactured the pair pictured
here prior to
1930-31, when the company was taken over
by
Millers Falls Company.
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Bridge builders, millwrights and carriage makers needed this type
of tool (or tool accessory), as the drawknife was an essential
part of their toolkits. It allowed the gentle easing of the edge
where the hand might fall. The stopped chamfer can be an elegant
detail when added to large timber structures; on smaller surfaces
it allows for some relief from a 90° angle.
Contrary to the misconception that by using this tool one might turn
a square into a round, the 45°-angle construction does
not allow for that. A much shallower angle is needed to fully
allow the turning of a square into a circle.
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Front view.
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Back view. |
The tool (or a part of it) is often found singly, missing
a thumbscrew and/or without the spacing bar – a lonely soldier
in the corner of a drawer or the bottom of a toolbox. This discovery
may evoke questions as to its possible use in the carpenter's
toolkit.
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Other
Articles from this Issue |
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