I was going to suggest Japan Woodworker for the marking knife blades, but then found out that they were sold to Woodcraft and closed down their retail store in Alameda? Uggh.
Up for the marking knife swap, wife swap I'll have to think about; could be good but stuffing her in a flat rate box to save on shipping will put me in the dog house for certain. Have some ideas that I've been working on and have a junked set of dewalt planer blades for the purpose.
I know I've put quite a bit of thought into this… I'd certainly love to have the sorts of precision-alignment tools that machinists use, the various dial indicators and so forth… on the cheaper end, I've had a bit of fun with cheap laser pointers. You need to get creative, but with a camera tripod and a few clamps you can do a lot of useful "tests." Someday I'm gonna hook a laser up to a motor, maybe a gyroscope, get it spinning, and play around with that…
Back in school I studied ancient mathematics a bit, learned a bit about ancient surveying techniques, and how they'd put up a building. Amazing the precision that's possible with the simplest tools in the right hands. When I was doing construction, (of the modern variety) the guy I worked for showed me how to lay out a whole kitchen with nothing more than plumb bobs, tacks, and strings cut to length (I regret to report that I never got the hang of it, but it sure worked for him).
Here a simple marking knife I made a few years ago. I used some 1/16" O1 tool steel that I got from McMaster Carr. It is very easy to shape with a hack saw and file. I rough sharpened w/ a file and then hardened the knife end by heating it to cherry red w/ a mapp gas torch and quenched it in canola oil. I then tempered it in a 400°F oven for 2 hours. When cool I did the final sharpening and polishing. I then assembled it to the wood scales using 1/8" brass rod. It is a very straight forward process and not hard at all for someone like me w/ very little knowledge of how to work w/ metal. The knife works great and I use it all of the time.
So I see that we have ambushed this thread…good work!
Is this where we post stuff for the marking knife swap?? I'm in, and I owe at least 3 people in addition to whoever I draw for the swap, so let the games begin!
Just to be clear, the swap, at least how I understood it, is not limited to marking knives. It can be a marking gauge, knife, panel gauge, awl, etc… Am I right?
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