Mastering the lathe — part 8
In this series instalment, we will mix the wood and metal codes by using our metal-working lathe to make stair gauges used by chippies when building a staircase.
As I understand it, these gauges are fixed to your rafter square to ensure uniform layout for angle cuts on the stair stringers or on rafters — great for repetitive situations. I can see them being handy as edge guides when clamped to a portable saw base, too. This is not so much a clash of codes as a tribute to the vast majority of sheddies who can turn their hand to a broad range of skills that include carpentry, cabinetmaking, metalworking, and electronics. Even at Prescott Engineering we enjoy coming up with solutions to clients’ problems that involve the use of a variety of materials and disciplines.
Pairs
Stair gauges are used in pairs, so make sure that you have enough material to make two and allow for parting off.
Personally, I would buy at
