Layout Lines

[MikeG.]

Whilst you can do that Paul, you have the problem of trying to remove the lines afterwards! I have done both over the years, and currently prefer the pencil line method. It is perfectly easy to chisel accurately to a pencil line.

Mike

 

[bugbear]

hi


lay out line or if you like marking gauge lines are something you place on the timber to help marking out, all to be removed while cleaning up ,to leave them just shows tiredness and no pride in your work, no self respecting tradesman would allow such a thing not even as a secondary standards in his work no matter where the gauge mark were showing, what's coming next ,leave all your pencil marks, no cleaning up , no sanding, come on guys set some standards and keep them at the level where are fore fathers set them . Eddiej your spot on .hc

If you look around some antique furniture, you'll find our fore fathers left gauge marks (and face and edge marks too) all over the place.

Pull a few drawers, look on the back.

BugBear (who HATES lined up screw slots)

 

[head clansman]

hi bugbear

If you look around some antique furniture, you'll find our fore fathers left gauge marks (and face and edge marks too) all over the place.

that maybe so, even in those days there were good and bad tradesmen, but the standards were set by the good ones as i said earlier if we accept these sort of standards

what's coming next ,leave all your pencil marks, no cleaning up , no sanding,

. hope not.hc

 

[Anonymous]

Layout lines are for the construction, not part of the finished piece and in reality few (no?) customers know their significance (man made or machine made) and could care less. Customers generally care about the cost and overall visual appeal, not how it was made.

I also take the view that I couldn't give a damn whether they are visible or removed and looking at my pieces they are sometimes removed when I plane and sometimes not - I don't bother too even take notice during construction.

In all honesty, I find it a little strange that anyone would even think about whether to leave them or not and be so vain as to think they are important - register the chisel in them and then forget 'em!!

*A caveat. I have been hand cutting dovetails for more years than I can swear to (10+) and I can imagine there is some pride when one first cuts them and a desire to be able to boast of ones skill whilst pointing to layout lines

 

[Anonymous]

As an addition, I find it a little odd when people talk about 'how they used to do it' - e.g. the over cutting in half blind DTS that so popular in the press right now that looks awful!.
We have modern tools, glues and modern techniques and whilst we learn from the past, doing things 'because they did it that way' is ridiculous unless one is aiming for an exact reproduction of an antique etc.

Don't concentrate solely on the past :wink:

 

[newt]

I find it quite attractive when they are left on in some instances, but they have to be complete, not intermittent.