what exactly is this used for and how ?

[Trafalgar]

I have a brass template and have never hesitated to use it as a paring gauge. Seems to work fine. The chisel is certainly not damaged in the process nor is the gauge. That said wood would obviously work too, for either use, marking or paring.

 

[Biliphuster]

I can't see where you need a wide, flat surface for marking. For that I use a Moore & Wright's.

Okay, the surface on that gauge cum template is not all that wide, but it's much wider than the edge of a combination rule; if you see what I mean.
But remember, I'm not perfick! :mrgreen:

Certainly in the Clifton literature they describe it as used for paring, so I don't think we are committing any terrible sins here.

 

[Dovetaildave]

It’s been 5 years since this question was posed, and to be honest I don’t think it was definitively pinned down.

The only pictures/illustrations/photos were all of a different shaped metal tool. Am I correct in saying there is no picture of this tool being used in print….anywhere (Andy)?

During this lockdown period I have reread the thread and tried to understand the variety of plausible answers, and confusions added by the substitution of a different (but similar) metal tool.

I can’t see how this would be held and used in a bench vice, without damaging the vise pads if used for paring downwards, (even across for that matter).
If G cramped, would the brass become misshapen? Also would the two “Rectangles” at end of “arms” leave an impression in the woods surface?
It is hollow (space between the two arms), so is that a functionality feature (if used for marking) 6mm (1/4”) offset ? Or is it simply some saving in brass? (doubtful as the interiorsurfaces seems smoothed)
It is brass and not steel, if used for marking with a knife, benefit to knifes cutting edge, or damage to the tool itself (if never taken a making knife to brass so don’t know if it would be misshapen or no longer true).
I haven’t made any glazing bars since my C&G course decades ago, so cannot “picture” in my minds eye how it would be used, (unless that it is only 75mm/3” or so in width?) what improvement on the traditional boomerang 45 we used back then?

The original four questions;
Is it for marking out..........very short miters?
Is it sawing aid ..........that removes tooth set as you go?
Is it for paring.........index finger removal ?
What are the semi circle cutaways for......index finger rests ?

Marking out was popular, but not one photo/illustration/book reference or catalogue description.
No one opted for sawing aid.
A few opted for paring, but used a different shaped tool (even wooden paring blocks) for their claim.

Has anyone used one of these tools in the past 5 years, or in any preceding year?

I feel like i might be flogging a dead :wink: tool here, but I'm surprised as there are so many of these around, but together we cant come up with a definitive answer for its use.


For those of you that like a catalogue; https://archive.org/details/internation ... ads&page=2

 

[AndyT]

Hi Dave

I too have looked at them and wondered but never bought one as I could never see what I would use it for...

I can't contribute very much I'm afraid. I quite like Jacob's suggestion that it would help mark a mitre on a ready moulded component. I think it became possible to buy readymade mouldings for windows pretty much as soon as steam power was applied to shaping the wood, in the 1860s IIRC.

In the spirit of thoroughness, here's a shot of how I have used the ordinary wooden version to mitre the mouldings on a pair of glazed doors.

As others said, the slope provides a guide for the chisel to make an accurate paring cut. It won't damage the tool and if you nick the end you can just plane it straight again - all much harder with brass.

For completeness, here's a replacement for Bugbear's image, from 'Woodwork Joints' by William Fairham.

And here's the relevant page from Preston's 1908 catalogue, showing that in a manner reminiscent of some of the American or Canadian tool companies of our own day, they offered what could have been a wider choice than the market required.

Three sizes of your brass one, curtly described as 'very useful tools for all kinds of Mitreing purposes.'

A nickel plated iron version, at a higher price. And for the man who only wanted the best, an improved version for even more.

So, that all points towards the gentlemanly end of the business rather than appealing to a hard nosed craftsman who made his own if he needed one.

But if I can find any better evidence, I'll let you know.

 

[Doug71]

I have the "improved" version, I use it for squaring around mouldings and marking mitres around mouldings, it's also handy as you can mark around 2 sides of small stock in one go.

Never used it for paring.

 

[Dovetaildave]

Thanks for that Andy, I thought I could find an old Preston catalogue online, seems not.

I'm happy i asked again as it has been at the back of my mind for last five years and now I can put it away.

Frippery my late mother would have said

 

[Benchwayze]

I have the 147 4 and a half shown in the catalogue. Or at least very similar I rarely use it and only for mitring beadings. It was a Christmas present years ago and I still can't cut mitered beadings with it! Lol!

 

[Mike Jordan]

As Jacob said only usefull for marking out, you need a nice big area to rest the paring chisel on to guide it. I can't see why you would wish to mark the mitres out rather than simply cut them though?

 

[AndyT]

A few more thoughts from me.
If you mark out a mitre with a 45° try square or combination square, there's a slightly awkward moment when you swap from the oblique line on one face to the perpendicular line on the adjacent one. Think about how you do it for a square cut, using a knife. You mark across one face, making sure you go right up to the edge. You notch around the edge a tiny bit, so you can move round, rest your knife in the notch, then slide the square up to it.

When one cut is oblique, it's not so simple. You mustn't cut down too far, or the second line will be in slightly the wrong place.

A tool like one of the Prestons avoids the need to make an awkward transition around the corner. You lay it on the work and mark both lines without moving it. It's easy, whether using a knife or a pencil.

There's a modern tool, Japanese in origin I think, which I've seen on YouTube videos, which is similarly easy. Mitch Peacock uses one a lot.

One oddity of the brass ones is that the surface is stepped, not flat. I'm guessing, but this could be because these would have been made by casting, which would not have made them 100% straight and true. The cut away in the middle leaves just two small areas to be trued up, whether by milling or filing.

The semicircular notch could be a tidy place to put a small G-cramp. Or it could be a comfortable place for a finger tip when sliding up and down to the right position, but maybe it just serves to distinguish the Preston design.