Bevel Gauges on the Cheap
This post is due to a convergence of two actions on my part. The first is that my last post casually mentioned using a bevel gauge. While most woodworkers know what a bevel gauge is, many miniaturists may not. The second thing that happened was that I picked up a “new” bevel gauge at a flea market for a whopping 50-cents.
Let’s deal with the first issue. The photo shows a bevel gauge. It’s a simple device that allows you to set any angle you want. Most often you set it to match an existing angle. In the case of my saw bench I already had 10-degree angles cut on the ends of the legs. I needed the same angle in the notches I cut. To get it, I slapped the bevel gauge on the end of one of the legs and tightened the gauge. I could then lay the gauge on the side of the leg and draw lines of exactly the same angle where the notches needed to be. Easy-peasy.
Flea markets are fun and sometimes great places to pick up tools if you’re willing to do a bit of work. My 50-cent bevel gauge is not a vintage tool and you can probably buy one like it at a big box store for about $10-15. But 50-cents is less than $10 and though the flea market device had a rusty blade, corroded brass, and gunked up wood, the device that tightens the blade worked well so it seemed worth 50-cents to me. Of course, I did have to spend half an hour cleaning it up but I enjoy that sort of thing so I don’t see it as a cost.
My goal in restoration was to create a working tool, not create something pretty to hang on a wall. So, I didn’t worry about minor dents and scratches. I disassembled the tool and rubbed off most of the gunk from the wood using mineral spirits. I applied some oil and shellac to the wood as a finish.
I used Brasso on all of the brass bits which cleaned them up pretty well and I buffed them with Dremel “buffs” that I mentioned recently and polished them a bit with polishing compound on a Dremel felt wheel. You can see that some scratches remain but I’d have to remove a lot of material to eliminate them and they don’t affect the functionality of the tool.
The blade was rusty and so I used some 400-grit sandpaper to remove as much of it as I could. I could have removed more but I wasn’t looking for ‘shiny’ as I like the old ‘patina’ of old tools.
So, with 50-cents and half an hour in the tool, I have a working bevel gauge, one of several I now have in my shop. I can’t imagine having less than 2 of them in my shop as I often need a couple different angles set and when building you often want to keep a setting for a while.
Cheers — Larry
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Beautiful clean up job. Do display it when you are not using it as it is a lovely piece.
Lisa
Wow, Larry, 50 cents? You definitely have better flea markets there! Thanks for the lesson, I’ve seen those but wasn’t sure how to use one.
Ha…I wish. Our flea market (note the singular) is a small affair and tools are all too rare. Clearly I should have taken a photo of the tool before I cleaned it up to demonstrate the level of dumpster-diving I’m willing to do (grin).
Cheers — Larry