SETUP-SQUARE

Router Woodworking

The Setup-square has layout and routing application. You can use it as a stop for blind-ended router cuts, (figs. 1&2), dado set ups, and for positioning templets and such. Since the tool has blades on both ends, it is "un-handed", perfect for the left-handed woodworker. A pair of them can be used for morticing stops without concern for which end to butt against the router base casting, (fig.3). A broad (1/4" x 3" x 5") rabbet on the bottom of the square has so much intimacy with the work that one clamp will secure it.

I have a set of hardened steel Starrett squares and I know their limitations. They're designed for machine set up, inspection and some layout. They don't cotton to the likes of marking knives, awls or hard pencils. Moreover, they won't rest on the work edge like my guide does and if you drop it, it's curtains! The thin blade of the machinist's square doesn't offer much purchase with a marking tool either. The 1" x 1/4" thick blade of my setup-square can be used with a flat carpenters pencil, a single edged razor blade, or kitchen cutlery, (fig.4).

The blades of my tool ain't no Rockwell 60 (hard as hell=Rockwell 60) but they do have a lot of application. The longer blade is 9" and will mark across an 8" board. The short beam (4-5/8") will allow a scribeline of 3-1/2". The blades (6061 Aluminum) are "re-trueable" and replaceable. They are straight to .002" in 8" and square to the rabbet by better than 0.15 degrees. The tool can be used from either end and indexed from either end of the of the work, (fig.5). It is self supporting; more than 90% of its weight is on the work. The hardwood/aluminum (as of 11/10/04, product made only as a glue up of Jatoba and Black Cherry, email for pix) package weighs about 350 grams (12 oz.).

I use it to mark broad felt tipped pen lines on rough stock, (can't do that with my Starrett), (fig.6), or for marking fine knife lines for close work. With its wide hand-sized surface (4-1/4" x 7-1/4") its easy to grip and clamp down if necessary. It can be used in the hands of the lady woodworker, the macho man or the MFSB (mother, father, sister, or brother), great for architects or beginner woodsmiths. The tool is no accident; it is my design and I make them. Way over half of the work I do is layout, templet making and router set up. The setup-square was designed to crossover all 3 areas and save the edges on my Starrett squares. It is also a time-saver.

My tool has a cove cut in it for your pencil, a magnet to hold down your cutting list, and a hole in the long blade so you can hang it near your layout station (fig.7).

Price: 75$ includes S&H.
2 Setup-Squares: 140$ also including S&H.
Email pat@patwarner.com for more information or ordering instructions.