Woodworking marking systems


TerryMcK

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I was interested to read the article by Chris Schwarz in this months (Dec 2014) Pop Wood with reference to woodworking marking systems.

I use the pigtail face mark and the caret edge mark having being taught that at 8 years old by my grandfather. I also use cabinet makers triangle but I mark the square end of a board with a right angle mark (an inverted L) on the face of the components.

 

What woodworking marks have you devised or do you use the same as me and Chris?

 

1-IMG_1019.JPG

 

Just to explain what I mean. The pigtail mark on the face, the carat on the edge and the inverted L denoting the square end on the end of the board.

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What do you guys mark with?   I use just pencils so it's easy to erase/sand/whatever later, but I've never liked that solution as I feel they're not very visible/readable.  If you're prefinishing, do you put some/all marks back on after finishing to keep things straight for assembly?

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I use the triangle a lot and use the "novel" approach as Eric mentioned. But, I could use yellow crime scene tape sometimes and it wouldn't help.

I am building the guild project now and in constructing the legs, I had yellow sticky notes, chalk notes/marks and pencil marks and I still ended up with 1 extra mortise

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I generally use pencil.  Haven't had too much trouble erasing/sanding it off afterwards.

 

I always always mark my joints with numbers or letters.  i.e. when I get apron to leg fitted, I mark on both of them to make sure that when I glue up I get the right two pieces together in the proper orientation.  My problem is that I try to sand after dry fitting everything and forget about the marks and sand them off...

 

When milling, I mark the milled faces with a simple X.  Use the triangle when gluing up panels.

 

I'm pretty random about where/how I mark other things.  I'm self/internet taught, so I don't have a lot of guidance on the little things like this.

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1-IMG_1019.JPG

 

....the inverted L denoting the square end on the end of the board.

 

Aww.  I honestly thought I made up the " L " (square) in the corner to make a note that it's square.  Especially with sheet goods.   I put one on every board I work with, even the scraps immediately after a cut.  Well, at least great minds think alike.

 

I also use "NS" in the corners to mark 'not square'

 

 

Triangles always to mark boards being cut that need to be realigned later.  If 2 triangles are necessary, one is shaded in.  Huge on cutting boards and outdoor seat slats coming from one board.

 

I used to pencil in hash marks to note the waste ends of large cuts, but then if I use that cutoff for something else in the future, I really get confused!

 

Last time I used chalk on walnut, I couldn't get it out of the pores!

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I often use chalk and pencil. Mostly I use chalk for rough cut breakdown early on, but I sometimes use it for general marking. Otherwise, a pencil is my go to.

I use the triangle infrequently. I tend to use matching letters a lot for joinery.

For indicating square edges and faces, I normally use simple X. I also use a mark for the reference edge.

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What's a 'true face'?

 

I meant a face and edge that have been trued, or made square (90 degrees). According to Roy Underhill, it is a face that has been tried (as in try square) and found true (flat); hence the phrase tried and true. But I have an issue with that since flat is checked with winding sticks, a try square implies checking for square. So a true edge would be square to the face. Strictly speaking, a true face doesn't make sense to me, perhaps that is what you are questioning. But I'm sloppy with my woodworking terminology and sometimes refer to a groove as a dado. On a related note, recently I read in a book that what I've been calling a groove is called a plow (as in plow plane), a groove being on edge and a plow is on the face. I've never heard that before and am not sure if it's correct or just that author's conceit. 

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You are dealing with some cultural context issues here. Tried and true can be wittily applied to a tri-square but is in much broader use before tri-squares were in broad use. We have to get to Britain's industrial revolution before tri-squares (three uses) were more than a high priced novelty and yet we can find evidence of things being tried (trial) and found true in legal and religious writing hundreds of years earlier. Roy is great with the witticism though. We tend as humans to learn by association and he has forever linked a comment in peoples' minds by use of clever word play. I also remember a comment on rebates (rabbets) grooves (dados?) and the like having particular meanings with regard to how they run with or across the grain. I think this was an East side of the Atlantic thing and not pure snobbery.

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