Which tool do I use—and lose—most often while wood turning? It’s my favorite 6-in. steel rule, the one I use to set my calipers. It usually ends up buried under a pile of wood chips. I solved this problem by mounting the rule on a hardwood block, which I attached to the front side of the lathe bed. I use double-sided tape for both tasks, thin tape for the rule and the thicker type with the foam core for the block, which keeps it secure on the irregular surface. The back of the block is angled at 45° so the rule faces up. While I was at it, I drilled a hole into the end of the block to hold a pencil, the tool I lose only slightly less often. The block has saved me a lot of time digging through curly shavings, and having the rule fixed in place leaves both hands free for adjusting the calipers.

—Bill Wells, Olympia, Wash.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

CrushGrind Pepper Mill Mechanism

Matt Monaco designs his pepper mills to accept the CrushGrind mill mechanism, which he likes because it doesn’t require drilling through the top of the mill’s cap and having hardware exposed on top.

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