Squaring up boxes with a nail on inside of corner
DannySnyder
| Posted in Jigs, Fixtures, Tips & Tricks on
Hi Everyone,
I ‘m pretty sure I didn’t imagine that I heard a reference to the above on a recent Shop Talk Live. Something like taking a board across the diagonal of the box and using a finish nail that is punched through the board to sit inside the corner. Ring a bell? If so, please explain it to me. Thanks!
Replies
I don't know the specific reference. But it's a method of checking for squareness. Any square or rectangle will be proved to have 90 degree corners if the two diagonals are equal.
There are lots of tools or jigs to do this. This most common are two sticks with pointy tip that can get into the opposite corners, then the sticks are clamped in the middle. Withdraw the two, and see how it compares with the opposite corners.
I think this tip was one of my favorites ever... It referred to something Tom McLaughlin showed in one of his videos (if you relisten to that ShopTalk Live they will tell you which one)
Basically, take a stick (maybe 1/4" thick by 3/4" wide by a few feet long) and drive a nail through (I drilled an undersized hole, then drove it through) so it sticks out the back side. Clip it off so it sticks out the bottom of the stick about 1/2". Now check diagonals - nail goes into one corner and stick diagonal across the box, mark where it intersects the inner corner. Then do the same for the opposite diagonal, mark that. If they line up, it is square, if not mark exactly halfway between your marks (that is the brilliant part) and you have the diagonal that will make it square!
Hard to describe in words... easier to find and watch the video...!
Thanks, RAL3Wood! I'll look for the video. You've filled a lacuna in my knowledge: what to do to make the box square if the two diagonals don't match.
Couple reasons I prefer the nail on a stick to the inside adjustable sticks... First is that with the nail/stick is that you can mark both diagonals once and just use the center. With the adjustable sticks you have to keep playing with it to get the perfect dimension. Second, with the adjustable sticks you put it in, check and then take it out to adjust, recheck, take it out to adjust. With the nail/stick, you just set it on top of the box and can leave it there while you adjust.
Obviously everyone has a method that works for them, but just my reasons.
That's it! Thanks guys. I've been hooking my tape on the outside corner for the last 33 years, I'm due for a change LOL.
That works too
Another way .. shop made with a little help from a LeeValley/Veritas kit. Fully adjustable and lockable.
That's what I've used.
Thanks again for all the comments. I really do enjoy this forum, it’s very civil and filled with generous people.
My creative juices started flowing and now I’m thinking about combining some trammel points with a stick that has a stick-on rule tape applied to it.
The video showing Tom's slick method of checking case for square is part of his Masterclass video on his Shaker chest. The tip comes towards the end of the You Tube video at about 14 minutes in, at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGmBUyeYA4&t=869s
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