Tool of the Month January 2017

Welcome to the first Tool of the Month blog post of 2017!

This month it's a quick look at the sliding bevel gauge.

A selection of sliding bevels!

The sliding bevel is an adjustable marking out tool used to accurately mark out and transfer different angles.

When making a piece of furniture which includes multiple angles in its design, (for example a chair) it is very useful to have a few sliding bevels to hand which can be left set, otherwise you have to constantly set and reset for each new angle!

Japanese shinwa on the left compared to a more traditional sliding bevel gauge on the right.

The blade can be held at the desired angle by tightening either a screw or wing nut at the top of the tool on traditional gauges or on some more recent designs via a locking mechanism on the end of the handle (much better as it's not in the way!).

Japanese Shinwa bevel gauge in use

Here you can see a Japanese Shinwa bevel gauge being used to check the angles on an octagonal oak board.

Setting the planer fence at an angle

The bevel gauge is also used to set fences on machinery such as planers, table saws and mitre saws to the required angle.

That is all for January! Look out for February's blog post soon!