190 AMATEUR RODMAKING 



edges will cut like a sharp scraper. He fas- 

 tens the gauge in a vise, bandages the thumb 

 and fore finger of the left hand, to prevent 

 cutting them on the gauge or the sharp edges 

 of the cane, then draws the strips through the 

 gauge. The strip is inclined slightly, to pre- 

 sent a better cutting edge, and considerable 

 pressure is exerted by thumb and finger. I 

 have tried this plan with satisfaction and can 

 recommend it. 



If I were beginning all over again, I would 

 use nothing in rod and other work but a 

 micrometer caliper; but while I use one a 

 great deal, in rodmaking I have been accus- 

 tomed to using a gauge marked in 64ths of an 

 inch, and to change would necessitate the cor- 

 recting of a great many charts and working 

 plans. There is one thing that will help ma- 

 terially, and that is to ignore all coarser desig- 

 nations under one inch and use 64ths alone. 

 By this I mean to designate J/s as 8-64, and 

 so on, the idea being to eliminate, as far as 

 possible, the necessity for mental calculations 

 of any kind while you are working. You may 

 consider this point trivial, but let someone call 

 you to lunch while you are on a delicate piece 

 of work, and unconsciously you begin to rush 

 things in order to reach a satisfactory stop- 



