192 AMATEUR RODMAKING 



dip the injured finger at once into shellac, then 

 into sawdust. By this treatment bleeding will 

 be checked, and inflammation will not set in, 

 to spoil your work for a week. 



Of course it is wise to set the plane very fine, 

 and to work slowly. Besides gauging fre- 

 quently, test the strips often with your center 

 gauge, to see that the angles are true. It is 

 also possible to gauge them on all sides at the 

 same time, but this requires a gauge specially 

 fitted. Such a one was made for me by 

 a fellow angler, J. E. Radford, of Hyde Park, 

 Mass. This consisted of a caliper gauge with 

 a center gauge so fastened across its face that 

 the readings on the slide of the gauge were 

 correct for each face. In use the strip is 

 passed through the triangular opening and the 

 slide closed. In a moment the strip may be 

 tested and marked, if necessary, at any num- 

 ber of places throughout its length, and very 

 accurate work is therefore possible. 



When all the strips have been planed to 

 nearly perfect size and taper, put them to- 

 gether, and witH a length of string wind them 

 spirally from end to end, exerting consider- 

 able tension meanwhile. Caliper on all sides 

 from end to end, marking in your own fashion 

 a place that is too high, too low, or too wide. 



