CRAFTSMANSHIP
Boatbuilder’s Notes
The use of a
mitre box
BY ROBIN GATESA mitre box is a useful aid to cutting 45
degree ends for mitre joints, and also for
sawing ends square, bypassing the need for
marking out with bevel or try-square.
Look for a solid hardwood box, usually
beech, with thick walls and base, so that
it has both the mass to remain stable on
the bench and guides, which are long
enough to prevent sideways wobble in the
saw blade. Check that walls are
perpendicular, and that the guides are at a
true 45 or 90 degrees, as appropriate.
A mitre box is generally used for small
stuff, such as stuck-on mouldings. It's usual
to clamp the work tight with the free hand
while sawing, but you could also use packing
pieces or a small cramp to prevent
movement. Saw on a sacrificial insert to
preserve the flatness of the base. For extra
security, push the box itself against a bench
dog, or immobilise it with a holdfast.Comfortable grip
When wooden planes made the transition to cast iron, the base
of the rear handle, previously socketed tenon-like into a
mortice, was reshaped with a forward-facing horn to house a
screw for attaching it. Since the height of the handle is
restricted by the blade assembly, the fingers are squeezed into
a smaller space between the top and bottom horns of the
handle. Over the course of a long stint of planing, this piles
pressure onto the finger joints.
While it’s customary to use a three-finger grip, with
forefinger extended alongside the blade, you may find a
two-finger grip more comfortable, with the little finger
extended alongside the handle’s bottom horn.Free-standing square
The combination square is a handy tool for checking a true
vertical because it can be free-standing on the stock’s
accurately machined face, when the sliding rule is extended,
and is weighty enough not to be wobbled easily. Consequently
you can set it up and take a step back to see if the work is
perpendicular. The integrated spirit level is a useful feature, too.
By contrast, the equivalent face of the wooden stock of a
carpenter’s try-square, which would be used to stand it up, is
often rounded by age or design, and is too unstable for this
kind of measurement. The reference face of such a try-square is
on the inside of the stock – and typically lined with brass,
because it is pushed against timber when marking around it.A comfortable
grip with little
finger extendedChecking a
perpendicular1 Using the 45 degree guides 2 Sawing an end square 3 Quick and tidy cutsROBIN GATES ROBIN GATESROBIN GATES1(^2 3)