Editor’s note: Our Mind Upon Mind series is a nod to a 1937 Chips from the Chisel column (also featured in “Honest Labour: The Charles H. Hayward Years”), in which Hayward wrote, “The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.” The idea being there’s often room for improvement. To that end, we’ve asked you what else you have thought of, tried out and improved upon after building projects from our books.
Send us your own ideas! Email kara@lostartpress.com. You can read more about the submission process here.
Today’s pick is from Brad Reiser. Thanks, Brad!
— Kara Gebhart Uhl
I was just reading The Stick Chair Journal No. 2 issue article about using a tenon cutter [“Control the D#^& Tenon Cutter:].
I think I have mastered the technique … sort of.
I made a set of plugs for each of the different sized cutters, up to a 1-1/2″ cutter. The plugs run from 1/2″ to 1″ long. On one side of each plug I drilled a shallow hole to match a rare-earth magnet, inserted just slightly proud of the surrounding surface.
These are glued in place. Usually gently tapping the cutter face down will dislodge the plug. If not, I use an awl to pull it out. I ordered the magnets from Lee Valley. They are fragile. And very strong.
Tape works too, but it’s kind of a PIA. 🙂
— Brad Reiser
My heart skipped when I misread the title, garbling the words, thinking that this essay was about a return to production of Veritas tool, the Plugger
I don’t understand what the plugs do. Do they act as depth stops?
Yes – to get a tenon of the desired length