Precision is what a chalk line should be about. Until I found the Tajima CR202B Ultra Thin line I never experienced such fine marks despite a large collection of chalk boxes. This is a love-at-first-use tool. My Tajima is an awesome chalk line that makes one wonder where it’s been all these years and starts a hankering to experience more Tajima products.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Description:

The Tajima CR202B-P Chalk-Rite II Ultra Thin Chalk Box:

• Contractor-grade chalk snap-line with 100 ft of premium-grade ultra thin line
• Smooth gear-drive winding, up to 3 times faster than standard snap-lines
• Compact, fits comfortably in the palm of your hand yet holds up to 1.6 oz. of chalk
• Durable, heavy-gauge die-cast aluminum case with folding crank
• Positive gear-lock line hold, automatically releases during rewind

Experience:
A line snapped with a chalk line during typical construction might just be for an incredibly important task. Lines are snapped to mark the location of a ledger holding your addition, or on the roof sheathing to set the visual path of shingles  …it may just be a line you need to cut along a sheet of plywood or a myriad of other surfaces and locations. More oft than not, a line snapped with a chalk box sets the future for years to come. After 20 years of snapping fat, blurry, double, over-shot, curved and fragmented lines with the cheapest of chalk lines, I am super-pleased to find a real tool. My other chalk lines are garbage compared to the Tajima Ultra Thin Chalk Line~!
A chalk line is one of the very few tools that I actually carry with me in My Tool Belt.

Comments:
This ToolboxBlog.com articles is less of a Tajima Chalk Line review than it is pure boasting that I have one of the greatest tools, if not the greatest, in it’s class! I really doubt you can go wrong purchasing one of these Ultra-Thin lines. Seeing the prices on Amazon while writing this, I’ve decided to buy the CR201R Extra Bold and give it a go.

Links:

Tajima CR202B-P Chalk-Rite II Ultra Thin Chalk Box

Tajima CR202B-0 Chalk-Rite Gear Drive -InchUltra-Thin-Inch Chalk Snap Line

I thought I had already written about three of the compasses that I use in my shop but I can’t find the article or the images and now I find myself wondering if I dreamt about writing articles that don’t exist?

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Here is a compass that travels with me to every job inside My Red Toolbox. Bouncing around in my truck box, this compass requires reassembly before use but it’s precision adjustability is just the reason I prefer this one.

Since I’m baffled by the absence of any previous reference to a compass on this site I’m going to keep this short and go look for those pictures. Whoever made this compass neglected to mark it and they are sold under different names, Including General Tools.

Links:

General Tools 842CP Pencil Compass Divider And Scriber

– A better quality tool is the 8″ Compass by Treeline.

–

Awl a board. Yeah, that’s right. The awl is a great tool. I have quite a few awls including several antiques, even an 1805 wrought iron Lewis & Clark replica awl with antler handle. To be honest, for a while I didn’t know what an awl was for. Yeah, I get it.. it’s for poking holes. So what?

Features:
A handle and a pointy tip.

Experience:
I’ve repeatedly worked on one Contemporary home for over ten years. That house has countless mahogany plywood doors fastened by piano hinge. From kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities to walls of full-sized closet doors the house is full of them. Piano hinges come with lots of small screws. The screws are fastened every 2″.

I own a vital tool for hardware installation and that is the self-centering drill bit like the Rockler 3-Pc. Self-Centering Bit Set. A necessary size for the piano hinge is the small No. 4 bit. Unfortunately, I lost the best one I had so I bought a replacement but it’s a piece of crap and doesn’t work properly.

What do I use all the time to mark centers? I use an awl. There are reasons why I now prefer the awl to the self-centering bit for certain applications. One reason is that on piano hinges the self-centering bit has a tendency to slip around or not stay in the hole due to the thin hinge material. The awl is as precise as my eye can spot the center, every time. The self-centering bit requires the surfaces to be mated to be perfectly aligned when drilling. I find it’s easier to hold a piece of hardware in place and just mark the center with an awl, then remove the hardware and predrill.

If I’m set up with the self-centering bit, I might mark the first hole with an awl, secure the hardware with one screw and then finish the rest with power tools.

On the smallest of projects, I use the awl to mark location and then use my Starrett Pin Vise to predrill.

Links:
General Tools Scratch Awl, 3.75

In the photo below are three of my 7″ Speed Squares; A Swanson, a Johnson and an Empire. Hopefully thinking the Swanson Speed Square is the original is not just another reflection of learning carpentry in California.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Experience:

I think the Speed Square presents a ‘Chicken or The Egg’ question. Which came first; The Speed Square or the Possibilities. Either way a Speed Square is one of the top 5 essential tools in a carpenters belt so I rated it a five. I’ve used it every day since day one. The first one I owned was the Swanson Speed Square and I still hold this favorable to the sharper edges on the knock-offs.

After you repeatedly use your speed square to dust off foundations before dropping on the sillplate you can fix any indiscretions with a file. It’s amazing how many uses other than marking and layout you find for these: holding up a door whle you mark for hinges, or wedged under a door to hold it open or to keep it closed. How about when you can’t find or reach your hammer, even though you know you shouldn’t, use it to start a nail or tap a piece into place? I’ve dropped, thrown, frozen, left out in all weather, used the same one for ten years, dropped one forever into a wall system and still I probably don’t even know how to use this tool to it’s extent. I’ve built some pretty impressive things over time and it doesn’t take too much more than a square that deals with angles to get tricky things done. I think the Speed Square should probably be sold with a Bevel Gauge. Together they make Architecture happen.

Links:
The Swanson Tool SO101 7-inch Speed Square at Amazon.com

Many manufacturers offer combo squares in a variety of materials but the tool remains the same. One of my favorite tools in my belt, which I’ve carried for years, is the 6″ combo square. Sure, I use larger combo squares regularly but the 6″ is in my pouch ready for gauging and marking at any moment  …those moments come all day long at my job.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Experience:

I’m rating this tool on a tool basis not a particular company model. I’ve owned several 6″ combo squares, losing a few and killing a few others. Today I carry a, five year old, aluminum model to cut down on weight. Lol, the older I get the less I feel like carrying.

The predominant use for this one? Probably marking lines 1/4″ to 2″ from an edge. Setting reveals, laying out cuts, marking position for next layer of trim, marking lots and lots and lots of cuts and setting more reveals. I don’t think I’ve ever used the level function, or used it to check square. It’s a depth gauge in my pocket. Layout! Get one if you don’t carry one around already. Most of my friends do and we all like to talk about our 6″ combo squares. Plus, it would probably be pretty dangerous if thrown.

links:

Here are 4 different 6″ combo squares from least expensive at $7 to most expensive at $70.

Swanson 6-Inch Combo Square

Empire Level 6-Inch Pocket Combination Square

6” Precision Combo Square with Center Head

Starrett 6” Combo Square

A bevel gauge has been an essential tool in my carpenter’s belt. I don’t know how old this one is but I can tell you it’s been around the block and then some. The way this tool sticks out of my pouch means it has gotten caught on just about everything I have to squeeze through on the job, be it shrubs, a crawlspace, or a joist bay.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Description:

• Durable steel blade coated to resist rust
• Select, hard rock maple wood handle
• Recessed grip area
• Solid brass end plates
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

Experience:

Deciding when to use your bevel gauge is sometimes a matter of how well you know how to use the tool. When I learned carpentry it was essential for transferring so many details from existing material to new material it became a part of my belt. The T-bevel or Bevel Gauge is another one of those tools you can use without a tape measure… I have to figure out what to call processes that are reality-based operations as opposed to paper-based; Hold a board up to the opening to mark actual size VS measure opening size then measure board. A bevel gauge is great; you just set it up to an angle, tighten and transfer. If you’re curious to know what the angle is, you can check with a Speed Square.. or you can just set your saw by the bevel gauge and cut.

In combination with a good level and a speed square, angle work is easy with my Stanley 46-812 8″ bevel gauge.

Comments:

Something about this not being the most expensive bevel gauge I own makes it the best bevel gauge I use. This 46-812 doesn’t have the most rigid blade and that’s a good thing. Like I said, this bevel gauge sticks out of my belt. Sometimes it gets bent, in fact it’s almost always bent a bit but easily bent back and always straight down the edge. The wood handle is not the hardest wood and therefore doesn’t splinter. I prefer to carry this 8″ hardware store bevel gauge than I do any other I own. It looks shot but it serves it’s function of providing a straight pivoting blade for recording and transferring angles. I’m not looking for a new one anytime soon. Most expensive doesn’t always mean best one for everyday use.

Links:

Stanley 46-813 at StanleyTools.com (Products Data)

Stanley 46-813 8-Inch Solid Hardwood T-Bevel

Dowel Centers are little metal cylinders capped with a point that can be used in a few ways:

• For doweling, they align your second set of dowel holes.
• For positioning spindle work, they pinpoint the location for boring.
• An internal point marks the exact center of a dowel for lathe work

Experience:

Most often I use dowel centers for doweling custom plywood furniture together. The centers make alignment a breeze since you don’t really need to worry about the specifics of your first holes. I drill into the endgrain every so often then drop in 3/8″ centers, align the mating piece and apply some pressure or tap with a rubber mallet and the points show where to drill your second holes. I’m no scientist with this procedure, rarely using a drill press, and the dowels all line up and the pieces fit together. Here’s another example of crafting without a tape measure. I guess the spacing for my dowels. I set the drill bit depth stop by comparison to the material thickness. That’s it, a little glue then tap in your dowel and you’ve got a solid joint. For repetitious doweling (like making drawers or cabinet boxes) there are better aids.

Links:
General Tools 888 1/4-Inch to 1/2-Inch Dowel Center Transfer Plugs

Wow! Really one of my coolest tools. At first I thought these tools were too beautiful to use but it didn’t take me long to break them in. Today my limited edition Signature Series CT-1 Squevel is in constant use, though writing this post has brought to my attention it’s need for some TLC.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Specifications:

• Handle milled from a solid 1-1/2 lb. chunk of #360 half hard, tempered brass.
• Accurate to within 0.002″ over the 6-1/2″ blade length
• The bevel blade length is 3-7/8″ in a 90° setting.
• Identified with a special commemorative logo and signed by the creator, John Economaki

Experience:

The Squevel! Interesting name, even more interesting construction and story behind it’s fashioning.

Buried forever in the handle of each Squevel is a 1992 U.S. penny

I received my CT-1 Squevel as a gift. It is dated 1993 and bears the makers signature and edition number. Although I own a number of bevel gauges, the precision of the short bevel blade on my Bridge City Tool is reserved for a few specific tasks. As a carpenter, I carry a bevel gauge. I should show you a picture of it because it’s wasted from being a proud tool on a belt that’s been dragged from under to atop of way too many houses. The bevel gauge, a tool that works wonder. I love it.

Back to the shop and a different kind of bevel blade for a much more precise application. My Squevel sits next to my TS-2 Master Square. These are my fine woodworking tools and I’m not sure they’ve seen many softwoods. I read people collect these. Well, all I can say is, as predominately a case/cabinet maker in my shop I have a set of gouges that might as well be collector’s items since I never put them to use. All of my Bridge City Tool Works tools are put to use as often as my pencil. It’s a square, right? …and it’s accurate to 0.002″. I hope you enjoy reading a bit on BridgeCityTools.com. I got really caught up in their website looking at the incredible tools. It’s 1:30am and I’m up at 6 so now it’s your turn. I have to get some sleep. Enjoy.

Links:

CT-1 Squevel at Bridge City Tool Works – discontinued product.

Every woodworker has a few prized tools that are put to use often. A few of the finest tools In my shop are made by Bridge City Tool Works, including the TS-2 Master Try Square which is engraved with my initials, birthday and the year of 1990.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Product Specifications:

• Accuracy: 90 degrees, plus or minus 0.002″ over the blade length, inside and outside
• Blade Length: 8″ (heel to toe)
• Blade Thickness: 0.125″
• Blade Width: 1.50″
• Blade: 360 alloy, half-hard brass
• Handle: Solid rosewood, faced on both sides with 360 alloy half-hard brass wear plates, rivets are anchored in solid brass seats, both sides

Experience:

I received the Bridge City Tool Works TS-2 Master Square as a birthday present from a fine cabinetmaker and an influential person in my life. Unfortunately he died before I grew up enough to share woodworking stories, experiences and learn from him. As we talked during his last few days I felt like I was being cast out alone into the woodworking world with no teacher since we had lived on opposite coasts of America during my beginnings and I had just returned to the East Coast; “How will I learn to be a craftsman without you?” He replied, “You are going to have to go out there and learn it for yourself like everyone else.”

I don’t own a tool more accurate or more beautiful. I value these tools more than any other for obvious reasons… but still I use them almost every day!

If you like the TS-2 check out my Bridge City Tool Works CT-1 Squevel.

Links:

TS-2 at Bridge City Tool Works – Out of production.

Links:
Ticonderoga Pencils, #2 Soft Lead, Woodgrain, Dozen at Amazon.com

Panasonic KP380-BK Classic Electric Pencil Sharpener at Amazon.com