The work need to test after sawing, cutting and smoothing of carpentry project. For this reason we use different testing tools in woodworking such as straight edge, winding sticks, plumb bob, spirit level, try square etc. Without these a joiner can’t perform his work accuracy. You should not require all the tools for all time. Different kinds of testing tools are described as below.
Straight edge
The edges of Straight edge tools are quite straight and parallel. They are made of wood or steel. The length of them is from 12 inches to 70 inches, wide 3.5 to 6.3 cm and thickness 0.15 to 0.5 cm. Normally it is used to test edge and plane of a thing. They are also use for draw a straight line.
Winding sticks
Normally winding sticks are used for testing the defects of twist plane of wood board. It is 15 inches long and 3.8 cm wide.
Plumb bob
The plumb bob looks like a “top”. It is made of steel, brass or lead. Normally it is used for testing the plane of door or windows are right angle with the base. It has tapered on front side and ring in the back side. The ring is used to hang them with the rope or string. It is 113 to 170 gm weight.
Spirit levels
The spirit levels are used for testing both the vertical and horizontal surfaces level in woodworking. These tools are made of wood or lightweight metal. Usually it is 65 cm long, 7.5 cm wide and 2cm thick. It includes a small hole into a hardwood stock which contains a glass tube that is filled with methelated spirit. During testing an air bubble indicates the surface is straight or not. When the air bubble fix in the middle, it indicates the surface is straight. Conversely if the surface is not plane then the air bubble goes to the highest end. It is a brittle tool which can easily break. So it should be handling carefully. You can use it as a marking gauge.
Calipers
Calipars is looks like as divider. It is significant tools for measuring. It is three types such as outside calipers, inside calipers and spiring calipers. They can be further classified as firm joint, lock joint and spring joint.
Try square
Try square can be used for testing straightness of plane surface of a wood and the right angles of edges. It has two main parts – blade and handle (stock). Among them blade is made of steel and stock is made of wooden or cast iron. The blade is fitted with the handle at right angles. The blade is 15 cm to 30 cm long, 3.8 cm wide and 0.15 cm thick.
Miter square
As like try square miter square also contains blade and handle. The blade is made of steel and handle is made of cast iron or brass. The blade is set into the stock at an angle of 45°. The length of the miter square is 20 cm to 35 cm.
Bevel square
The bevel square is also known as sliding bevel. It is used for testing angles other than 90°. As like try square they also include two parts – blade and handle which are combined with a screw or wing nut. The blade is made of steel whereas the handle is made of cast iron or brass. The blade can be rotated to any angle from 0 to 180 degrees. The length of the sliding blade is from 15 cm to 30 cm. They are available in four sizes from 6 inches to 13 inches.
9. Joiner uses the surface plate for testing the flatness, trueness of surfaces. You can also use in scribing work. It is made of cast iron, graphite or glass.
Ruler
Rulers are used for fine, accurate woodworking measurement. The most uses rulers are 30 to 60 cm long.