Making A Wooden Contour Gauge

I need one for a few different projects, so I decided to make it. Yes, I know these are cheap to buy.
More about this project here:
ibuildit.ca/pr...
How to make the featherboard:
ibuildit.ca/pr...

[@MystiqueULH]

I would wax the individual sticks so they slide better and also the two pieces holding it together. Wax makes it slide easier.

[@JoeDavis82]

I love how the little fingers are more stout than the ones you can buy in the stores. I have a Stanley version and the fingers are constantly bending or just fall out. This seems like it would really stand the time and hold together. Great video, I always enjoy them John!

[@JohnHeisz]

Thanks!

[@marceaton3128]

John keep them coming. I enjoy watching you create these things.

[@steveschmor8674]

I'm gonna make several sized ones of these. A big one would be great for car body parts. Cool and easy project.

[@baconsoda]

An excellent project. I have one with metal fingers but stopped using it because it bruised some soft finishes. If I ever get a table saw (hard to justify for a turner) I'll make one of these. Best Wishes, Brendan.

[@JohnHeisz]

Thanks Brendan. These are a good tool for turners, especially if you need to reproduce a spindle or leg that's in place. Just copy the pattern, trace it onto paper and use that for reference.

[@rhwoodshop]

This is just down right needed in my shop. Thanks for this John!

[@DaveBardin]

Excellent as usual John. Making tools from scraps is the best!

[@augustusadriel1032]

A tip: watch series on instaflixxer. I've been using it for watching a lot of movies recently.

[@leviraylan7489]

@Augustus Adriel Yup, I've been using InstaFlixxer for since november myself :)

[@jameszulawski9910]

Wish you would've shown more of fiddling, and also, use a light dusting of spray paint to remind you which side is up... An old metal one I picked up at a yard sale had protractor angles inscribed. Believe it or not, it's amazing how simple it is to line up for weird corners, just knowing you're 30* or 45* off center when you transpose takes a ton of guesswork out of it, and so simple to add them..

[@ladyhawke1357]

Great idea! Thanks for sharing. Thinking a couple or three packs of lollipop sticks would work well as fingers?

[@DIYBuilds]

Having watched you John for the last 2 years now and watching this video today I can tell you this video is awesome... John Heisz, super canadian lol.

[@Jillian1stJohn3-9-10]

$1 DIY Contour Gauge using BBQ skewers & cardboard! Genius

[@Offshoreorganbuilder]

Thanks. I wonder if it would make the fitting less critical if the insides of the retaining strips were lined with felt? (1/4", give or take.)

[@PunkR0ckz09]

I don't know if this would've helped, but you could've made a small "dado" (4 1/2 inch long by something like 1/4 inch deep) to help retain the pieces in the "gauge" so they never fall out of it... obviously this would reduce the travel of the parts itself but you could make them longer or narrow the 2 cross sections... great idea though :)

[@dahmanus2002]

i imagine a large Wooden Contour Gauge big and square for faces and lasts of shoes, verry nice, thanks for sharing

[@zroverz]

Great tip using the thin rip guide.

[@NateCougill]

Cool project John. The store bought one that General Tools makes has fallen apart on me more than a few times!

[@chrisfort7340]

Thank you sir! Great idea. Now to scale it up.😎

[@rickeydenler2385]

Nice but what keeps them from coming out and causing a problem

[@jerrymascorrojr8746]

Great gauge, reminds me of my junior high shop class intro to tools! Had to watch it!!!! Thanks for you teachings!

[@jcuvier135]

At the prices these gauges sell for, this would be a great project. However, I'm not clear on what you mean at the end by "narrower." What needs to be narrower - the outer boards which hold everything together, or the contour strips, or what? Or do you mean that the overall gauge should be shorter, say 10" overall rather than 12 or 15?

[@cnrart.claudiorodriguez9978]

muy buena idea.¿funcionara con palitos de helados ? tengo miles

[@epidemia2007]

Yo lo voy a intentar con las lengüetas del dr.

[@Gantzz321]

if the small sticks don't have any thing to stop them from traveling completely through the 2 retaining pieces your going to be playing pick up sticks. If before cutting them you rabbited the entire thing except a small piece on either end, then they would stay held in securely and you could easy off the pressure on them, until it was time to lock them in place. All that aside would have made the fingers out of something a lot thinner, like a cut sheet of tin, it would be way more accurate.

[@47sojourner]

Steel contour gauges found at the hardware store are fine, but in many cases just too small. This is a must project for me. Now I will build to need. Thanks! :o)

[@ricardostaudt4140]

Hm, if you don't have a good accurate table saw (like myself), I'm thinking popsicle sticks would work also

[@davidallen9485]

Skewer sticks came to mind

[@user-vg9bf8tl4n]

Нужная вещь. Интересно на сколько длинной можно сделать подобную , и как поведёт она себя при высокой влажности воздуха ?

[@jesusjaaquinallozarosa4036]

Muy clara las imágenes y muy interesante todos sus trabajos gracias por todo lo que nos enseña

[@SteveSam66]

John, Very useful in the shop, thanks for posting

[@jimmcewan417]

use some felt strips to hold the internal strips.

[@toniodotcom]

Very pixelized... is there a 4K version?

[@55WingDing]

I thought for sure you were going to use popsicle sticks. Awesome video

[@jlyonm]

I wonder if this can be done with less sawing using popsicle sticks.

[@MrKarlnordenrot]

Great video! Your shop (and your knowledge) is the stuff of my dreams!

[@robyrei51]

with a little candle wax works better, thanks for your ideas simple and fantastic!

[@JohnHeisz]

I think wax would be a bad idea on this, since it would end up being sticky and collect dirt. Talcum powder would be the only thing I would try.

[@robyrei51]

John Heisz hai ragione, penso che il talcum poeder sia la migliore idea, grazie per i tuoi suggerimenti.-

[@CameronLienhart]

Honestly, I've never seen one of these! What a great idea and great project. Thanks, John.

[@Robbiethewoodturner]

nice job John should last a life time hey don't lend it to anyone

[@PJCCC100]

Very nice. I've been thinking on a similar one for ship modelling purposes. You say «cheapy to buy», but here, when you have a 500 € income monthly, 47€ for something that will not increase your home economy, is considered 'very expensive'. Well, the world is what it is...It's great that we can find ways to go around crisis. Thanks for sharing.

[@EdNobre1109]

Congratulations for your work!

[@aserta]

Soap dust between the strips should also help with better motion.

[@JohnHeisz]

Talcum powder is the only thing I would try, but it works well enough for what I need it to do.

[@ozgundemirr]

John Heisz try regular hard soap next time

[@paulreader1777]

Is this a suitable project for paddle-pop sticks or are they too thick/small?

[@thewoodshop69]

Good project. Maybe some wax on the fingers would make it slide easier.

[@TheRestless48]

super awesome DIY tool mr. Heisz! love it!

[@PavelKraus_webdesign]

good idea for expensive add-on

[@longshot789]

Do adjacent slits bind on each other much? Have you done anything to alleviate this since building it?

[@lords2112]

Awesome stuff sir...this is well needed in a lot of home remodeling trades

[@murraylowe8677]

Just wondering when you sanded the fingers did you sand them leaving about an eighth from the tips so when it was used they couldn't be pushed out of the frame in case it dropped on something. Looks like a wonderful tool, I am so making one of these or maybe a few so I have different lengths for longer or shorter projects. Thanks John

[@JohnHeisz]

Well, the fingers don't fall out when you drop it, they break. Luckily, I had some extras!

[@murraylowe8677]

John Heisz Cool thanks for the info. But I do suppose you will have to sand the replacement fingers to match the other ones, correct? So I best not be breaking any out LOL but I believe they are fairly durable if you make them from good hardwood?

[@muh1h1]

love that you are making your own tools! :)

[@datadev1]

Nice John, I assume you were in a project when you needed this. That's usually the way it is with me.

[@JohnHeisz]

Actually, I did at the time, but came up with another way to do it. I figured this would be an interesting project anyway.

[@CipsWoodChips]

Cool! I have not seen one of those in years. Cip Mendez

[@BuildiTDIYIsrael]

that is a clever little tool. nice!

[@HenningJohansen]

What if you glued a strip of felt or cork to the back of the maple strips?

[@JohnHeisz]

Tried that with a strip of leather - it made no difference.

[@OrabiEffect]

Great jop l will do one thanks

[@ericgeorge5483]

Wow, brilliant video, I loved that!!

[@MRrwmac]

Great idea. Thanks John.

[@hermannstraub3743]

Maybe it is easier to compress the whole stack sideways instead of the edges. This would make a consistent pressure at any strip. Maybe as an Addition to the actual design.

[@JohnHeisz]

Compressing it sideways would change the profile of what you are trying to copy.

[@hermannstraub3743]

John Heisz I mean the Long grain side of the sticks, not the end grain. But i did not try it. I dont know how good it will slip to copy the Profile. Just a thought.

[@JohnHeisz]

Hermann Straub Yes, I understood - pushing the fingers tighter together after the profile has been set will change the profile - 'crush' it.

[@hermannstraub3743]

John Heisz compressing the distance.... Now i understand! Thanks!

[@upcycleengineer7825]

great work, as usual

[@kingjacce6551]

Great vid John. Been subbed to you for a while now and I really like your content. :)

[@user-sz2gr2iv2t]

Хорошая штука на монтажах, для переноса р-ров

[@mrBDeye]

You can buy one from any store which sells ceramic tiles.

[@derekpoosbug]

+mrBDeye You could but why not make one?

[@mrBDeye]

LilFluffBall It is not cost effective to make one when you can buy a real nice one for less than $10 dollars. You can also build yourself a broom from a branch and hay but why do that when you can buy one for $5. Waste of time !

[@derekpoosbug]

If its something you enjoy is it a waste of time?

[@mrBDeye]

LilFluffBall I would buy a contour gauge for $10 and instead spend a Saturday making love to the wife for a very long time.

[@richayala2611]

Great idea and money saver!

[@ventiladordesuco]

what about using popsicle sticks?

[@ericlonguet791]

bonsoir vos idées sont tres bien eric longuet

[@fvrrljr]

Professional Shop, i'll be using popsicle sticks as a quick cheap alternative project with daughter, talk about free labor LOL Nah it's called quality time. i Like, OLE!

[@wdfwgagyfgagyga]

nice project!

[@mistergnz7449]

bravo.. ottima idea

[@najib3066]

VERY VERY NICE.john

[@dennismurphy5710]

Very clever...thanks

[@andreisuvorov]

Great tool! I didn't even know about such. Thank you a lot for sharing this!

[@gustavovaca7627]

Perfecto! excelente vídeo.

[@cosakti]

what if we just use ice cream stick, so we have less things to do

[@jumbo4billion]

As many people are saying, using lolly sticks would make this a less miserable experience.

[@deezynar]

Cool.

[@WoodNAOR]

Thank you You are greate

[@diseno_procomp]

Excelente !!!

[@waltervaz3393]

The best 👏👊

[@paulmonk7820]

Better idea...popsicle sticks! ....OOPS....just scanned the comments and see other folks had the same idea...

[@RICH.BIARIN]

Why not use ice cream stick? 😉

[@miguelacunabiernay6644]

EXELENTE ...!

[@jaxideraiden]

NICEEEEEE

[@gabrieltan06]

Why not just buy Ice-cream sticks? Trim them flat.

[@EdduLara]

Gabriel Tan Exatamente o que eu pensei!

[@user-bv2th1ck8j]

Подрезал у wolfcraft!

[@user-fl2xm2ti1b]

👍🔥💪

[@niltonm.b7947]

nosa mano tu fala de mais