I've got a nice collection of timbers out back that I'm pretty sure the client would have considered to be "a problem" had we had used them.

That's what we build our stuff out of.


Mo,

It's true you can use the square rule to join any two pieces of wood (even two logs), but really twisted and bowed sticks should be called what they are -- poor timber. And as such you should think long and hard about it's suitability. We have found that it is usually a good trade to pay more for better quality timber(not just the wood, but also the milling). That way we can spend the client's money on things they care about (or things you really want to do) rather than spending the labor joining bad wood and saying "Don't you think the scarf between those 2 really wonky sticks turned out nice and tight?" only to have them say (or think) "Why did they put those 2 wonky pieces in my dream home in the first place -- I thought I was getting better quality material."

That being said, sometimes you need to be able to deal with really irregular wood (natural shapes, reclaimed timbers, or just bad wood). My opinion is that scribing allows for greater flexibility in dealing with the sometimes unexpected consequences of joining 2 irregulars. Each intersection is truly "custom".

Square rule (and herein is a large measure of it's value) is more of a production method for dealing with irregularities in your timber -- with an accompanying decrease in joint specific control of timber surfaces without resorting to extensive mapping. That's why you just have to clean it up when it's together -- feather it in, plane it flush -- whatever looks best.



Once again, I think this is a great topic -- let's keep the ideas and opinions flying.

gh