Bevelled face

[charlieboy]

Hi, My daughter has asked me to make a giant ruler height chart for my grandson. It will be about 1500mm high, 200mm wide and 20mm thick. I would like to make it with a traditional ruler profile - i.e. with a bevel either side of the face down the length of the ruler. I plan to use 3 lengths of softwood, edge-jointed with biscuits. Each piece will be about 65 mm wide and 20mm thick and I plan to bevel the face of the outer 2 pieces across the entire width of each piece - from zero depth at one edge to about half the thickness at the other.

My current tools include a router, a circular saw and a hand plane (Stanley No 3), but I am happy to buy further tools if they will help me bevel the faces as I would like to do more woodwork and gradually build up my set of tools. I am a bit limited by both budget and space, but I am considering either:-

- A Bosch PHO 1500 power planer with the Bosch angle guide accessory (i.e. a fence which enables the planer to be set at an angle other than 90 degrees to the edge)
- A budget table saw with 0 to 45 degree blade angle adjustment (though this would require the wood to be fed through the saw on its edge to cut the bevel and then finished with the hand plane).

I would describe my woodworking skills as intermediate.

I would be grateful for any advice regarding either option or any other suggestions.

Thanks, Charlie

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Charlie
Why do you want to make it from three pieces? You can buy timber which is already planed all round (PAR) in 8x1 size. It will finish at something like 195 x 20mm. Perfect for what you are planning. Then you can just plane the bevels with your hand plane. Granted, a No.3 is a bit small, but it's certainly possible and it would be very satisfying. If you have money to spend, consider buying a good larger plane (a No. 5, 6 or 7). It will be better spent than on a budget tablesaw.

 

[YoungSalt]

If you used feather edge fencing or cladding type boards for the two edges, all you would have to do is cut, join, sand and finish.

 

[Mike.S]

Charlie

Not what your planning but here's a recent YouTube video on building a height chart.

Mike

 

[Racers]

You could use 3 pieces and plane a bevel on the edge of the two outside boards to form the bevels.

Pete