Winding Sticks - Best Length

[Dynamite]

I’m going to make some Winding Sticks at some stage. I had a temporary pair which helped me with my workbench build and they proved extremely useful. My temporary ones were about 300mm and I thought they were a bit short at the time. I was thinking 500 or 600 might have been better.

What does everyone think is the optimum length for general use? Is there a standard length at all?

Kind Regards… Rob

 

[Orraloon]

Dont think there is any standard. I made mine 12'' as I would hardly ever have a board wider than that. Its likely the best all round length I can think of for nearly all I do. Times you do something wide like a whole benchtop then hunt up 2 bits of anything strait. I used a spirit level and the aluminum bit of my tablesaw fence to check the top of my bench. For small things I have even used 2 pencils. Of course there is no reason not to have a couple of sets if you feel like it.
Regards
John

 

[Argus]

I agree, there's not a standard......... just what suits your work - 12 to 18 inches seems to work for most applications where we are dealing with 6 to 8 inch-wide boards, but it ain't critical..

One thing to bear in mind is that as the length of overlap across the board's edges increases, so does the apparent ratio of variance across the board being measured; it tends to magnify it, so that, what appears to be a small variation with a 12 inch set, will probably show a noticeable twist-difference at, say, 24 inches.
So, it depends how critical you wish the measuring to be. The eye is very forgiving and few of us work to engineering tolerances in wood.

Another essential is to select a couple of pieces of very stable wood that you can rely on not to alter shape as the seasons change.

It's tempting to make them as a bit of a show-piece of your work...........
I made mine from some spare, well dried and straight-grain Walnut that I had left over and inlaid the sights with a couple of odd bits of boxwood without conspicuously concentrating on the length - I used what I had. (I have just measured them at 16 inches).


Good luck.

 

[Adam W.]

Mine are about 30" from 3/8" walnut. I mess about with 2' wide boards and make windows for the house by hand, so I wanted them quite long. That lengt fits also fits nicely in the width of my tool box.

 

[Argus]

.........on the subject of Winding Sticks, here's a couple of videos on making them:

https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/videos/winding-sticks/

 

[Droogs]

Generally when i make some, I make them about 6" wider than the widest board I think I will be flattening. The most important thing to remember is the longer they are the more exaggerated the twist is but the easier it is to spot. There is a formula (but can't remember it) that gives the ratio of length of stick to width of board in contact and how much the twist is shown to be percentage wise that lets you then work out how much actually needs to come off at the high spots.

 

[Dynamite]

.........on the subject of Winding Sticks, here's a couple of videos on making them:

https://woodworkingmasterclasses.com/videos/winding-sticks/

brilliant Argus, many thanks.

Thanks to everyone for their input too.

Kind Regards… Rob

 

[TheUnicorn]

I've not got a lot of experience with formal winding sticks, normally just grab a couple of straight pieces, or spirit levels, whatever is to hand, that said, I would have thought the bigger the better, as long as they sit stable on the surface (not so over length that they keel over to one side or the other), as I see it, more length is more information, same reason I'd use the biggest square that would fit onto a workpiece.

 

[Jacob]

I've not got a lot of experience with formal winding sticks, normally just grab a couple of straight pieces, or spirit levels, whatever is to hand, that said, I would have thought the bigger the better, as long as they sit stable on the surface (not so over length that they keel over to one side or the other), as I see it, more length is more information, same reason I'd use the biggest square that would fit onto a workpiece.

What is a formal winding stick? The only essential is that they should be straight and exactly the same height. If different heights you can get a false reading.

 

[Adam W.]

I think he means a dedicated set of winding sticks, as opposed to a twig off the floor.

 

[thetyreman]

I like the veritas aluminium ones.

 

[baldkev]

I have used 2x1 pse for custom sizes or my stabila levels on occasion ( 20mm x 50mm box )

Not for planing flat, i dont really encounter that, but for checking surfaces and twist etc.

 

[Dynamite]

I have used 2x1 pse for custom sizes or my stabila levels on occasion ( 20mm x 50mm box )

Not for planing flat, i dont really encounter that, but for checking surfaces and twist etc.

Many thanks for sharing this Kev.

Rob