Miter Cutting Bench Hook / Fixing a Birdcage Awl

So many times I've seen people using bench hooks for various tasks.  I guess I'm a Sellers-ite because I do most tasks in the vise or on the bench top.  But I thought it was time to look at bench hooks.

About five years ago I picked up an issue of Fine Woodworking and it had a few interesting shop helper projects that I wanted to build - including a miter sawing bench hook.  I started with an off-cut piece of pre-finished plywood, cut and squared-up a piece 12" x 12" and one 12" x 3".

Too shiny and smooth

This was a great opportunity for me to use the toothing plane that I bought a couple months ago.  Just a few swipes diagonally in two directions and some straight swipes and most of the finish was gone and the surface was roughened up.

Much better - don't want my work pieces sliding around

Here's what the toothing plane does

Then I got a piece of maple about 2" x 1 1/4" and cut one piece 12" long and one piece 3" long.  On the longer piece I laid out some 45° and 90° cut lines.

Lines laid out

Then cut to the lines, leaving bottom 1/8" uncut

It's easier to cut to those lines when the board is not glued to the plywood.  BTW, when cutting those kerfs it's important to use the same saw that will be used routinely when using this sawing board. That way, the saw won't be sloppy or sticky in the kerf later.

Glued and screwed the maple to the plywood

When the glue had set, I finished the cuts

I toyed with the idea of not attaching a "hook" to the bottom and just using the center board in my bench as a stop.

Miter cutting board sans hook

But good sense got the better of me - I know how messy my bench top can get and it might be a hassle to raise the center board to use it as a stop.  So I glued and screwed the hook to the underside.

Hooks added to bottom register on front of bench and keep it from moving

I added some adhesive-backed sandpaper to the front of the hooks to keep the boards from sliding in use.  And note in the above picture that I made a smaller one from the 12" x 3" piece of plywood to help support longer pieces during a cut.

Note that these are meant for rough cutting, so you can finish up at the shooting board or with chisels, depending on the task.

Will I use these helpers?  Well, I just don't know yet.  I'll see in the next few months, but I think they'll be handy to have around.



On a completely different subject, I made myself a birdcage awl a couple years ago from some cherry and 1/4" square O-1 steel.  It was OK, but not great because I filed and ground the angles incorrectly. Only the end 3/4" was tapered.  I was just winging it and didn't know the proper angle to use.

This awl always had to steep an angle

Now that I have a hand crank grinder it was time to fix it.

Marked with red "Sharpie" and ground carefully, dipping in water frequently

Action shot

Ground new bevel starting about 1 3/8" back from the tip

Closer view

This made all the difference.  After some work on the diamond stones to refine the little pyramid shape on the end, this tool now makes quick work of small pilot holes for a drill or a screw. I've already used it a few times and am very happy with the performance.  Very satisfying.