Precision Work - Story Stick

[sailtravis]

Last night I was building a drawer for a new shop cabinet and after measuring carefully four score and seven times and cutting oh so carefully w/ stop blocks... I'm happy to report the drawer came out nice and square. Rabbets and dados the correct depth and width, everything fit properly and the trusted BT-3100 had done all I asked.

But...
The drawer was also just shy of being the right width for the drawer slides to fit properly (This was a first attempt at using drawer slides). After a little shim was installed everything works great and the shim is hardly noticable. Its will be fine for the shop.

All the while that I was building the drawer and getting it fitted I was thinking about the little bit of info I've read so far on precision WW techniques. I've slowly been learning that doing precision WW is less about measuring and more about making sure your getting consistancy when cutting the parts. And I've read that utilizing story sticks are a useful precision technique. Although I've seen many references to 'story sticks' I have yet to find a good explaination on the net or see one in the wild.

Would anyone care to prepare a short treatise on the birth, care, and feeding of story sticks or point me in the direction of some good precision WW technique info that can educate me on the same.

[Thom2]

http://www.woodcraft.com/articles.aspx?articleid=289
http://www.robson.org/woodfaq/woodfa...l#Section_1.13
http://www.huntfamily.com/metz/storystick.htm

happy reading

[sailtravis]

Thanks Thom,

Once again, just trying to make something harder than it actually is. Looks like a story stick might have been the trick for my drawer installation last night.

[LarryG]

I've slowly been learning that doing precision WW is less about measuring and more about making sure your getting consistancy when cutting the parts.

Absolutely right. Perhaps the most famous saying in all of woodworking is, "Measure twice, cut once" but if you can avoid it, you really don't want to measure at all.

The term "story stick" means different things to different people; and those different people use them in different ways. It's probably one of those things for which each person has to find his own way, figure out what works best for him. At a glance, the links Thom posted look like they'll get you started with the basics and you can work out the rest to suit your own methods, preferences, and needs.

[Tom Miller]

The drawer was also just shy of being the right width for the drawer slides to fit properly (This was a first attempt at using drawer slides). After a little shim was installed everything works great and the shim is hardly noticable.

What's the problem? You just spelled out my exact technique for installing these things right the first time! (i.e. err on the side of too narrow a drawer, then shim if required.)

Really, though, it's hard for me to imagine setting the blade with a story stick as well as I can with a tape. Maybe you could make a story stick with blade kerfs for markings, though. When I'm making drawer parts, I tend to just to a fairly careful job of measuring.

Regards,
Tom

[LCHIEN]

A story stick is just a customized ruler made for a particular job where all the key measurements are placed on the one stick.

With say, a dozen marks on it (labelled of course and with arrows pointing in the correct direction) it might be less confusing than a ruler with 600 marks per every 3 feet that more or less all look alike.

[scmhogg]

Rusty,

I make story sticks when I am trying to fit something in to a pre-existing space. Or, when I think I might make another at a later time.

I also try to use a bar guage as often as possible. As others have said not having to measure is the best way.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...=1,43513,43553

Steve

[WEG]

Hi Folks;
I don't know if these qualify as 'story sticks" or "just sticks", but I learned to measure inside dimensions from my old railroad carpenter Uncle who used two thin 1 inch wide scrap pieces cut to whatever length was about right. He stuck them in the spot to be measured, one against one side, the other against the opposite, clamped then together with a little spring clamp, and viola! measurement in hand and off to the saw. Beats trying to guess where on the bend of the steel tape the actual measurement is. And you never really do need to know the measurement, but if you want to, just measure your clamped up "sticks". I know, "Duh, everyone knows that..." but maybe not some newbie.
WEG