Spoke Pointers and Hollow Augers

[Michael Ray Smith]

I'm thinking of buying a spoke pointer and hollow auger. I've never used them before, but I found some helpful demonstrations so I have the general idea. I've also been looking at them on the 'bay. Spoke pointers seem pretty simple without too much design variation (after all, how much can you do with the design anyway, other than size)? Hollow augers are another matter. Generally, they seem to fall into two categories -- fixed diameter and adjustable. Right now, I don't know exactly what sizes I'll use the most, so I think an adjustable one makes more sense. But there are significant design variations among them.

Any advice on what I should look for? What I should avoid? And how important is a depth stop for a hollow auger? Some have them, some don't, and some used to have them but don't anymore.

[Jim Koepke]

I was going to take some pictures before answering this, but forgot to take the camera to the shop yesterday.

One thing to consider is they may make a decent round tenon for gluing, but it usually isn't a great looking dowel or stub.

A depth stop is handy if you are doing a lot of work to the same depth. My hollow auger was missing its depth stop. It wouldn't be too difficult to make another.

What might work best for your needs would depend on your use.

Lee Valley has a few options

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/Search.aspx?action=n

A wider search includes the Veritas Dowel Former:

http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/Search.aspx?action=n

I will try to remember to take some pictures of my hollow auger and the results later today.

jtk

[Bill White]

I just finished the resto on an E.C. Stearns hollow chisel mortise and spoke pointer. Took some time to de-rust, clean, sharpen, paint, etc., but the effort was worthwhile.
The auger had an iron (blade) made from a file. I've looked for a replacement iron with no results. Oddly enough, the file blade works quite well.
There is very little info about set up and use of the set, but intuition and patience has won out. They are a bit "fiddly", but so what.
The restored pair that I've seen are quite expensive, so maybe I've lucked out on cost. Then, I didn't count time.
Look up Stearns if ya wish. Patent dates to the late 1800s/early 1900s.
Fun project.
Bill

[Jim Koepke]

Here are some pictures of my E.C. Stearns:

Hollow Auger Business End.jpg

This is the cutting end with a fresh cut dowel/tenon below. The action is similar to a shoulder plane circling down the stock.

This one has a depth scale along the side:

Hollow Auger & Depth Scale.jpg

This likely was for setting the depth stop which has gone hasta la bye bye.

There is also a scale for setting the diameter of the dowel/tenon being cut:

Size Scale.jpg

The adjuster lock nut has a slot for a screwdriver, a 1/2" nut head (note to Hilton, a 13mm wrench will work.) and a hole through it so a nail can be used to loosen or tighten the lock:

Size Adj Lock Nut.jpg

I think mostly these are used for turning a round tenon on chair parts.

I have used mine for rough sizing a dowel before running it through a dowel plate.

It is possible to work a piece from both ends and make a dowel twice the length of the hollow auger's maximum depth.

jtk

[Michael Ray Smith]

Update: I ended up buying these on eBay. So far, I've just played with them, getting the hang of using them, and haven't actually made anything with them yet. Something I've found that I didn't really expect -- Some of the tenons I've put on the ends of square pieces (I haven't noticed it when I have a round piece to begin with) are a little off center. I'm not sure if I'm getting off-center with the spoke pointer or if it's something I'm doing wrong with the hollow auger. Any tips?

By the way, I put that chip in the blade of the spoke pointer the last time I used it, and I didn't think I was doing anything particularly difficult with it. So I wonder about the quality of the steel. As you can see from the position of the slots, it was probably longer to begin with. It may be that it was laminated at the edge and the harder steel has been used up. May need to replace it with something else.

IMG_20150726_140900961_HDR.jpg IMG_20150726_140915491.jpg