In construction, the carpenter's trait (in modern format called "scriber") is important. Without the line, it is problematic to organize sawing of logs or the production of building forms. A scriber is necessary for marking on wood surfaces. The marking can be straight, curved, or consisting of several parallel lines. We take one board, remove the edge from it, which will be needed in order to obtain a line for cutting on the next strip - this strip leans against the first one. The line is drawn precisely due to the carpenter's line.

How to quickly make a scriber with your own hands

You should have the following list of things in your hands:

1. Regular hammer;
2. Welding tool;
3. Drill, drill bits (tools must be able to handle metal)
4. Hacksaw for metal;
5. Grinder (there must be a cutting and grinding wheel);
6. Files, taps and dies;
7. Levels - horizontal and vertical (old building levels);
8. Plumb.

No specific materials are needed for a carpenter's compass. You will only have to spend money on various nuts and washers if you do not have such things in your house of the appropriate size.

The bolt heads need to be welded to the hand shears. Requires pencil and needle attachment. In this case, the threads on the ends of the bolt come to the rescue.

First you need to make a needle, then a socket for its installation. When making a device for mounting a pencil, make sure that the needle will fit into the mount. The levels noted above are required for bubble flasks.

The distance between the pencil and the needle should be as precise as possible. For this purpose we use an adjustment bar. You can securely fix the bar using nuts. To fix the compass in the extended position, a clamp is used, which bolts and washers do an excellent job of. You need a mounting platform - this way you can secure the levels. The pencil lead may become damaged during work. There is a possibility that the compass will go astray when you erect it again. This problem is solved using a special template. This design is made using a head and a screwdriver. An alternative method is to use an additional needle rather than a pencil.

An easy way to make your own scriber

The key tool at hand is wire with an exclusively thick diameter. You can also use a method that involves driving two guests of sufficient length into a good wooden handle. A locksmith's compass is a must. In order for the drawing to be as correct as possible, the distance between the teeth of the tool cannot be increased. But if you are a beginner, following these rules is difficult without experience.

Why do you need a scriber?

This term refers to a compass of mechanical action. It has a built-in angle, due to which you can achieve the correct marking of the line (it does not matter whether it is vertical or horizontal). If you use the scriber correctly, then as a result there will not be the slightest free distance between the logs.

Why is scribing not exactly a carpentry trait? Because a “fresh” tool has two levels. They decided to implement them due to significant time savings. If earlier it was necessary to make a rough line, then with the arrival of the scriber you can immediately begin the final correct marking. The term "scriber" comes from Canada. But in Russia, workers still call the improved carpenter's feature a carpenter's compass. However, on technical specifications Different terminology does not affect in any way.

When cutting a log house, you must strive to ensure that the gaps between the logs on the sealing grooves and cups are as small as possible. This directly determines how warm the house will be and how much moss and tow will be needed to seal the cracks. There are no two identical logs, each log in a log house is unique, so it is impossible to create a single template for marking all the logs at once. This is only possible if you have to work with material planed under one size, such as, for example, a rounded beam. But this is impossible to do with a “wild forest”, and each log has to be approached individually.

The most important place in the arsenal carpenter's tool, along with the ax and the staple, is occupied by the devil. The line is intended for marking corner connections in the log house (cups) and longitudinal grooves in the logs (dolov). Also for marking blocks and boards, for their tight fit to each other. The earliest finds of features in Veliky Novgorod date back to the 11th century ( Ancient Rus'. City, Castle, Village).

The design features are very simple: it is either a metal plate with triangular cuts at the ends,

or a two-pronged fork with curved ends,

or a metal bar unforged in two.

The line can be bent, for example, from thick wire,

or simply drive two nails into the wooden handle at an angle. You can also use a plumber's compass instead of a line.

The smaller the distance between the teeth of the line, the greater the accuracy of the marking. Marking with a line requires some skill.

When drawing the teeth, the lines must be strictly oriented horizontally and vertically; any deviation or tilting results in an error in the marking, due to which the log either does not fit into the groove, or, on the contrary, a gap is formed. Accurate marking skills come with experience, but progress does not stand still, and the classic carpentry trait is replaced by a new one, precision instrument- scriber.

In fact, it is a mechanical compass on which the level is set. The level helps to keep the line strictly in the horizontal and vertical planes, thanks to which it is possible to avoid errors and the markings are very accurate. From personal experience When working with a scriber, I can notice that the accuracy of the logs is so great that a match cannot fit between them. But since our task is to build reconstructions of houses for the “Seven in the Past” project, we have to use traditional tools!

Home -> -> We build and craft -> Homemade scriber- carpenter's trait.

Scriber- a carpenter's marking tool that replaced the line.

Time does not stand still and makes its own improvements to carpentry tools. When marking with a line, the most difficult thing is to ensure that the marking ends of the line are strictly vertical. Canadian inventor, one of the authors of the technology " Canadian cutting", Robert Chambers proposed a marking tool in which verticality is ensured bubble levels. He called it ChambersScriber.

The talented Russian carpenter Yuri Milykh developed his own version of the scriber, which he called carpenter's compass. Based on his motives, my homemade product was made.

Main reason self-made- the high cost of this instrument (300 – 500 US dollars).

To make a scriber you need the following tool:

1. Hammer
2. Hacksaw for metal,
3. Vise,
4. Grinder with cutting and grinding discs,
5. Welding transformer,
6. Drill,
7. A set of needle files - files,
8. Taps and dies with a diameter of 6, 8, 10 mm,
9. Plumb (to adjust verticality),
10. Level (to adjust the horizontal position).

The scriber is made entirely from scrap materials. It cost me $2 (the price of nuts and washers) and two days of wasted time.

Well, now, the manufacturing process in pictures.

Photos of the finished structure.

During the marking process, the problem with a regular pencil is that the lead wears off. It has to be constantly sharpened and pushed out. Since the scriber was adjusted to a certain length of the pencil, in order not to make mistakes when extending, a special template was made (at the same time a screwdriver and a 10mm head).

It consists in the fact that the arrangement of the logs must correspond to the order - “butt to top”. The natural structure of logs is such that they become thinner towards the top. To the walls of the future log house were even, it is necessary to alternate the arrangement of logs, in other words, a log with a thin end should be followed by a log with a thick end.

The second principle of laying logs is that the lower log is laid with the hump up, and the top log with the hump down. After marking and sampling longitudinal groove you will get a parallel arrangement of logs relative to the longitudinal axes. All rows must be laid in exactly the same sequence to ensure that the wall is as even as possible.

To mark the corner bowls and the longitudinal groove, a special tool is used, which is called a “dash”. It is quite possible to make such a tool yourself using available materials. To do this, you will need to take a thick wire about 10 mm in diameter. Next, you need to bend it into a V shape, the length of each side should be about 10-15 cm.

The ends of the legs need to be sharpened so that they leave a mark on the wood, scratching it. The resulting tool can be attached to some kind of handle, which can be used as a regular stick or the handle of a hammer. To prevent the sides of the tool from moving apart in width, you need to install a wedge between them and wrap them with some kind of cord.

The Drevo company is engaged in the professional construction of houses from hand-cut logs, and therefore our specialists use a professional carpenter’s “line” for marking. In Europe, the “line” is called a “scriber”.

You can see the image of the carpenter's "feature" on Fig.1

A professional carpentry “trick” is quite expensive, this is due to its complex structure and equipment. Levels are built into the professional carpenter's line, which enable carpenters to maintain an even vertical position when applying markings. The entire construction of the log house depends on how correctly the “line” is worked. If you only plan to build one house, then you don’t have to buy a tool at a high cost; instead, you can use a level and an ordinary carpenter’s compass. Of course, such a work process will take more time, but if the construction time is not critical, then this is quite acceptable.

How to use "trait" ("scriber")

For correct application markings, the logs must be laid one on top of the other (not forgetting the rule “butt to top”), then secured with staples. Taking into account the region in which the log house is being built, the width of the future groove is determined. A mark is placed at the end of the log; the distance from the bottom point of the log to this mark should correspond to the width of the longitudinal groove. Then one leg of the instrument is moved to this mark, and the second is moved back to the top of the hump. Thus, we prepared the “line” for work by setting the required interval between the legs of the tool.

Having fixed the legs of the “feature”, we place one leg at the height of our mark, and the other on the surface of the hump of another log, draw a line. Thus, the second leg of the tool creates a line that follows the line of the longitudinal groove of the first log. Subsequently, for convenience, the markings made can be additionally highlighted with a pencil. The markings must be applied on both sides of the logs without changing the “line” settings. This completes the marking of the longitudinal groove.

On Fig.2 You can see the layout of the longitudinal groove.

Now let's start creating a longitudinal groove. Having outlined the log, we can see the resulting groove; it has a rounded shape, repeating the run of the log.

The run of a log is a smooth change in the diameter of the log from the butt to the top.

Thus, all grooves will alternate the direction of inclination. This method can only be used when working with logs that have a slight slope or no slope at all, when the log has almost cylindrical shape. Or this is applicable to working with logs that are calibrated and have approximately the same thickness at the point of cutting. In this case, the inclination of the grooves does not matter.

Logs of different thicknesses, on which there is a rung, need to be drawn to each other in a slightly different way. The lower log must be placed on special stands so that the hump is aligned as horizontally as possible, after which the log is fixed with brackets. The upper log is placed so that its butt is located towards the narrow part of the lower log. During the delineation process, it is necessary to maintain the vertical position of the legs of the “line”; only thanks to this can an even groove with a varying width be achieved.

If you mark the groove incorrectly, this will lead to the so-called “kiss” - the edge of one log will only slightly touch the end of the other. Of course, in this case, the conversation is neither about the thermal properties of the log house, nor about the required width of the longitudinal groove. Thus, all the logs are laid one after another and marked to the very top until all the grooves are horizontal.

After the drawing is completed, the log is removed from the brackets and turned upward with the side on which the markings are applied. Next is the sampling itself. The carpenters of the Drevo company use a chainsaw when selecting, making many cuts across the log, moving along the entire length of the trunk, deepening the saw to the depth of the future groove. Drevo specialists do not recommend cutting to the full depth of the groove, but leaving half to one centimeter and then finishing it manually. This can extend the longevity of your building.

To finish cleaning the groove, a tool called an “adze” is used. This is an ax whose sharpened surface is directed across the handle, and not along it like an ordinary ax. There are two types of adze: small and large. Job big adze occurs while standing, cutting off the surface with strong blows. They can immediately start creating a groove, without using an ax.

To further refine the logs, a small adze is used. When the groove is cut, all that remains is to check how well the logs fit together. To do this on top part A special coloring composition is applied to the bottom log, then a log with a cut groove is placed on top. After such fitting, you will see how the coloring pigment has stained the cut out groove. Those cutting areas that remain clean indicate that they were not touched by the surface of the lower hump.

This means you need to remove excess wood that interferes with the contact of the remaining sections of the groove. Thus, you need to gradually refine the groove until it is completely covered with pigment. There is another way to check how correctly the groove is made. To do this, you need to take a piece of log, about one meter in length, and tap it on the logs that are connected.

After this, remove the log in which the groove is made and look at which places in the groove are jammed. In these places there is excess wood that needs to be removed and the procedure repeated again. The block used to tap the log must be made of soft wood so as not to crush the front surface of the log.