You will be continually wanting to make sticks eight-sided or round. A form to hold the pieces for planing is a great convenience.

Before beginning work read carefully Marking, Gauge, Plane, and Nailing, in Part V., and look up any other references.

Take two strips and plane off (or even chisel or whittle) one corner of each, first gauging lines equidistant from the corner for a guide. Then nail the two strips together, with the bevels facing each other, to make a trough as shown in Fig. 126. Put a screw in one end to push the work against, push the form against the bench-stop or screw it in the vise, put the piece to be "cornered " or rounded in the

V-shaped trough, and it will be firmly held with the angle upward. Two or three of these for larger and smaller pieces will be very useful. They are quickly made of waste strips. If you think 2' the right length for one of these forms, for instance, make it a foot or so longer, and after it is made saw off the extra length in one or two pieces, which will serve as an extension for holding a long stick (Fig. 127). If your bench has wooden bench-stops you can make some stops with notches in the top (Fig. 128) for this purpose.

Fig. 126.

Fig. 127.

Fig. 128.

Fig. 129.

For making pieces tapering, as well as eight-sided or rounding, you have only to modify this idea by planing off the corners in a tapering way (Fig. 129). See Rounding Sticks.