Mind Upon Mind: Stick Diameter Gauge
David Farnum of Greer, South Carolina, has devised a simple slot gauge to check the diameter of long sticks being shaved for armbows, a problem he previously solved by drilling a mortise in scrap wood. The gauge, made from an 8-inch piece of maple already used to check armbow height, features a series of notches cut slightly wider than labeled sizes. This allows Farnum to avoid overshooting the fit; when the stick fits a slot, he fine-tunes with a scraper or block plane. The design prevents jamming and reveals high spots when the stick is rotated. The tip was shared in the 'Mind Upon Mind' series on the Lost Art Press blog, which draws inspiration from a 1937 'Chips from the Chisel' column by Charles H. Hayward, who wrote 'The influence of mind upon mind is extraordinary.' The series invites readers to submit their own improvements to projects from Lost Art Press books, with submissions directed to Kara Gebhart Uhl. The post, dated August 12, 2026, includes photographs of the gauge.
Key facts
- David Farnum from Greer, South Carolina, created a stick diameter gauge.
- The gauge is made from an 8-inch piece of maple.
- It consists of notches cut slightly wider than labeled sizes.
- The gauge helps check the fit of sticks into armbows.
- Farnum previously used a mortised 2x scrap for this purpose.
- The tip was published on the Lost Art Press blog on August 12, 2026.
- The 'Mind Upon Mind' series references a 1937 column by Charles H. Hayward.
- Submissions for the series are emailed to Kara Gebhart Uhl.
Entities
Artists
- David Farnum
- Charles H. Hayward
- Kara Gebhart Uhl
Institutions
- Lost Art Press
Locations
- Greer
- South Carolina