>
> Tony and GG's
>
> I have never used a scratch stock,  my guess is that the scraping action of
> the scratch stock must leave a rougher surface on the cut than finish
> produced by the side beads cutting action.
> Is there any validity to this speculation?
>
> Marvin Paisner
> Kootenay Lake,  BC
>
>
>
> >A properly sharpened side bead will work wonders.  Scat stocks work okay,
> >but take a lot longer to get to the final shape.
> >
> >Tony

Surely this is just a variation on one of the real fundamental laws
"the more general purpose a tool is, the less well it will perform
any single task".

It is this law which means axes cn do anything, knives can do a little
less, and so on. As the blade becomes more and more regulated and
customised, functionality goes up, flexiblity goes down.

So in this instance. A scratch stock can quickly be made to "cut"
(fabricate?) any profile. But the quickness of manufacture fights against
ease-of-use. A dedicated side bead works better. Presumably, if the world
did nothing but side-beads, some manufacturer would have come up with
a side-bead plane that had a cap-iron.

When I moved into my house, the removal of a (badly) fitted wardrobe
left 2 6" gaps in the skirting board, which are a no-longer-made
profile. A piece of old saw blade, and about an hour, made me 2 perfect
"patches", and I still have the cutter...
(and the site-carpenter wanted to know where I got the board!)

        BugBear.