Handmade row marker (without a lathe)

I said in my last post that I'd write a post on how to make a row marker if you don't have a lathe, and so here is that post, in fact all you need to make this row marker (in terms of tools) is a drill, cordless or otherwise, some drill bits, a forstner bit (at least 16mm) if possible, a saw (handsaw is fine) a hammer and a sander although this isn't essential, it's just for aesthetics, a pencil and a ruler (or tape measure)

So here's the finished marker -

Doesn't get much easier.

This row marker is basic, and there a numerous variations on this, all are easy to make, for materials you'll need three types of dowel, 16mm, 9mm and 6mm and a bamboo skewer, or very thin dowel, you'll also need some tile batten (38x19mm) or similar sized wood.

First cut two lengths of wood, one at 5 inches (127mm approx) and one at 6 inches (152mm approx) these are just the sizes I used, you could go bigger, or smaller.

Like so -

Any wood of a similar size would do.

Next mark the centre of one of the pieces, I marked the longest length, mainly because you'll need to drill and extra hole in this bit.

Centre marked -

A centering tool is a good thing to have, and also easy to make.

Next you need to mark out where to drill your holes, this will depend on what size you decide to make your row marker, again using the longer piece and from left to right I put marks at half an inch, 2 and half inches, 4 and a half inches and then 5 and half inches.

Drilling points marked -

Now for drilling.

I drilled the largest hole first, this is where the spike for pushing into the ground will go, it's also the point at which the reel will spin round, I've used a 16mm forstner bit, if you don't have one then you can always use the largest drill bit you have and file / sand the hole to the right size.

You don't need to mark both bits of wood as long as you clamp the two together you should be okay, you can put them both in a vice, or if needs be use some tape to hold them together whilst you drill, do try to keep the holes as straight as possible.

First hole drilled -

Few more to drill.

Now for the next set of holes, these are for the pegs that will hold it together, take an 8mm drill bit and drill two holes, one either side of the larger hole.

Holes for pegs drilled -

It will make sense at the end.

You should have a mark left, this needs to be drilled out using a 7mm drill bit, this hole will be for the handle that you use to wind the string back up with.

last hole drilled -

Drilling done.

Take your 9mm dowel and cut two lengths the same size, I cut mine at 4 inches (100mm approx) for this next bit you may need to give each end of the dowel a bit of a sand because you need to knock the dowel into the 8mm holes you drilled and you don't want the wood to split.

Dowel cut -

Assembly can begin.

It's time to start assembling the row marker, knock the two bits of dowel into the holes you drilled on the pieces of wood until they are flush with the other side.

You should end up with this -

Not much left to do now.

Cut a piece of 16mm dowel, I cut mine at 8 inches, and I made a point on one end using a sander, but you could also use a sharp knife.

Put the dowel in the large hole you drilled and stop when it's flush with the top piece (the longer) of wood, then mark two marks next to each piece of wood and drill them out using a small drill bit, I used a 3mm drill bit as this was the size of my bamboo skewer.

Dowel in place and holes drilled out -

I know more drillling.

You need to cut two lengths of skewer (or thin dowel) these will go into the holes and stop the centre dowel falling out, they'll also allow the frame to rotate, if the skewer / dowel is too thick shave a bit off, and leave about 5mm sticking out of each side of the dowel.

Skewer pins in place - 

Now all we need is a handle.

To make the handle take a piece of 16mm dowel and cut about an inch off, then mark the centre of one end, what we're going to do is drill into it so that a bit of the 6 mm dowel fits tightly into it, so use a 5.5mm drill bit if possible, if not use one as close to the 6mm dowel size and sand things to fit.

Dowel cut and marked -

Guess what ? More drilling.

Cut a piece of 6mm dowel long enough to fit into the hole you drilled in the 16mm dowel and through the frame work with about half an inch poking through.

Handle almost done -

Nearly done.

I also used a bit of skewer to fix the handle together - 

You could glue it together.

All that's left is to make a cap for the handle, to do this I drilled into the end of the 16mm dowel I had left and then cut it to the size I wanted, I found it easier to do it this way, then I drilled a small hole so that I could use a bit of skewer to stop the cap coming off.

Handle done - 

A bit of sanding to tidy it up and we're done.

I used the last of the 16mm dowel I had left to make a peg and drilled a hole through so that I could fix some string to it, and that's it, after a bit of a sand it was done, I've used no screws, nails or glue to make this despite that it's quite sturdy and it works well, it works so I'm happy with it, there are numerous ways you could make something similar to this just as cheaply.

All done -

It works, not much more to say.

Here it is next to the one I made on my lathe - 

Spoilt for choice now.

Thanks for ready.

Handmade row marker (with a lathe)

Whilst waiting for things to warm up weather wise (it's been quite cold here of late) I decided I'd have a go at making a row marker for the allotment, normally I use two sticks and a bit of string but thought I'd make an upgrade.

Not that there's anything wrong with two sticks and a bit of string.

So after a root around in my wood pile (which is quite large) I found an old pine bed leg and thought that will do nicely, basically my aim was to make a spike (kind of like a dibber) with a reel for the string on the end, easy enough if you have a lathe, but fear not if you don't have a lathe I have also made a row marker without a lathe, which I'll write another post about.

So here's the line marker -

Basic, but functional.

I cut the bed leg down into chunks, rather than put the whole thing on the lathe, using the first section which was already shaped as the spike for the reel.

Wood sorted -

I used this bit to save time.

I marked the centre of the wood -

As you can see it's actually two bits of wood glued together.

And after a short while on the lathe I had my spike, I turned a thin shaft for the reel to sit on, and also drilled out the end so that I could make a cap to hold the reel on with.

Basic shape done - 

Mini jousting anyone ?

Hole drilled for cap -

Probably not the best way to hold this in the lathe.

I used the waste wood from making the spike for the end cap, I made sure the fit was tight enough to hold the reel in place, but not too tight so that I could get it out if needed.

Wood for end cap -

Could have used a smaller bit.

End cap done and in place - 

The cap fits all the way into the spike.

And so onto the reel, using the other part of the bed leg I first cut it into two parts, one part for the reel and the other part to make the peg for the other end of the string.

Wood for reel and peg - 

Plenty big enough for what I need.

Reel almost done -

That knot will cause problems.

Reel spike done -

Not the prettiest thing ever made.

I figured the knot I found whilst making the reel would cause problems, and it did as I was left with a chunk missing from the bottom of it, but it still worked, so I cut a small groove into where the knot was for holding the string, rather than tying it on.

Knot problem sorted -

Similar to cotton reels that have the little slit in them for holding the cotton.

The other chunk of leg was turned into a peg, the idea being you stick the reel end in the ground and the other peg goes at the end of where ever your line finishes.

Wood for peg ready -

Soon to be peg like.

Peg done, I added an eye at the end for the string to attach to -

All done.

Ready for action -

I should have nice straight rows of veg this year.

And that's it, the reel is quite tight so that there's some tension in the line when marking out, this helps keep things straight, I didn't really work out what sizes things should, just worked from eye and made something I know I'll be able to use.

I have added an upholstery pin to the bottom of each peg / spike to protect the wood a little, but to be honest it probably doesn't need them, in my humble opinion it's a good use for and old bed leg, better than chucking it on the fire, I may at some point add a handle to make winding it up easier.

Thanks for reading.