I built, what I envisioned to be, a scarfing block as described by Garrison and others and tried tapering the first couple of inches of a piece of scrap cane. I have to admit that it was not as successful as my expectations had been. First, it seems that the taper grove made in the block is of a fixed depth which may or may not be of a width sufficient to securely hold the cane strip while planing the taper. My first experience was that the cane strip was impossible to hold stationary while attempting to plane it 'with a very sharp plane'. Is there a trick to holding the cane strip steady while planing or is my design faulty? (I've never been able to find a measured drawing). Any help will be appreciated. Don

don;
I don't build nodeless, but have made a few scarfing blocks to scarf broken rods with. All you need is enough of a groove to hold the strip at the angle you want, mainly so that when you mate 2 strips the angles will match. If your strip moves when you plane it, your block isn't tight. Either plane some off the mating surface of the block, or use a fatter strip. In a pinch, put a piece of adhesive backed sandpaper on the inside surface of the block, the adhesive will grab the block and the grit will grab the strip, and the extra thicknes should take up some of the room.
john