Marking Gauge: Wheel, Blade, or Something Else

[Jim Matthews]

I modify very cheap pin gauges from Marples.

The pin is ground and sharpened into a tiny crescent shaped knife. Unfortunately I have no suitable pictures, but there are some great close ups in my new DVD (from L-N) about the Secret Mitre Dovetail. Best wishes, David Charlesworth

I think this is mentioned in one of your reference texts; which are dog eared, choked with sawdust and smudged from use.

I've modified one pin as you have shown.
Mine turned out considerably shorter than intended.

It's a treat to have you stop by, again.

[ian maybury]

There's times i think from my limited experience that it's useful to have some different types of gauge. I like the Veritas cutting disc type gauge, but there's times a heavier cut is useful for better visibility/better registration. I like the Japanese pattern Derek posted pictures of - one big advantage is that the knife is fully visible and not obscured by a bulky beam.

There's a variety of interesting gauges here on the Tools from Japan site:

http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/...&cPath=356_357

Take a look as well at the precision (vernier) based gauges on the adjacent pages - go back to 'measuring and marking', and select it from there. (can't get the link to copy correctly)

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Ian

I used one of Stu's cheap gauges as a basis for a Kinshiro-alike: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMad...nTheCheap.html

Sharpening a pointy pin gauge into a cutting gauge is, as David remarked, about creating a pin like this ...



Regards from Perth

Derek

[Steve Branam]

That is an absolutely gorgeous hunk of metal!

[Steve Branam]

I'll just reiterate what several people have said here, it's nice to have several. My favorite it the Tite-Mark. It's expensive, but it works extremely well in any grain orientation; it's a lifetime investment.

I have a shop-made cutting gauge that works very well, although I made the wedge angle too high so it pushes loose too easily. I have some used pin gauges that I want to modify this way.

My least favorite is the pin gauge because of it's propensity for grain-tracking. However, with a little practice it's manageable. As Derek said, repeated light strokes, trailing it at an angle where the pins just bite. I bought four of them for teaching (yeah, I should have spent ten bucks more for each one and gotten cutting style...). When I teach with them, I found I have to give a mini-lesson just on how to use them. Simple as they are, they're such an unfamiliar tool that people just don't know how to handle them; the pins just add a level of frustration!

[david charlesworth]

Thanks Jim.

The modified pin, as shown by Derek, and used by Colen Clenton, is my favorite, because it cuts deeper, and is easier to start and stop than a wheel gauge. I find it very helpful to cut deep if chisels are to be be used, there is a distinct shelf to place the chisel on. I have quite strong dislike of the shallow scratch, all too easy to twist a chisel out of line.

David

[Tony Zaffuto]

Thanks Jim.

The modified pin, as shown by Derek, and used by Colen Clenton, is my favorite, because it cuts deeper, and is easier to start and stop than a wheel gauge. I find it very helpful to cut deep if chisels are to be be used, there is a distinct shelf to place the chisel on. I have quite strong dislike of the shallow scratch, all too easy to twist a chisel out of line.

David

Earlier today, I took a vintage Stanley 65 (IIRC) gauge (with triangular head) and modified the pin ala Derek & Colen Clenton. Made a remarkable difference! Time will tell if my subconscious has me reaching for this gauge now, or my Hamilton (knife blade type) or Titemark. Quite easy to do and the wooden gauges David mentioned are quite cheap to buy, with the modification taking only a bit of time.

All in all, it is nice being a "hobbyist woodworker & tool accumulator", permits self-indulgence to have a variety of this and other tools to choose from! If I was trying to make a living at this craft, I would starve!

[ken hatch]

... If I was trying to make a living at this craft, I would starve!

Amen brother.

[Richard Kee]

I made this one one for a swap and couldn't decide on the cutter shape so I made a bunch of different ones.



Jim

Beautiful work Jim.

Do you make these for sale?

Richard

[Tony Parent]

I've been thinking this same question lately, which type of marking gauge... So I set about making some to test the different styles.

MarkingGauges10-2014-1.jpg

I do have a Veritas wheel gauge, but it never seems to leave enough of a mark for my ageing eyes. Particularly when I'm dimensioning rough cut lumber. The above, in order:

A cutting gage,
Panel gauge that uses a pencil to mark the line
A dual beam cutting mortise gauge
A pin type mortise gauge
Two wheel type gauges, with differing fence and holding configurations

For me, the cutting gages seem to be the best all around gauge. The wheel gauges second for normal marking. (The wheels on these are sharpened replacement wheel cutters for a pipe cutter, and as such are bigger then the ones you see on the Veritas or other similar wheel gauges. Easier to sharpen, and cut a bit deeper.)

More can be seen in this thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-marking-guage

[Jim Koepke]

I do have a Veritas wheel gauge, but it never seems to leave enough of a mark for my ageing eyes.

This is when my pencil is sharpened and run through the wheel cut to make the line clear.

My other option is using the Stanley Odd Jobs with a carpenters pencil to leave a line fat enough to actually split with a saw.

The Odd Jobs gets used almost as much as my Tite-Mark®.

jtk

[Jim Ritter]

Hi Richard of course right after I send you some money you ask if I am selling them. No, I'm not selling them. They were the first things I made on my Benchmaster milling machine. I made parts enough for four I think. I still haven't assembled mine yet. I found it too labor intensive to try and sell them. The inspiration came from Dominic over on WoodNet, he made a couple and was kind enough to share his drawings. Then again I now have a bigger mill and could really gang up the parts for some small scale mass production. Hmmmm.
Jim

[Adam Cruea]

I use wheel gauges, mostly because the last thing I need is something pointy coming towards my thumb that can sink in more than 1/8".

I have the Veritas M&T gauge along with just the normal marking gauge. Both are wonderful pieces of equipment. I'm a tad jealous, though, that Derek ordered a few of the SS ones; I wanted to get one, but couldn't justify ordering it for no good reason at the time.

[Mike Holbrook]

Derek is teasing us with the Kinshiro-type gauges he made and I believe an actual original. Stuart mentioned the Kishiro to me once when I asked him about guages. It was my understanding that those very popular gauges are no longer available. I believe Stuart suggested the 2 blade Kegaki as the closest tool currently available.

I noticed the Vernier Kegaki marking gauges on the same page as the 2 blade model. I'm not sure whether a single or double gauge makes more sense for me and never placed an order. Now that I have a single blade gauge and another on order I am questioning the need for a double gauge. With all the discussion of issues getting a straight deep cut I can't imagine a devise that has to make two cuts is not going to increase issues. I understand about making light cuts, but with two blades? I'm sure it can be done but is it easier or harder than just making two cuts with two devices? It occurs to me that I may want one line to remain constant but vary the second line to an actual mortise or tenon for instance. The double pin gauge I have does not like to lock up and can be hard to set. I probably need to do a little work on that gauge, still double blades/pins must add some level of complication. I believe the Kinshiro and Kegaki Japanese gauges attempt to solve the issue by using a double locking system.

The 6" vernier tool seemed an interesting option as none of the gauges I have incorporates any type of scale. I guess a gauge designed for cutting/marking vernier would be very accurate. Certainly one can set these tools: with another devise, to the width of a chisel, against an actual mortise/tenon/dovetail...Still it might be nice to have at least one of these devices with an accurate scale? Stu's information says the tool can be purchased with an inch scale by special request. I believe I could manage with a metric scale.

[Sam Cui]

Depends on the job.

For rough rip sawing/resawing, a pencil and combination square are used. An actual pencil gauge might be a better alternative.
For dimensioning stock to with a plane, a wheel gauge cannot be use. The bevel is on the wrong side. You need the cutter to to compress the waste wood so the bevel has to be on the side farther from the fence, but most wheel gauge cutters have it closer to the fence. Therefore I use a normal pin gauge or cutting gauge with the blade correctly oriented. However for marking dadoes and such a wheel gauge's cutter is correctly oriented. Now it is the better choice as it is smoother than the pin and cutting gauges. Another thing about wheel gauges I like is that I can just roll them off of the end of a board. While with a pin or cutting gauge, the last 1/4" or so of the line may drift as I lose a lot of the registration (unless I come in from the other direction).

I actually sharpen my pin gauges like a cutting gauge i.e. with one side vertical and the other side beveled. Again it's to keep the compression in the waste.

Just my 0.02$
Sam