I've been needing a marking gauge for a while now. I've been having to use the old "pencil at the end of a combination square" trick all the way down the edge of boards. I turned the dowel out of oak on the lathe.
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It accepts a cutter in one end, and by cutter I mean a grinded down jig saw blade(thank you grinder lathe attachment!).
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In the other end, it can use a pencil for grainy, knotty wood.
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I made the housing(or whatever it's called) out of oak too. I inset a wooden V-shaped bite block into the top of the mouth so it doesn't leave any marks on the dowel. I don't know if you can see it in the picture but it's there alright. I plated the face with a plate of iron that was leftover from when I made two-man saw handle brackets. The treadle grinder helped with shaping this too
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And it marks clean and clear.
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It'll do.