Butt gauges - who uses them/how useful are they?

[Alfred Kraemer]

I regularly see butt gauges at fleamarkets etc. and keep wondering what they are used for and how they are used.
I assume they are used for marking hinges(?) but it seems one could also mark mortises with the two marking rods of a butt gauge.
Does anyone still use them /find them useful.

Thank you.

Alfred

[Bill Houghton]

They were/are optimized for architectural hinges - house doors. They are marking gauges, so you could use them for other purposes, but whether other gauges would be more comfortable/efficient - not sure.

If you look down the list a bit, you'll find a post by Jim Koepke with instructions on the Stanley 95 that show how the parts work together.

[Jim Koepke]

Like so many tools, there is some overlap in usage.

The Butt Gauge was a specialized tool to aid in the installation of Butt Hinges.

If a new door is being installed in a frame, the measurements can be taken from where the previous hinges are in the frame and transfered to the door.

The tool is smaller, taking up less room in the tool box than most other marking gauges.

jtk

[Zahid Naqvi]

I see where this title can be taken in any direction, so let's keep our inner 14 yr old boy in check and talk woodworking.

[Alfred Kraemer]

Thanks, Bill.
I didn't realize that this topic had just been addressed a few days ago. The picture of the instructions for a butt gauge was very helpful.
I can see how this is essentially a specialized marking gauge that can be very useful in installing doors of many types.

Alfred

[Jim Koepke]

I didn't realize that this topic had just been addressed a few days ago.

To me it is amazing how often the same topic comes up from different directions on forums like this.

Some collective conscious convenes to bring the same tool to the flea markets or yard sales.

Who knows.

jtk