Veritas marking gauges

[Zach England]

I need a better way to mark mortises and tenons. I already have Veritas marking gauge, so I am considering the add-on for Veritas gauge (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=60488&cat=1,42936) since I also have a "tite-mark". I am also considering the Veritas dual marking gauge (http://http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=67466&cat=1,42936) so I could keep two gauges used for general work without having to fiddle with taking the attachment off the Veritas gauge. The reason I like the add-on over the dual-wheel is because I could change the setting without having to re-set the mortise width.

Thoughts?

[glenn bradley]

Depends on how often you use the same width for multiple offsets and how much that is worth to you. I have a few items that others may feel are redundant or excessive but, they allow me to work the way I work and do it effectively. As to having to change settings; I just mark the near side of the mortise from one reference surface on all parts and then mark the far side from the same surface on all parts. Voila, only one setting change ;-)

[James Taglienti]

I have the add on wheels for the veritas single beam gauge... They are a finicky pain in the butt. Tiny little allen adjustments and i cut myself on them sometimes. They are difficult to set. Also i have yet to use them with the bevels in an appropriate line up. If i did it over again, i would buy the double beam gauge instead of them. It looks very nice!

[Jim Belair]

I considered the add on wheels but decided against them as they can't be set closer than 3/8".

JimB

[Zach England]

I considered the add on wheels but decided against them as they can't be set closer than 3/8".


JimB

Thank you for mentioning this. That's a deal breaker for me.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Just an add on; make sure to sharpen any wheel style gauges cutting wheels; I own a Tite - Mark and a Veritas; the Tite - Mark was easiest to sharpen, the Veritas took much more time - take off the wheel, lay it flat side down and do figure eights on your sharpening method of choice till the flat and the bevel meet.

Keep turning the wheel 90 degrees every few ' eights ' to ensure there is no lop-sidedness. If that makes sense; it does a much better job when you are done!

Dave Beauchesne

[Jim Neeley]

I like the tite-mark / veritas style gauges but, for marking mortises, I find Rob Cosman's mortise gauge best.

I like it because neither do I have to buy pre-sized cutter pairs or be limited by how small it goes. You simply set it off of the mortise chisel you plan to use (Imperial, metric or whatever). Having a handle on both sides of the pair of cutters is a wonderful thing.

Jim

[James Taglienti]

I considered the add on wheels but decided against them as they can't be set closer than 3/8".JimB They CAN be set closer than 3/8 but the bevels will not be ideal for pulling the fence tight to the piece. I have used them this way and they work just fine... The set up time for them with the tiny allen screw and their tendency to shift during tightening is a pain though.

[Ed Looney]

I second what Jim said about the Cosman gauge. It is easy to use and accurate.


I like the tite-mark / veritas style gauges but, for marking mortises, I find Rob Cosman's mortise gauge best.

I like it because neither do I have to buy pre-sized cutter pairs or be limited by how small it goes. You simply set it off of the mortise chisel you plan to use (Imperial, metric or whatever). Having a handle on both sides of the pair of cutters is a wonderful thing.

Jim

[Trevor Walsh]

I've got the Veritas with the mortice gauges, I set them for one project, but haven't been using them for much more than that. More often I set the single wheel gauge to a mark, say the near side of a mortice, then do layout with a double square based on the chisel size or bit size I'm hogging with.