Les Outils Cullen Tools Mortise Gauge from Lee Valley - Problems

[Darren Brewster]

Does anyone have any experience with this gauge (item B) (http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=49901&cat=1,42936) or any other wooden style marking gauges? The reason I ask is because there seems to be a lot of slop in the mortise that the beam runs through, more than 1mm which doesn't seem like much, but is enough for the head to pivot on the beam. I have never used a wooden gauge before, so maybe this is the tolerance that they are made to, so I just wanted to ask for opinions before I contact Lee Valley customer service. I would assume that the beam would be friction fit inside the mortise from side to side, but that is a complete assumption on my part.

On a positive note, everything else about the gauge seems excellent. I have used it even with the slop and I am really liking a pin style mortise gauge. It looks good, feels good, the pins leave a nice distinct mark, and it has a comfortable and confident feeling weight.

[David Weaver]

I don't have any wooden gauges that have that kind of room to move laterally (i.e., slop that can't be tightened out). If it's as large as a mm or more, you'd almost have to guess it was there intentionally, because you couldn't exactly miss that easily in building one.

[Darren Brewster]

You have a point. I will probably ask customer service what the other gauges are like, maybe I got a lemon, maybe they are just built that way.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I've seen, used, and built gauges that have a fair amount of slop left/right, but they all have had a sort of rounded or trapezoidal bottom to the stem, so as it's pushed down, it sort self centers itself and locks itself left and right as well as up and down. The extreme of this would be something like the Lie Nielsen panel gauge (http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=1-PG), with the head sort of set at 45 degrees. Should give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

EDIT: Here's (http://www.galoototron.com/2011/07/10/marking-gauge-stability-tweak/) an entry at Galoototron that also describes what I'm talking about.

[Chris Vandiver]

I believe those gauges are built with a fair amount of slop and rely on the radius on the bottom of the mortise and the matching radius on the beam, to true it up. It takes some getting used to but in the end it works fine.

[Ron Kellison]

I just checked mine and while there is a bit of movement it doesn't cause any problems. When I lock it down it stays locked which is, in my opinion, the most important criteria. Personally, I prefer the single edge knife edge gauge. This is a beautifully made gauge which not only works well but just feels good to use.

Best regards,

Ron

[Darren Brewster]

Mine locks very tightly as well, but even with the rounded bottom it moves side to side when locked. I may just be being very heavy handed though as I am new to this kind of gauge. Thanks to everyone for all the opinions and information, I really appreciate it.

[Tony Sade]

I checked mine and, while there's tons of slop before tightening the lock screw, screwing things down even gently removes all that slop. Applying full pressure, without going overboard, and you can't move things at all. I also prefer, and have, the knife gauge, and it's a very sweet tool--my go-to gauge, and I have a serious marking gauge problem. If your's is defective, LV will make it right.

[Mark Maleski]

I glued some shims in mine to tighten things up a bit. Before I did that it would lock down tight, but I've found it easier to lock it down with accuracy since adding the shims.

[Darren Brewster]

I glued some shims in mine to tighten things up a bit. Before I did that it would lock down tight, but I've found it easier to lock it down with accuracy since adding the shims.
I was thinking of doing that, but what did you use for shims?