Woodpecker did it again with the MT Center Gauge....

[Bill Huber]

I don't do a lot of MTs and when I do they are loose MTs but with the new MT gauge I just may have to start using normal MTs.

The gauge really looks neat and easy to use and fast, no measuring just mark it and go....

What are your thoughts on it.

http://www.woodpeck.com/ottmtcentergauge.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dB2P_0uVeKQ


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[Malcolm Schweizer]

If I ever win the lottery I am going to buy one of everything they make. Well-designed, well-made tools.

[Chris Rosenberger]

It says on the bars "For use with pencils & knives Made in the U. S. A."
Those might be hard to find. :D

If you layout a lot of mortises & tenons & need to find the centers of board edges, this tool would make it fool proof.

[John Sanford]

If you layout a lot of mortises & tenons & need to find the centers of board edges, this tool would make it fool proof.
You sir, must be an incurable optimist. Never forget that fools are incredibly ingenious, and often the "beneficiaries" of assistance from Mr. Murphy.

[Frederick Skelly]

Their stuff always gets rave reviews, but man it's expensive. Seems like a smart guy or gal could fab something pretty close for a lot less money. It probably wont be as spot-on accurate, but it might be good enough. Seems worth a try.

[John A langley]

Bill, thanks for letting us know about the new Woodpecker tool. I have their 12" T sq and their 36" T sq and one other square. I find them to be very accurate and very well made. I would not want to be without them. However I've been struggling how to figure out what purpose this MT gauge would serve unless you do all your MT's by hand. I might be missing something but I don't see how it would help setting up machinery. Just my two cents.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Bill, thanks for letting us know about the new Woodpecker tool. I have their 12" T sq and their 36" T sq and one other square. I find them to be very accurate and very well made. I would not want to be without them. However I've been struggling how to figure out what purpose this MT gauge would serve unless you do all your MT's by hand. I might be missing something but I don't see how it would help setting up machinery. Just my two cents.

It would help me in for setting my hollow chisel mortiser. Right now I do a trial & error process to center the chisel.
With the Woodpecker jig, just mark the location of the centered mortise, set the part on the mortiser & dial it in.
It just needs 5/8" & 3/4" bars also.

[Mike Henderson]

I often wonder why a tool like this is needed. It's pretty easy to find, and mark, a center line with existing tools.

One way is to take a marking gauge and adjust it to approximately middle. Make a mark, then move the marking gauge to the other side of the wood and see how close you are to middle. You can see what the error is (the distance between the two marks) so you can get pretty close on the second adjustment. If you don't hit it with that second adjustment, you surely will with the third. Then run the marking gauge along the board and you have the center marked.

You can do a very similar thing with a double square (or a combination square) and a pencil or knife.

As far as marking a mortise and tenon, most of us make the mortise first and then make the tenon a bit fat and trim to fit. So on a 3/4" board, you'd probably make the mortise about 3/8". That leaves 3/16" on each side, which you can mark off with a double square. If your board is a bit fat (more than 3/4") you can leave 1/4" on both sides, or make the mortise a bit more than 3/8" - the size is not critical. Measure your mortise and make the tenon just a bit larger so you can trim to a tight fit.

If you make your tenon on the table saw, it's automatically centered.

This stuff is not rocket science, nor must it be absolutely precise. Most of the time we make to fit, not make to a measurement.

Mike

[Jeff Erbele]

If one needed one of these, it is a very nice one and a very pricey one.

It wouldn't take much to build one for a lot less.
For a simple but accurate center finder, one can build one quick with a stick, 3 nails and a compass.

[glenn bradley]

It is a highly refined version of an easily made shop helper. Too many of my M&T joints involve offsets so my shop made version (that I could of sworn I needed) is setting on a ledge (somewhere?). The design and execution are top notch as always and some good thought has gone into making it more than what many shop made versions can be. It does seem to be a paradox though as in my small world of woodworker's I interact with, folks that do a lot of M&T aren't doing standard, centered, boiler-plate type work ;-) Although it is not something I would use, I am sure it is well made and may benefit someone who has that requirement.

[Dave Zellers]

Couldn't you use these (home made or not) for offset mortises by putting a right sized shim on one side before squeezing it closed?

[Metod Alif]

"I often wonder why a tool like this is needed. It's pretty easy to find, and mark, a center line with existing tools."
I used to wonder too, but the reality is ...in the difference between woodworkers and woodpeckers.
Best wishes,
Metod

[Jamie Buxton]

That's a solution hunting for a problem.

I make mortises with a plunge router and edge guide. I make two passes with the router -- one with the edgeguide on one face of the workpiece, and the second with the edgeguide on the other face of the workpiece. The mortise is centered. No fiddling around, no expensive center guides.

[Keith Hankins]

I'll let you know i've order one. I hate this company! they have cost me a lot of money over the years!. I will say, all products are top notch!

[Jeff Erbele]

I slept on this one. Its very nice but I can't see 120 bucks worth.

The Romans, Egyptians and Mayans did very well without one :p

[Keith Hankins]

Ya know I thought hard, but I can see this being so handy as someone who got a few of their one-time-tools, I struggled with price a lot. You also have to wait a long time to get them! A good example was the bevel gauge. That was a lot of money for the set, but once I got them and used them that concern went out the window. The heft, and quality of those tools are amazing and to me worth it. It's like putting a Lie-Nielsen plane in your hands or a Starrett measuring tools, or using festool. And best of all they are American Made, and that ain't happening much anymore.


http://www.woodpeck.com/bevelgauge.html

[Stew Hagerty]

I've already ordered it and I'm anxious to add it to my "Wall of Red". Hey, most people collect something... Well, I collect Woodpeckers Tools.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but as for those that always say things are too expensive:

18V Lithium Ion Drill $129.99

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18V Lithium Ion Drill $635.00

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My Porter Cable drill and PC impact driver do everything that I've ever asked of them.

Of course now I will here from all of those that "collect" Festool products. And if you are going to tell me that you don't collect them, but instead, that USE them. Well I use my Woodpeckers Tools all of the time. MY only point is just what I said... Most people collect something. Whether you USE what you collect or not is irrelevant.

And remember... I did say that I don't want to hijack this thread.

[John A langley]

Stew, I get your point and yes I do collect tools. I have a Festool tracksaw I bought before the others came out and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I also have their Domino and wouldn't trade that either. But I can't see spending the money on their sabersaw or drills. I try to collect useful tools and that little red thing will be a money maker for Woodpecker and probably sit on a lot of people's shelves who bought one. Like I said earlier a lot of their stuff is great and well built. My two cents.

[william watts]

I seldom cut centered mortises. I leave a 1/16 revel between the leg, and apron, and between the leg' and stretchers on tables. I have even left a revel between rail and stile on f&p doors that used a glass panel, made a nice door. I do not have any rail & stile cutters for my router, I don't do many doors. It looks like quality product and if you have all the tools you need get one.

[Jim Barstow]

A well designed and built tool can be as beautiful a thing as the object it helps to construct. I bought one even though I use a router for large mortises and a stationary mortiser for smaller ones. I don't understand why some people spend ridiculous amounts on cars and I wouldn't expect them to understand why I spend money on tools.

[Ben Martin]

That's a solution hunting for a problem.

I make mortises with a plunge router and edge guide. I make two passes with the router -- one with the edgeguide on one face of the workpiece, and the second with the edgeguide on the other face of the workpiece. The mortise is centered. No fiddling around, no expensive center guides.

This is how I do mine on my Powermatic 10 mortiser, from both sides and thus guantanteed centered. I don't see the point of this tool, I still wouldn't trust that I actually had the mortise centered....

Ben

[Alan Schaffter]

If you make mortises with a plunge router you can make a simple parallelogram base and bypass the drawing jig altogether.

As someone here already mentioned, offset M&T are easy to make/draw with a parallelogram mechanism by using shims of the appropriate width (twice as wide the desired offset) on one side. I designed a parallelogram gauge with one adjustable side to achieve the offset without shims.

[Rich Riddle]

I often wonder why a tool like this is needed. It's pretty easy to find, and mark, a center line with existing tools. If you make your tenon on the table saw, it's automatically centered. This stuff is not rocket science, nor must it be absolutely precise. Most of the time we make to fit, not make to a measurement.

The Woodpeckers representatives had this on display today at the Indianapolis Woodworking Show. I purchased a ruler from them and the representative beamed when showing it. It must be the cat's meow to some folks because lots were interested. I have many Woodpeckers tools, but this will not be one of them coming home. You are correct, many woodworkers make the joints fit what they need.

[Howard Rosenberg]

Mighty cool.

One of the things I love about woodworking is the specialized "gear".

Those things look liked precision instruments.

Howard

[Rob Holcomb]

I love the items woodpeckers sells but I agree with several others. Their stuff is very expensive. Too expensive for me in most cases. For those that can afford it, I hope it works for you as well as advertised!

[johnny means]

Hmm, can't do a double mortise, offset mortise, odd sizes. It won't even mark off the matching tenon or the entire mortise for that matter. While my trusty old combo square can do all these. As stated earlier these are great for collectors, and will look really pretty on a "Wall of Red", but I think really smart tools should be more useful and solve real problems.

[Dan Rude]

For those who brought the MT Center Gauge or did not what do you think of the new one time tool by Woodpeckers MT doweling jig? I have the newer Jessem, but like how fast this one seems to be able to use. Thoughts? Dan

[Roderick Gentry]

I don't do a lot of MTs and when I do they are loose MTs but with the new MT gauge I just may have to start using normal MTs.

The gauge really looks neat and easy to use and fast, no measuring just mark it and go....

What are your thoughts on it.

http://www.woodpeck.com/ottmtcentergauge.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dB2P_0uVeKQ


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I just eyeball center, set a marking gage, and flip it. Works for center every time. Or I can work off the actual width of my chisel, whereas I have no reason to believe the spacing of the bars and a pencil line precisely fits any tool I actually have.

I bought a beautiful Bridge city tool for mortises, have never used it. Simple and fast work for me. Though at least the BCT tool is adjustable to ones chisels.

[Roderick Gentry]

Actually, I could probably be tempted by the dowelling jig, which operates on the same principle, and then just make a bar or two, in a precise size to my chisels. Probably someone mentioned that though.

[Daniel Rode]

Looks like a solution searching for a problem.