Yet another marking guage

[Tony Parent]

I know several folks have posted their marking gauges in the past, I though I would add to the list.

Here are several marking gauges I've been playing around with. Left to right in the order I made them.

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The first was made from some cherry and maple scraps. Mostly cherry, with the facing being the maple. The knob on top is made from a 1/4x20 brass screw and some lilac. (There is also a small shoe of lilac inside to keep the screw from damaging the cherry beam.)
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The next is a panel gauge made of oak and a bit of elm for the facing. Same type of lilac knob and shoe. Sorry for the blurry image on this one...

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[Tony Parent]

The next set of gauges are all walnut that has been "ebinized" using the steelwool/vinigar trick.

The first is a dual beam mortise gauge that uses cutters. I moved from the lilac knobs to some thumb screws I got from Lee Valley. It goes well with the brass in the rest of the gauge. There is still a lilac "shoe" inside to buffer the beam from the screw.

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The second is a in-line pin type gauge with a full brass facing. I did put a lilac shoe in this one even though the screw would tighten against the brass slider for the second pin.
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The next is a wheel type cutting/marking gauge. The "wheel" is a replacement cutter for a pipe cutter. (Sharpened, which took forever!) I didn't put a lilac shoe in this one as I wanted to see how the screw wore against the brass wear strip. If I find it's making marks that I don't like, I can always go back and add a shoe later.

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Lastly, a "bat wing" type marking gauge with another wheel cutter. (Hey they come in a packet of two, if I didn't use it I would loose it... :D) The dado that the beam rides in is lined with some angle brass I had. The front brass section is solid to reinforce what would have been a rather delicate cross-grain area. (Plus it gave me a place to tap for a screw to hold the cutter.)

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[Jeff Wittrock]

Very nice work Tony. I especially like the dual beam gauge. Is the spline between the two beams brass?
It looks like you are set for marking needs :).

I went years without a marking gauge but now I wouldn't dream of being without them.

[Tony Parent]

Very nice work Tony. I especially like the dual beam gauge. Is the spline between the two beams brass?
It looks like you are set for marking needs :).

I went years without a marking gauge but now I wouldn't dream of being without them.

Jeff, thanks, and yes the spline is brass. There is a sliver of maple between the two beams as well. It's hard to see in the photo, but it's there.

I am indeed set for marking gauges. A couple of these were inspired by some images of some Bridge City Tools gauges I saw on the web. Others from various other places. I wanted to try several different types to see what I liked and didn't like about the various styles. I have a few "commercial" ones that I use, including a couple of the Lee Valley wheel gauges. The only real issue I have with them is that they don't mark deep enough in the rough cut lumber that I tend to start with. (Most of it stuff I milled either with a chainsaw mill or more recently with my band mill.) That started me down the path of making my own. Then once I had one, I had to try a couple more... :rolleyes:

[Mike Allen1010]

Beautiful and very inspirational Tony! Well designeand executed. I need a new panel gauge with a longer fence to keep things parallel across wider panels. What knob thumbscrews would you recommend? Do you just tap threads into thaw or do you use a insert metal thread?
Thanks for sharing .

All the best, Mike

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Well done, and the ebonized walnut looks great. I have plans to build a panel gauge, but first I have four saw handles to make. Too many projects.

[Tony Parent]

Beautiful and very inspirational Tony! Well designed and executed.

Thanks!


I need a new panel gauge with a longer fence to keep things parallel across wider panels. What knob thumbscrews would you recommend?

I used three different types of thumbscrews in the ones I did. I like the looks of the brass thumbscrews I got from Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=68951&cat=1,43455). You have to have 1/4-20 screw for these as they are really "thumb nuts". I just put a little bit of super glue in the threads, then tightened the screw into the thumb nut and cut off the other end. You end up with a nice thumb screw that works well.

If you want to get by a little cheaper, and have some nice exotic wood scraps, making a thumbscrew from a 1/4-20 screw as I did in the first two actually comes out real nice. If you go this route, use the screws with a slot, not a phillips head. Then sink it into the wooden knob only a little (I epoxied mine in) and file off down to the slot. (The phillips part goes too deep so once filed off, all the head is gone.) This method is also nice if you plan on only one or two marking gauges. (As I initially did... :rolleyes:)

I think the third in my mind is the type that looks like the nut in the bat winged gauge. They tend to be only about 1/2 inch accross which doesn't fit well in my mind with the rest of the gauge. (Too small, the proportions don't look right.)

Bridge City Tools (http://www.bridgecitytools.com/default/h15.html) sells a knob that you can infill with your favourite material that I thought about, but didn't go with.

If you fine other options, I would be interested in hearing about them.


Do you just tap threads into thaw or do you use a insert metal thread?
I used threaded inserts in all but the bat-winged gauge. Make sure you chamfer the holes slightly before putting them in or they will pull up the grain and make for an unsightly chip. Especially if you are placing them on a highly curved surface like I did of the dual beam gauge. (Yeah, I initially messed that up, and had to sand the gauge down all the way around by about 1/16th to fix it...) I drilled the hole for the insert only slightly longer then needed, then used a smaller drill bit to finish the hole. This gives you a pilot hole to guide you putting in the insert. Use a screw long enough to hold the insert and go down into the pilot part. A double nut on the back side holds the insert. Screw things in, then back off the nuts and remove the screw. This gets the insert in straight, and doesn't mess up the ends like a screwdriver does. (I turn the insert upside down so screwdriver slot goes in first. I think the end result looks better, and I don't plan on ever taking it out anyway...)

The two wheel cutters are attached by drilling and tapping directly into the brass end plates. I think this works better then the inserts, and if I had to do the dual beam over again, I probably would see if I could do something similar for the cutters there. (Putting the small #6 inserts in the ends of the beams was an adventure...)

Hope this helps, sorry the reply was so rambling...

TonyP