Marking Gauge

[Tom Bender]

My marking gauge did not work for the recessed half blind dovetails I was making so I made this one.

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The blade was cut from a utility knife blade. Sharpen before cutting off. The blade is too hard to saw or file. Grind a shallow groove each surface and snap off with pliers.

The bar is 3/4" and the hole is 7/8". Note the two pieces of 1/4" dowel the bar bears against.

Works fine for the limited need but if used a lot a strip of metal inlaid would be needed for the hex head bolt to bear against.

Here are the dovetails

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[Mark Rainey]

Good job Tom - working with hand tools is fun, making the hand tools is even more fun.

[John Ziebron]

Very nice Tom. And you've given me a good idea to make use of some blades that I bought many years ago. I think I may have bought these mini utility blades at a woodworking show. The price was right and I bought 2 packages but never found any kind of handle or tool that they fit into. The blades are 1 1/4" x 3/8" x .019 thick. So now I'm thinking of making a marking gauge similar to yours and use these blades without having to cut them.
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[Bob Jones 5443]

Nifty tool. Tom. Is the cutting edge beveled on both sides or just one?