A Sad Story about a Broken Marking Guage...

[David Shoemaker]

Approximately 30 years ago, my grandparents were downsizing and preparing for a move from their lifelong home in Pasadena, CA. My grandfather let the rest of the family know about an upcoming garage sale in case anyone wanted to look through the items for sale. As is the case with most 19-year-olds, I was dumb... I decided it was too much trouble to drive up from San Diego.

My grandfather had an Uncle Carl who had emigrated to America from Sweden. Uncle Carl was carpenter and my grandfather had inherited all of his tools. I'm sure you know where this is going... My grandfather ended up selling most of Uncle Carl's tools and tool box at the garage sale.

One of the few items not purchased was this marking gauge (I suspect this was due to the broken point). This has long been a reminder of youthful ignorance. Well, I'd like to now turn it into family memento that can be useful in the shop.

Is there anyone out there who has the skills and experience to replace the broken point? I'm afraid that I would make a mess of it.

Thanks in advance!

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[Scott Winners]

Yes, but it is not me. I have a very similar mortise gauge. You should be able to losen the thumb screw and remove the entire beam. From there getting the brass slider out of the wooden beam should be self evident.

This is where you need to get friendly with a machinist. Sometimes woodworkers need metal work done they just can't do themselves. I am not a blacksmith, and I am not a machinist. But I am on good terms with a good one of each.

Once the brass slider is out of the wooden beam replacing the point is a fairly basic machinist operation. If you ask via DM I will send you contact info for my local guy, but there is no point in paying that kind of shipping for something this simple.

Do you know any people with heavily modified cars? They probably farm what they can't do themselves to 2-3 auto shops in your area, and those shops will know which machinist in your area can take that on.

Good luck and best wishes.

EDIT: There are probably several folks here who could do that pin replacement. If you can find a similar one at a garage sale and practice on that one... But for a family piece I would not take that on as my first machinist project.

[David Shoemaker]

Thanks for the suggestion!

Not sure I can the slider out though. Both end pieces appear to be pegged in with copper pins.

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[Mike Henderson]

From the looks of that marking gauge in your pictures, you can use it without fixing the broken point. It looks like that broken point was used for marking a mortise or tenon. If you sharpen up the existing point - preferably into a knife shape instead of a point - you can use it for marking things. After all, marking gauges like the TiteMark are mostly single line markers.

Mike

[Mel Fulks]

I think I had one like that. Traded it for something….but can’t remember what; so always write down what you got in a trade and what you
traded. I think mine was marked “Diston”….which surprised me enough to kind of remember that much.

[Christopher Charles]

Good that you have his gauge. I agree you could easily use as a single point gauge. You could also drill and install new pins or a cutting knife on the end of the gauge. The former would take some careful work with a drill press and the latter may be easier and more effective in the end. Definitely worth some effort though!

[Jim Koepke]

It looks like you should be able to knock the pin out with a small punch. A nail smaller in diameter than the pin could also be used for this.

The hard part would be finding a replacement pin of the right size. If you are lucky it will be the same size as a nail or drill bit allowing you to make your own.

There should be a way, which might not be fully evident, to remove the brass pieces holding the pins from the beam.

jtk

[steven c newman]

I can go and check the gauge I have, later today...
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The thimbscrew is actually a very LONG bolt. There is a nut inbedded in the arm that the bolt runs through. Bolt is captured in the brass slider. IF you back the slider all the way out, it and the bolt will come out of the arm. Then the OP can access to broken pin...Might use a brass rod to craft a new pin?

IF I get to the shop after a bit ( have a few things to do, anyway) I can get a few photos of the slider on my Mortise Gauge, IF that could help out?

[steven c newman]

Ok...here goes....Close-up of the end..
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There is a place that acts as a nut..
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Goes all the way through the arm...slider uses a fairly long bolt, there is a collar..
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That the bolt rotates in. I can remove the slider assembly..
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And look at the underside where the pin is..
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They peened a steel pin into place, filed it flush, so the slider can....slide..
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Once the pin was in place, THEN they sharpened it, note the grooves from the file?

The non-moving pin can be accessed by removing that slotted head screw.

The "head" on mine had been secured from splitting by 2 riveted pins, with washers.

Hope this helps..

[steven c newman]

Did those photos help?

I suppose, one could even solder the pin into place.....just tin the pin, slide it into place, and apply a bit of heat, maybe add a bit more Rosin core solder and allow to cool. File a nice point instead of grind one...

[Jim Koepke]

Solder would likely make a mess of it.

A steel pin is much better than a soft metal pin. A brass pin will not only dull quickly it could bend in use.

If you want to end up with a quality tool, it isn't difficult to do a quality repair.

jtk

[steven c newman]

Welp..mine has a steel pin, and it has been peened into place.

[David Shoemaker]

Sorry I went silent on this post.

Steven, thanks for the photos. My marking gauge isn't constructed like yours, so the assembly won't come out so easily. There are some brass pins holding it in place that I would have to hammer out. I may give it a go at some point...

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

[James Pallas]

Hi David, it was very common years ago to use tapered pins in tools and machines. Those could be tapered pins and are holding to the brass nut, cross piece in your gauge. They would be driven in and filed flush with the wood. It may be difficult to tell which end is smaller. They should drive out toward the large end. Well supported on the side you are driving toward. In the era of that gauge they usually made things repairable for wear prone parts. Knowing the history of your gauge I would probably buy a new gauge to use and save that one as is. There is always the chance of damage in attempting to repair it. If you were to destroy the beam it could be replaced too but it would never be the same as it is now.

[David Shoemaker]

Thanks, James. I'm leaning more towards your suggestion...