Which profile gauge?

[Brian Penning]

Anyone have either of these 2 gauges? Opinions?
Not sure which to buy...

http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/markmeasure/03n0101s1b.jpg
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,42936,42958&p=32522


http://www.leevalley.com/images/item/woodworking/markmeasure/44k1402s1.jpg
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,42936,42958&p=32523

[Brian Peters]

Don't have either of lee valleys but I would assume the one with the pins would be more accurate since it has more points of detail. The plastic one looks like they are broken down into 1/16s or 1/8" pins, the metal one is probably like 1/32.

[Bob Vallaster]

Brian,
I have owned items similar to both, but neither came from LV ( I do like their tools, though).
Length matters. The longer item (10") would be better when copying shapes which exceed the reach of the stainless steel tool (7")---the time-consuming alternative is to copy a shape by increments and get all the portions rightly oriented to one another. My most recent application involved fitting linoleum tile; the scale begged for the longer tool.
The length of the fingers (lateral travel) determines the maximum difference you can have between major and minor depth on the copy. More is better.
TPI matters. Note the stainless tool has more teeth per inch: it will yield a finer trace of a shape, requiring less interpolation when cutting the pencil line.

BobV

[Wayne Cannon]

I've tried the metal version 15-20 years ago, but was not very satisfied with it -- there are too many variables that can cause an inaccurate copy. I've had the best luck copying contours by tracing a projected a shadow from a light a long distance from the paper with the object close to the paper; however, this only works for a very few types of objects. It works nicely for spindles (as in your photos, and my primary use), but not for moldings or for contours that are fixed in place (e.g., attached to a wall or a heavy piece of furniture).