I normally use a Tite-Mark but the oak I often use scoffs at the cutting wheel. I made a cutting gauge a few months ago that worked well but was unstable due to an imprecise mortise and an ineffective locking wedge.
I was puttering in the shop to stay out of the heat and decided to give the fence another go. I had a chunk of figured oak and used the Mike Peckovich tape trick to mark and cut a crisp mortise. Rather than monkey with another wedge I installed a threaded insert and used a clamp knob with a wooden pellet on the end for friction. It’s solid as a rock and doesn’t mar the maple beam. The cutting insert is a tool steel cutter from a metal lathe. Super sharp and super durable. It cuts a deep, crisp line in hard maple and oak. No more wimpy dovetail baselines.
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