Marking Gauge
Marking Gauge Process Guide
A Single Block of Wood Can Make Many Gauges • Start with an 8/4 x 3 x 12 block of hardwood • If necessary saw a larger board down to this size, it is large enough to make 2-3 gauges if you plan appropriately • 6/4 stock would actually be a better bet since the gauge body is only 1 1/4” thick, so if 6/4 stock can be obtained, do it! • Use a hardwood that will be durable but won’t kill you when trying to chop out the mortises. • Avoid a softwood at all costs as the wedging action will deform a softwood quickly and you will struggle to get the gauge to lock firmly. • Mark a 1” line along the edge of the blank • Saw away that 1” strip • Now rotate that offcut 90 degrees and mark a 1” line on the strip. • Saw that strip down the line to create 2 blanks for beam arms, and set those aside for now.
• Mill the gauge block flat and square on 2 faces • Mark a 2” width and plane the second edge down to your lines • Now mark a line 1 1/4 from the reference face to mark the thickness of the blank • You can either saw this wood away or plane it away • I advise you plane it for the practice but also because the off cut if resawn will have little use.
• The beam should have not play side to side but allow wiggle room vertically.
Bore and Chop the Beam and Wedge Mortises • Layout a centered, 3/4” square, 3/4” from the end of the block • Bore out the mortise, boring from both sides using a 3/4 or 5/8 auger bit. • Chop and pare to the lines then fit the beam to the mortise by carefully planing it to size. • Layout the 1/4” wide wedge mortise centered on the thickness of the block so the bottom edge intersects the beam mortise by 1/16”. It should be 9/16 tall on one edge and 7/16 on the other edge. • Bore and pare to the angle and wedge the beam into the mortise to prevent blowout.
• Check that a chisel lays across the wedge mortise without interference in the middle.
• Layout and saw/pare the wedge to shape
• Plane the wedge until you get a snug fit on the beam
Layout, Saw and Pare the Curve
• Saw off the 3” block from the blank • Layout a curve starting 1/2” down from the top, I used a can of bug spray to shape my curve. • Saw away the bulk of the waste, then pare in the curve and burnish is on your bench top • Determine the front and back face then lay in a chamfer 1/8 down from the beam mortise and 3/8 from the bottom from face.
• Use a diamond file to cut in a flat 1/8” from the end of a 5/32 O1 steel rod. • Then create a football shaped bevel • Install in a 5/32 hole drilled in 3/8 from the end of the beam
• Saw and plane the chamfer to shape.
Saw and Plane a Chamfer on the Back Face
• Use your thumb to lock the wedge in place • Tap the wedge on the bench to loosen or to tighten • All adjustments made with just one hand!
A Single Block of Wood Can Make Many Gauges • Start with an 8/4 x 3 x 12 block of hardwood • If necessary saw a larger board down to this size, it is large enough to make 2-3 gauges if you plan appropriately • 6/4 stock would actually be a better bet since the gauge body is only 1 1/4” thick, so if 6/4 stock can be obtained, do it! • Use a hardwood that will be durable but won’t kill you when trying to chop out the mortises. • Avoid a softwood at all costs as the wedging action will deform a softwood quickly and you will struggle to get the gauge to lock firmly. • Mark a 1” line along the edge of the blank • Saw away that 1” strip • Now rotate that offcut 90 degrees and mark a 1” line on the strip. • Saw that strip down the line to create 2 blanks for beam arms, and set those aside for now.
• Mill the gauge block flat and square on 2 faces • Mark a 2” width and plane the second edge down to your lines • Now mark a line 1 1/4 from the reference face to mark the thickness of the blank • You can either saw this wood away or plane it away • I advise you plane it for the practice but also because the off cut if resawn will have little use.
• The beam should have not play side to side but allow wiggle room vertically.
Bore and Chop the Beam and Wedge Mortises • Layout a centered, 3/4” square, 3/4” from the end of the block • Bore out the mortise, boring from both sides using a 3/4 or 5/8 auger bit. • Chop and pare to the lines then fit the beam to the mortise by carefully planing it to size. • Layout the 1/4” wide wedge mortise centered on the thickness of the block so the bottom edge intersects the beam mortise by 1/16”. It should be 9/16 tall on one edge and 7/16 on the other edge. • Bore and pare to the angle and wedge the beam into the mortise to prevent blowout.
• Check that a chisel lays across the wedge mortise without interference in the middle.
• Layout and saw/pare the wedge to shape
• Plane the wedge until you get a snug fit on the beam
Layout, Saw and Pare the Curve
• Saw off the 3” block from the blank • Layout a curve starting 1/2” down from the top, I used a can of bug spray to shape my curve. • Saw away the bulk of the waste, then pare in the curve and burnish is on your bench top • Determine the front and back face then lay in a chamfer 1/8 down from the beam mortise and 3/8 from the bottom from face.
• Use a diamond file to cut in a flat 1/8” from the end of a 5/32 O1 steel rod. • Then create a football shaped bevel • Install in a 5/32 hole drilled in 3/8 from the end of the beam
• Saw and plane the chamfer to shape.
Saw and Plane a Chamfer on the Back Face
• Use your thumb to lock the wedge in place • Tap the wedge on the bench to loosen or to tighten • All adjustments made with just one hand!
