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  1. #1
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    Default Anyone tried the digital marking gauge?

    I would like to get a marking gauge and this one seems cool:
    https://www.timbecon.com.au/measurin...-marking-gauge


    Or am I better off getting something like the veritas

    Veritas Micro Adjustable Wheel Marking Gauge | Marking & Cutting Gauges - Carbatec

    I suppose the benefit of digital would be easy repeatability being able to mark a line exactly where you want it without using something to reference off of. Not sure of the quality though - getting loose and loosing setting etc

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  3. #2
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    I picked up the iGaging digital marking gauge 2 years ago. It's so awesome. It has never shifted unintentionally during use. The digital readout is super accurate to 0.01mm. I no longer fuss about making sure I have marked EVERYTHING before changing settings, because I can get the exact same setting again by using the digital readout. It was a lot cheaper back when I purchased it though, phew!

  4. #3
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    Digital anything has been invented for repeatability in my book.
    CHRIS

  5. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Parks View Post
    Digital anything has been invented for repeatability in my book.
    And for those of us who are tired of trying to read vernier scales that are packed too tightly

  6. #5
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    Default

    I have this gauge and it is brilliant. One of the best things about it is that it also has a fractional inches setting, very handy if you use American plans.
    Nothing succeeds like a budgie without a beak.

  7. #6
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    Hmmm, can I be an old curmudgeon and ask why you need to digitise a marking gauge? I suppose it's handy if you want to alter a setting & return to it later, but if you still have a line from your first setting, it's pretty simple to re-set your gauge to that, is it not? The simple, plain, ancient gauge has always provided more than sufficient accuracy for anything I've ever made. For metal work, such precision is possible & often necessary, but I do not (& could not!) work to the second decimal place in milimetres in wood.

    It doesn't look like it would be a very comfy thing to use, either.

    Just stirring the pot a little.....
    Cheers,
    IW

  8. #7
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    I agree with Ian as an apprentice we were expected to work to 10 thou from a rule.
    With decent eyesight a 32nd which is 30 thou could easily be split in 3.
    Marking with a knife of course and then lining in with a 2h chisel point pencil.
    You could Then split the line on the Bandsaw or if you were slack, sand on the disc or bobbin to leave half of it remaining.
    My eyes not being what they were certainly appreciate a digital vernier rather than picking out 1/2mm which are now a blur.
    Maybe I should try one of these digital marking gauges.
    I first saw them at the Work Skill Olympics in Sydney in the 90s the Korean and Jap Patternmaking contestants had them.
    They were also videoing each other’s teams.
    Not a lot of love there.
    H.
    Jimcracks for the rich and/or wealthy. (aka GKB '88)

  9. #8
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    Default

    I've been following this thread with interest, as while a digital gauge is funky, I struggled to see what benefits it offers in real world applications of how I work, so have appreciated the responses by those that do. Noting also that I'm early in my woodworking journey, I appreciate that I have limited perspective with which to judge the relative benefits.

    Having said that though, I own one of the Veritas style, and often find the fence too short, in that when scribing a wide line (between the fence and scribe) I need to provide a lot of pressure against the fence not to "tip" it forwards or backwards as the "lever" trying to pull the fence out of square is significant. I am keen to have a crack at making one with a long fence in the near future. The digital one looks to have a pretty short fence too with the added disadvantage of not having a nice surface with which to hold it tightly against the wood.

    Quote Originally Posted by IanW View Post
    Hmmm, can I be an old curmudgeon and ask why you need to digitise a marking gauge? I suppose it's handy if you want to alter a setting & return to it later, but if you still have a line from your first setting, it's pretty simple to re-set your gauge to that, is it not?
    I keep a piece of reference wood for a project and will scribe a short line as my reference for parts of "that" size, with a corresponding notation. It's been great, as I can very easily re-create that measurement by dropping the scribe INTO the line and snug the "fence" up against the wood. Very quick and easy, and doesn't require me to squint to read any numbers. It's a pretty interesting looking piece of wood at the end of a project too. It could even be considered art by some more modern standards!

    There was an article titled precision in the workshop in the Popular Woodworking magazine of April 2018 which caused a fundamental shift in my thinking about design and construction. The premise is to pay far less attention to measurements, and rather to think in terms of relative sizes and proportions. It was certainly an eye opener for me.

    Kind regards,
    Lance

  10. #9
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    I knew there would be those who would question the need for a digital marking gauge and I can understand that but have those who express their doubts ever used a digital anything on a day to day basis? I haven't got one of these gauges and have no intention of buying one but I use digital measuring every day and I can instantly see how these would make things better for me, instant conversion, repeatability etc. I know the idea is foreign to a lot of us old farts but I live with a digital vernier in my pocket when I am working and I think it would be the most used tool in the workshop so I get why using a digital marking gauge would be very useful. I am making a chair at the moment using American plans in imperial (UGH!) and the ability to convert instantly on the vernier is awesome.
    CHRIS

  11. #10
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    The problem with the digital verniers is that they lack any romance. Making love by numbers ... ugh!

    OK, there are times when I could use one, but much of the time I do not measure with a cutting gauge - instead I just use it to transfer existing dimensions.

    Having one could be useful. The danger is that some will come to rely on measurements and either forget, or not learn, how to use a marking gauge.

    Regards from Perth

    Derek
    Visit www.inthewoodshop.com for tutorials on constructing handtools, handtool reviews, and my trials and tribulations with furniture builds.

  12. #11
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    Put the battery in,
    Take the battery out,
    Give a little shimmy,
    And toss the bastard out.

  13. #12
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    Default

    Interesting responses and I appreciate all the opinions given. I'm going to get the digital version

  14. #13
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    Derek, that could be said with every new tool ever invented that made old ones redundant through the ages.
    CHRIS

  15. #14
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    To my way of thinking, even if you use sizes and proportions you still need measurements. Also if you are using a marking gauge you still need to set the gauge to a measurement.
    They say one of the purest forms of proportion, the one most pleasing to the eye, is the golden ratio or Fibonacci sequence (1:1.618) but even when using that you would still need to measure to get the proportions correct.

    i’ve always used manual verniers and micrometers however I can’t see any romance bring lost in being able to set a measurement on the marking gauge itself (digital) rather than transferring it to the marking gauge from another measuring instrument eg. rule.

    As my eyesight diminishes, I may find reading a vernier scale a PITA and I believe then the digital marking gauge may well become a welcome friend.

  16. #15
    rrich Guest

    Default

    Similar but vernier calipers. Made by iGang or something like that. About $10 at Harbor Freight.

    You blokes have a HUGE advantage, you're Metric. To you a tenth or hundredth of a MM means something. And yeah these devices can be read to 1/128 of an inch. A 1/128 of an inch is more accuracy than I'll ever use. And when it gets down to the saw dust, "How many 1/128 are there in 7/16?" The point is that the device is too accurate for woodworking. It has since gone in the trash.

    I have several (squirrel puke green) fiber plastic vernier calipers at a couple of dollars each that can be read to 1/128 but it is obvious which sixteenth it is next to and both 1/32 or 1/64 can be read directly. They are a true vernier caliper. If I'm really desperate they can read metric also to the tenth MM IIRC.

    My year 6,7,8 wood shop teacher taught me (Mid 1950s) was to use a pencil and a finger nail as a guide. Hold the pencil as normal and use your middle finger nail as the reference. Just slide the pencil along and mark where needed. For accuracy I mark a starting point with an adjustable square that is calibrated to 1/64.

    When I bought my first table saw I put an Incra fence system on it. It is wonderful, I could make things right down to the 32nd. Which 32nd? It doesn't matter. What the Incra taught me was REPEATABILITY. On my Delta UniSaw, I can achieve repeatability with a magnifying cursor on the rail ruler. The magnifying cursor was $8 from a SawStop dealer. Oh yeah, it is a Right Tilt saw so the ruler is always accurate.

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