Thread: Cutting Gauge or Marking Gauge ???

Ian, Derek, etc etc will give you the good oil but ... a cutting gauge is good across the grain of timber ...

and the others can tell us both what's best to strike a line down the grain.

Cheers,
Paul

Originally Posted by pmcgee

........and the others can tell us both what's best to strike a line down the grain.

It's a matter of preference. I know some who use cutting gauges exclusively, both with & across the grain. I prefer a pin gauge when going with the grain because it leaves a line I can see, and the pin is less likely to try & follow the grain (when used lightly). A pin is easier to start & stop at a fixed point (when marking out hinge rebates, for e.g.). There are probably other situations where I prefer one over the other, but can't think of them atm.

The line a cutting gauge makes along the grain is getting too fine for these chronologically-challenged eyes.....

Cheers,

Thanks Paul and Ian

We were working with Tas oak that had been sitting around for several years and yellowed quite a bit so that the scribe lines in both directions were quite visible. Had not attempted to stop the scribes precisely. Will have to experiment with freshly dresed timber! But I am optically-challlenged.

When I was 14, I was so proud of my newly crafted marking gauge. Now, I must admit that part of the issue was that my friends cutting gauge was even better designed and better built!



Fair Winds
Graeme

A very useful tip from Colen Clenton:
"A pin gauge is great for a series of marks along a board for drilling holes."

I use a cutting gauge for both cross- and with grain directions. All the pins have been converted to knives, and all wheel gauges are, in fact, cutting gauges.

The "secret" to cutting with the grain using a knife edge is to take very light passes until the line is established. Don't be in a rush - several light strokes are better controlled than one deep stroke.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Thanks Derek

After using Baz's cutting gauges I found them so much superior to my school-project marking gauges that I began to wonder why marking gauges still existed - cutters seemed so superior. Had I missed something basic? Or jumped to a false conclusion?

Part of the issue is simply tool quality; I need to upgrade my marking gauges and will migrate to cutting gauges, keeping in mind Ian's comments that there are some instances where markers may be prefered.

Skill-challenged people like me, need all the help that good tools are able to extend and those little hints on technique are so valuable.


Fair Winds

Graeme

Graeme, there really isn't much to a marking gauge of either type. A stock that moves smoothly on the beam, & stays put while you lock it (squarely & firmly), plus a solidly-fixed pin or cutter that has a fine-ish point or cutting edge, sums it up. We seem to be divided into two camps when it comes to gauge use, the 'pullers' & the 'pushers', & which direction you prefer to go in makes a difference to the way you hold it, and will influence the shape & size of stock that feels right in your hand.

Something I hadn't thought about much until Derek mentioned it in his thread on 'turning a pigs ear into a silk purse' is the visibility of the pin or the cutter. Normally this isn't an issue for me as I use my gauges rolled over, & the pointy bit is clearly visible, but there are occasions when it is hard to see, such as starting from the edge of a recess - working by feel usually suffices.

Also, the pins/cutters on most 'Western" style gauges are set back 5mm or more from the end of the beam, but an L-shaped cutter like on his remodelled gauge can work right up to an obstruction, e.g. if you wanted to score the edge of an existing rebate to make it deeper, you'd have a hard time doing that with any of my gauges.

Cheers,

Also, the pins/cutters on most 'Western" style gauges are set back 5mm or more from the end of the beam, but an L-shaped cutter like on his remodelled gauge can work right up to an obstruction, e.g. if you wanted to score the edge of an existing rebate to make it deeper, you'd have a hard time doing that with any of my gauges.

Correct Ian. It should be called a "slicing gauge". Not only is it great on veneer or banding, but recently I was installing hinges and had to deepen the rear of the mortice very slightly. The cutting gauge managed to effect the needed fine slice off the rear edge cleaner and straighter than any chisel could do. Sometimes a chisel causes the edge to crumble.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

....... It should be called a "slicing gauge". Not only is it great on veneer or banding, but recently I was installing hinges and had to deepen the rear of the mortice very slightly. The cutting gauge managed to effect the needed fine slice off the rear edge cleaner and straighter than any chisel could do. Sometimes a chisel causes the edge to crumble.

Derek, I was thinking about the cutter on your 'slicer' and it's certainly shaped for slicing - like the knife of a purfling cutter. I've always shaped cutters for gauges as a rounded spear point, so that they can be used in both directions. I think I will try making something on the principle of the Japanese gauge, just for fun. I have a couple of ideas on how to attach a cutter so that it's flush with the end of the beam, but will have to try them to see if either is practical...

Cheers,

Hi Ian

This is how one can convert a beam. It is the Hamilton gauge. I have done something similar in the past (link only and not a photo as I am on my iPad) ...

Hamilton Marking Gauges

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by IanW

... knife of a purfling cutter ...

... noooo ... that's it ... he's makin' this stuff up.

tappity tapitty tap tap click ...

Here you are Paul, one purfling cutter ...



This is a specially made tool to cut the trench for the bindings on a guitar or the purflings to a violin. But you already knew that, didn't you.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by pmcgee

... noooo ... that's it ... he's makin' this stuff up.

tappity tapitty tap tap click ...

Originally Posted by derekcohen

.........This is how one can convert a beam.
traditional-marking-gauge.jpg

Dammit - that's very close to one of the ways I was thinking of - there's no originality in me at all!

The idea I had was to drill a single hole in the cutter, which would sit in a rebate in a brass tip (to prevent it skewing under pressure). My cutter would be a bit thicker, like the Japanese one, and I'd use a counter-sunk screw (looks like a round head in the pics of the Hamiltons), to keep everything flush with the end of the beam.

Haven't come across this brand before - they look like the progeny of a Colen Clenton mated with an IanW gauge...

Cheers,