Thread: Veritas Dividing Rule

Mike, I use a normal ruler and angle it across the piece. If I need to divide it into eight I'll just angle it until eight mm, cms, inches or whatever fit across the board, then mark it off.

For the centre of a board I use a marking gauge as follows:

Estimate the centre and make a small mark

Mark from the other side and make a small mark

Adjust the marking gauge to centre of these two marks and ensure you have found the centre.

This works for me and lots of the time I don't even know thick the board is especially if I have milled and planed it myself - then I don't need to know using this method.

Ditto WB. Groggy's way is good for marking out dovetail centres etc. You don't need to do any mental gymnastics.

The Incra stuff is generally very good but sometimes I think there is a gimic element there. I've got one of the rules that has the holes in it. Increments down to 1/4mm. Handy for setting the marking gauge - you put the pin in the appropriate hole and slide the fence up to the edge of the rule. Other than that, I don't use it much at all.

Thanks for the feedback. That is the way I generally end up doing the measuring. The Veritas Dividing Rule with its swivelling pins would have elimated the measuring step - it's just that I have found the holes to be too big for the pencil point to centre in them.

I was looking at also buying one or other of the Incra rules with their laser cut slots but am wondering if they are fine enough to take a pencil point without it wandering across the width of the slot or will it also be a "sloppy" fit.

Put it this way: I use a scratch awl with mine on the odd occassion that I actually use it for marking out. The holes in the rule are just big enough to take the tip of it. You would need to use a clutch pencil with a very fine tip if you want to go that way. They are very accurate but I find I don't require that level of accuracy most of the time.

Another option for finding the centre is to make up a tool similar to mine in pic 1. The centre pin is used to mark the centre by resting the two dowels on each edge. Then (pic 2) put the marking guage in the pinhole and slide the fence up to the edge, lock it in place, and you can scribe a line.

I have two of these tools, for different width ranges.

Often I use Wood Borer's method, too.

Zenwood's idea is also excellent for plunging a mortise in thin stock (with a small handheld router). I use a jig like Zenwood's bolted to the router plate, with two dowels equally spaced from the bit. If you push the dowels against each side of the work you are guaranteed to run the trench exactly in the middle of the work piece.

Simple ideas are often the best.