Measure twice, cut once - Marking and Measuring Instruments

Marking and measuring is one of those really key skills that makers have to wrap their heads around. I see fast makers, always on the go, moving quickly between process and process, stop, and sit and think carefully, getting this step right before galloping off. They know that, to make a mistake here it can affect the whole job months down the line.

So I'm going to talk to you about marking gauges. In simplest terms they are just a sharpened nail protruding through a bar with a movable stock sliding up and down the bar. Nowadays we are offered complicated shiny expensive marking gauges that really aren't what we need. Firstly we need quite a few gauges, they are tools that are often set up and left until that process of the job is complete. So one or two gauges wouldn't be enough, simple wooden gauges are relatively cheap but some of the new engineered metal gauges are extremely expensive.

A marking gauge is a one handed tool. This is a key misunderstanding that many manufacturers do not have control instruments. The task of the Left maintained instrument in his right hand and the indicator is to resize the bar to take advantage of the need to allow the heel of the population a greater distance than the rod to the tip, a shorter distance. Once the instrument is inserted in the right distance that can be streamlined and strengthened. Fancy micro-adjustments or unnecessary pain on the floor.

You can cut indicators and metrics for tags. I use the genericterm marking gauge but most of the gauges around my bench are in fact cutting gauges. Tool manufacturers would like you to buy a full sets of each of these suggesting that you use one for scribing with the grain and one for scribing across the grain. This is nonsense, you need gauges that leave a clean and sharp line in all circumstances. This may mean taking a small file and sharpening the pin of a marking gauge or honing the blade of a cutting guage to get this sharpness and clarity of line.

Like a marking knife the pin or blade should have a bevel on one side only - see my article on marking knives if you're not sure of this. The bevel should face towards the waste side always, so you may need some of your gauges with a bevel facing towards the stock and some with a bevel facing away. Those of you who know me know that I'm in favour of minimal number of tools about the bench, this is a case where you do need a few gauges.

Looking at my tool catalogues I still see the Joseph Marples wooden gauges and would recommend them. For those of you who don't like the wooden gauge the Veritas Wheel Marking gauges are a solution. The Tite Mark marking gauge is a kind of expensive over complication that I would advise you to stay away from. You could buy 10 wooden gauges to the price of this overengineered plaything.

At the top end of the market I have a rosewood gauge with nice brass fittings made by Cullen. The benefit of this tool is that the beautiful sharp cutting blade can be turned around to suit the job easily, it can be projected to stand out a long way or drawn back. It is a precision instrument and I think I could still buy two of these for one silly Tite Mark guage but its still an expensive toy and if I were new at this there are other tools I would get first.