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Here's a little marking gauge I made. The design is a composite of one from the Popular Woodworking website and another in an old Fine Woodworking book called Bench Tools.

The fence is made of mahogany (I think) picked up at an estate sale, the dowels are birch and cherry purchased at Woodcraft, and the wedge is walnut given to me by a friend who works at a cabinet shop. The cutting iron is from an old hacksaw blade and the finish is Danish Wood Oil, which I had on hand from a previous project. Total price, probably just a few dollars.

Except for the holes, which were made with a drill press, everything was shaped with hand planes, hand saws, and chisels. I made three identical fences from one piece of wood (which was easier to cut and plane, due to its size), so I plan to make another marking gauge and a scratch gauge. Hopefully the mahogany will not wear too quickly.

The diameter of the upper part of the fence is almost identical to the diameter of a baseball-it feels very comfortable in the hand.

My next project is a couple of saw benches-which is why I need the marking gauge!

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19,753 Posts
That's a very cool marking gauge,this should serve you well for years to come.
 

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1,833 Posts
Well done!
 

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52 Posts
It looks Awesome. Simple and effective. now all I need is some rosewood or wenge.
 

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18,702 Posts
thats a different design than I've seen. Its pretty cool. How did you cut the flat sided hole?
 

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5,738 Posts
How cool is that!
 

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Don W, do you mean the hole for the wedge? If so, I used a small chisel and lots of trial and error.

To cut the hole, I first planed the underside of the beam (the beech dowel), which made it flat so the beam wouldn't roll around. I clamped the beam onto the workbench and stabbed at it with the chisel to make the hole.
 

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I actually meant the hole for the dowel, but thanks for the explanation.
 

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Don W, both holes were just made on the drill press. They overlap slightly, but there were no difficulties.
 

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Ok. I see now. I thought it was flat on the bottom. bad eye sight.
 

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It looks more like a Rosewood than any Mahogany I've ever seen to date.
Beautiful piece of wood and a nice looking , useful tool : )
 

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Nice simplification from the similar design that uses square mortises!
How well does the wedge work? I imagine friction would tend to rotate the bar, preventing the wedge from being pushed strong enough, or getting it loose with small movements… it probably depends on how much play & wear there is… did you experience any problem?
 

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Damian, the wedge works well. I just tap one end of the wedge on the bench to lock the beam and the other end to loosen it, all with one hand.
 
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