marking gauge

this is another post about adding important elements to my toolbox (with the secondary goal of getting some much needed practice). so be warned.

it's essential as a woodworker to be able to mark lines repeatedly and accurately. all my life, i have accomplished this with a carpenter's square and a sharp scribe or pencil. and that's perfect for a lot of applications, except for when it's not. the main advantages of a gauge are that it cuts the wood fibers so that a cleaner cut can be made and that it can be used with one hand, thus speeding things up considerably. also, it's the kind of tool that all the old woodworkers, both european and japanese, would surely have. and when have a bunch of dead craftsmen lead you wrong?

i started with the same base woods as i used for the mallet- mostly because they are available, but also because now my tools match and that's kinda cool. after cutting the arm piece, i punched a mortise through the end where the blade will be set later. (the quality of cut made by the mortising machine is surely lacking but it is a hell of a lot quicker than cutting a mortise by hand.) then i cut a rabbet for the brass wear plate. for the body of the gauge, i hand cut a big ol' mortise which took quite a while as i wanted a tight fit that still allowed the arm to slide easily. here's a test fit:

next, i drilled a hole for the set screw and tapped it using a standard metal tap. i've heard that using a tap can leave a bad thread in wood and that a shop made tool is the way to go but i've never had a problem using this guy in hardwoods:

then it was just assembly. screw in place:

and the cutter that i ground from a piece of tool steel (i have since decided should be facing the other way, but that's easy enough to fix when it's held in with a wedge):

and there you have it.

i've already found some flaws with my design, mostly regarding the size of the pieces, but i will spend some time with it, and once i really know what i want from a marking gauge, i'll give it another shot.