depth gauge

I use one of these purchased quite a few years ago from Lee Valley Tools. Admittedly, the price has gone up considerably over when I bought mine, but it's a tremendously handy height gauge.

Maybe this ??

I would suppose machinists the world over use something similar. Sure is a great way to check almost anything. Touch gages and a setup block. Love 'em.

Might be too simplistic for your needs but the typical Stanley Folding Wood Rule has a depth gauge in the first segment. I figure if it's accurate enough for taking measurements, it's accurate enough for a depth gauge. IIRC, Sears sells one too.

hth,

Vic

The following is posted so you can get an idea of one approach:

Cheap, and handy for setting up saw blades and router bits.

Here ya go:

Mount one of these on a sliding holder so the caliper body can move up and down to rest on the blade. Slide the jaw down so it touches the zero clearance plate and you have your height.

Here's one from Griz that's priced right:

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For about 80% of my set ups I use a combination square.

| can anybody give me info on an inexpensive depth gauge to be used | with table saw and router table. | | All the commercially available units appear to be so expensive and | quite often not available in Australia. | | I did have one unit that looked like a single upright gallows but | it was mm's off in accuracy (it was made somewhere in Asia). | | Some type of home made model would be superb.

It's not home-made, but here's a photo of mine being used to set up my router table fence (with a 1-2-3 block) at

I bought it from one of KBC, Enco, or Grizzly (but can't remember which.) It's accurate and easy-to-use.

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

That'd be my vote, too. If you're trying to do it very cheaply, you can use the shanks of drill bits for short heights, and cut a bunch of maple (or whatever hardwood you happen to have) blocks to the right sizes for larger measurements. Blocks work a lot better than the setup gauges, IMO.

Wonder what the metric equivalent of the 1-2-3 block is?

Do they go 25-50-75 or 20-40-60? Any of the folks in metric places know?

I made one similar to yours a couple of years ago for my dad, but i finished it off flush with the top of the ruler so used upside down it can measure the depth of grooves, the thickness of a piece of wood etc. and it can then transfer the height very easily to the saw or router. it had a small screw to lock the ruler in place as well and the gauge body was made from aluminium with recessed magnets to hold the rule and plexi front. must get around to making another for myself now :)

two squares clamped together. the big one is set so that the zero mark is against the table top. the little one is clamped with the blade perpendicular to the first blade (parallel to the table top).

Actually, you need three squares in that case. The third one is to ensure the second one is perpendicular to the first one. :)

Perpendicularity is irrelevant and the third square is at least one too many.

Use a straight edge (the table top is likely a suitable straight edge) to assure that one edge of the blades are in the same plane. IF the squares are true, then perpendicularity is guaranteed. Two lines, each perpendicular to a third line, are parallel to each other.

Alternatively, nest the beam of one against the blade of the other. Same result, more simply derived. In this case, the third line is supplied by the blade of the first square at the point where it meets the beam of the second one.

However, even if they aren't perpendicular, all is not lost. Just be sure to take your measurement of height at the same point the cutting tool made contact at and not at the scale. (Should ignore the scale anyways.)

I'd skip the Veritas gage unless you are only going to make their preset cuts. If you have to set up the other cuts, why bother?

He could simply make a planer gage. Two wedges, one has a leg parallel to the base of the other. Done. Touch the offset leg to the cutting tool and measure against any flat surface (such as the tool table).

Look in a metal tooling catalog and copy in hardwood.

Are we having fun yet?

Clever idea from WoodSmith.

Lew

my dial caliper has a depth probe on the end. In fact, all of them do. (All of mine).