I need a precision instrument to mark lines. I'm looking for opinions on a marking gauge or wheel (that scribes a line) vs. a marking rule (either the Incra with tiny holes for the pencil or a combination square set to the desired depth).
Thanks, Michael
Used both, prefer incra.
If you want to scribe a line off the edge, end or face of a board Glenn-Drake's Tite-Mark can't be beat. Here's more about it. Worth the price and then some. I use it for stop lines for dovetails, tops for half blinds, mortise and tenon layout, stopped dados (sp?) The wheel is a single bevel so one face of the marked groove is square to the stock surface so when you place your chisel or saw in the groove the important face of the cut starts out square.
It can also be used to set a table saw blade height and a router bit depth/height.
the regular blade? Is it just that it has a collar on it with a setscrew so you can put it anywhere along the rod?
Assuming that's the case, I don't get how you set the thickness of the mortise. The screw adjustment sets the distance from the end cutter to the fence, but it looks like the distance between the two cutters has to be set by getting the collar at just the right place and tightening down the set screw by hand. Doesn't the defeat the whole purpose of the screw micro-adjustment gizmo?
Like the regular wheel, the mortise and tenon wheels are "single beveled", on flat face, one beveled face. That means the "waste side" slopes away from the "square face" you want to keep. And that may, if you pay attention to how you cut/chop/pare, mean a nice square face or a nice clean edge. In the ASCII illustrations below - if your put your chisel or saw blade in the scribed "line", which would more likely produce a square face and clean edge - and a little more accurately?
waste waste side side +---+ +--- ---+ +---- |/ \/ + +
So the mortise wheels, other than having a large hole to fit the grooved rod - it has a flat bottomed groove on it - and the set screw to fix their positions on the rod, do exactly what the normal single beveled wheel does - cut, not scratch, lines -with one vertical and one slanted face in the cut.
You set the two mortise and tenon wheels to the width of the chisel you've selected to use. The flat face on each wheel means you can but them up against the edge of your chisel and lock them down with the set screw. No eyeballing, no magnifying glass, no hold the chisel while you try, with just one hand to move and then set the second "pin/knife/wheel" to the chisel width.
And because they can go on bevel side to bevel side, bevel side to square side or square side to square side you've got some choices as to where the line is scribed. I'd set them so the vertical face of the wheels are towards the mortise faces because that would a) make setting the gap between them to the chisel width so much easier b) leave me a little "alignment/adjustment room" when I fit the tenon to the mortise. The tenon would be cut just a little "fat"
And here's where the micro-adjustable "fence" comes in handy.
Let's say you want the front face of your apron to sit back from the face of the leg 1/8th of an inch for a shadow line
+-------+ LEG | |+------------ +-----++ | APRON +-----++ |+-------------reference face #1 | 1/8 inch +-------+ reference face #2Because the distance from reference face #2 to the outside edge of the mortise is not the same as the distance from reference face #1 to the outside face of the tenon (the tenon's shoulder width) you'd want to set up for the tenon, marking it first. Now get out your square - a little four inch Starrett is quite handy for this kind of thing - add 1/8th inch to the shoulder width that the "fence" is already set at and precisely move the fence to its desired position. Mark the mortise and you're done.
Now note that your layout cuts, not scratches, all have one vertical face on the groove that you can feel the "wheel" fall into and stops when you need to use that set up again. NBo wondering if the scribe pin is dead centered in a double sloping sided groove or sitting up on one of the slopes. That's where the single beveled wheel and micro-adjustable fence come in handy. The parts you just marked will act as set up guides. AND, you can make adjustments and lock things down with just one hand while you hold the part with your other hand.
As a bonus, the two knobs that lock down parts of the fence adjustment mechanism, will keep this precious device from rolling off your bench and onto the cement? floor. That wasn't an accident but a conscious design decision. for all subsequent layouts that need the same settings No more "mark ALL the parts that need this set up NOW, cause I'll lose this setting when I layout the next part(s)"
This is one slick, well thought out, well made tool.
OK - I can see your eyes glazing over so I'll quit.
Did that answer your questions?
charlie b
For a simple, inexpensive solution, try "The Ruler Stop". It attaches to your steel ruler, and as a result, is as accurate as the finest graduations on the ruler. You can use a sharp pencil or a marking knife with it.
Sold by Woodhaven and Hartville, but also available directly at
Michel. (yes, shameless self-promotion.....)
On Sat, 7 Feb 2004 19:34:22 -0500, "MJT" brought forth from the murky depths:
Those look like some handy gadgets.
Ping me offline about that website of yours, Michel. (shameless self-promotion)
- The only reason I would take up exercising is ||
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