Comments on: Marking, cutting, and mortise gauges, part 1 https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/ inside the woodshop Tue, 03 Jan 2017 08:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 By: kenneth hatch https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241781 Tue, 03 Jan 2017 08:15:00 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241781 Rob,

Yes both blades can be retracted into the body so the gauge can be used as either a cutting gauge or a mortise gauge. It is a very good cutting/mortise gauge at a fair price.

Great series of posts, good information well presented.

Yes they are,

ken

]]> By: Rob https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241768 Mon, 02 Jan 2017 19:02:11 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241768 Ken,

Thanks very much for the comments. That’s an interesting gauge in that the two blades can be locked relative to each other and then locked as a unit. I assume the inner blade can be fully recessed within the fence so that the outer blade can function as a regular cutting gauge. I can’t tell from the photo but if that feature is not built in, it seems easy to make your own recess in the fence. Great find!

Readers, here’s the direct link: http://www.toolsfromjapan.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=356_599_609&products_id=2036

As for the junk gauges you mentioned in your second comment – yea, bad tools are just evil things, aren’t they?

Rob

]]> By: kenneth hatch https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241762 Mon, 02 Jan 2017 13:33:14 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241762 Rob,

“…Yes, it is amazing how functionally awful are some of the gauges that are sold under the guise of being decent tools.”

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve marking gauges stuck in every corner of the shop and most are unusable for one reason or the other. The most common problem is a lose/moveable stem.

ken

]]> By: kenneth hatch https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241760 Mon, 02 Jan 2017 12:07:46 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241760 Rob,

Your Tools from Japan link takes you to a very inexpensive version but if you do a search for “kegaki” on the web site it will lead you to a much better gauge, a machine made version of a Kinshiro.

I have a couple and they are very good.

ken

]]> By: Rob https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241488 Fri, 23 Dec 2016 22:28:19 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241488 Sydney,

Yea, similar. I suggest save the time and hassle of making your own. If cost is an issue, you’re better off trying one of the inexpensive options from Tools from Japan (see link in the post) and adding your own modifications. Then, make more furniture with the time that you saved.

Rob

]]> By: Sydney Smith https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241486 Fri, 23 Dec 2016 21:44:50 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241486 Thanks again for some excellent information. The Japanese gauge reminds me of a spear point router plane cutter, I wonder if one of these could be employed in a home made version.

]]> By: Rob https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241478 Fri, 23 Dec 2016 18:36:29 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241478 Blaz, thanks for the kind words, they are encouraging.

Aaron and Jared, stay tuned, more info coming up on different styles of gauges that I think will help with buying and making decisions.

Jared, sure, those woods, if straight-grained, would be fine.

Yes, it is amazing how functionally awful are some of the gauges that are sold under the guise of being decent tools. So often, people learning woodworking think their abilities are at fault when it is really crappy tools that are holding them back.

Rob

]]> By: Jared https://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/2016/12/23/marking-cutting-and-mortise-gauges-part-1/#comment-241474 Fri, 23 Dec 2016 16:05:23 +0000 http://www.rpwoodwork.com/blog/?p=4569#comment-241474 Good article, Rob. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. Being fairly new to hand tools, I only have one cutting gauge and I loathe using it. I’ve pondered making some modifications to it, but haven’t done so yet.

The pin is too tall, is set back from the end (like you mention), the fence is small and difficult to register with, and the locking screw/action causes the stem to shift both out of square and back a little bit. And don’t get me started on the mortise marking side of it…

Luckily, this gauge was given to me and I didn’t spend any money on it. I have some cherry and padauk I’ve considered using to make my own gauge. Would those be good, stable woods to use?

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