• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Wheel Marking Gauges?

Woodbloke

Woodbloke

Sequoia
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
7,077
Reaction score
931
Location
Salisbury, UK
Right chaps, I've got a hankering to get my grubby mitts on one or two wheel type marking gauges. Years ago I was given a SS present of a Glen Drake specimen, albeit a fairly straight forward, non-adjustable version but a very pleasant, highly accurate tool none the less.
There appears to be a plethora of different types from Tite-Mark, Veritas, Quangsheng and Narex etc (to name a few) and the main vendors appear to be CHT, WH and Ax.
My query then is what else is out there, what's good, what do you use and why? I'm currently lusting after a Tite-Mark (or two) from CHT but at £125 :shock: a pop I'd need to part with an arm and half a leg! There's a cheaper version of the Tite-Mark but I heard somewhere that it's a bit unrefined compared to the 'real deal'. The little brass Narex jobbie from WH also looks intriguing.

I'm not interested in a debate 'twixt wheel and pin types or the merits or otherwise of any home brewed, 'shop made things no matter how pleasant, ingenious or quirky, so please, wheel gauges only- Rob
 
Nothing much to do with your quest......

[aside] Wheelwrights use a wheel marking gauge....which is a wheel. It is a small wheel (say 6" to 10" in diameter) with a handle and a pointer, and it is used for measuring the circumference of a wheel or a tyre (steel) for fitting one to the other. I nearly bought one at Woolpit Steam fair last weekend.[/aside]
 
Evening Rob. I've been using one of the veritas basic models for pretty much all my marking for the past ten years or so and it's still going strong. I also used to use a veritas dual wheel gauge for mortise layout, but tend to just use the single wheel version for everything now as it ends up being quicker and is less likely to get tramlined by meandering grain. I've had a few of the cheaper versions over the years for the extremely rare instances when using more than one gauge is a help rather than a hindrance. The best of the rest was an unbranded brass version from WH if memory serves. Nothing has come close to displacing the Veritas though. Lovely intuitive and nimble tool to use. I'll probably spring for one of the models with a fine adjustment mechanism if this one gets accidentally incinerated amongst a handful of shavings.
 
DaveMac":3j81hugy said:
...... the extremely rare instances when using more than one gauge is a help rather than a hindrance.......
Click to expand...

Interesting.....and yet again, it shows how varied and individual our hobby is. I quite often have 3 or 4 gauges on the go, and would find it very limiting to only have one.
 
There are three gauge types I use a lot:
Japanese twin knife type - UKW secret santa from unknown maker but it is superb and is my main one. Very clear lines and does not follow grain.
Veritas wheel type (2) - excellent. Indispensable for fine work.
Marples premium twin point - lovely tools but tend to follow grain a bit in hard woods

Various others that live in a drawer dating back years, but the above get used.
 
Mike G":1fo5hrbm said:
DaveMac":1fo5hrbm said:
...... the extremely rare instances when using more than one gauge is a help rather than a hindrance.......
Click to expand...

Interesting.....and yet again, it shows how varied and individual our hobby is. I quite often have 3 or 4 gauges on the go, and would find it very limiting to only have one.
Click to expand...

I can definitely see the advantages to a multi-gauge jamboree but I've never been able to realise them because I end up convincing myself I'll have knocked one and lost a setting, so I end up having to check against the reference surface anyway.

Not sure whether I've changed the way I work over the years, or I'm just doing a different type of work more often, but I find myself using a marking gauge less and less after initial layout.
 
Mike G":1drxdxth said:
Nothing much to do with your quest......

[aside] Wheelwrights use a wheel marking gauge....which is a wheel. It is a small wheel (say 6" to 10" in diameter) with a handle and a pointer, and it is used for measuring the circumference of a wheel or a tyre (steel) for fitting one to the other. I nearly bought one at Woolpit Steam fair last weekend.[/aside]
Click to expand...

Commonly known as a "traveller" Mike ;)
 
I have an assortment of the Veritas options, and if I were buying from scratch now I'd just get multiple of the basic one. I never use the micro-adjustment, and while the double wheel mortice gauge does work well, the setup process for mortices with two independent arms is just a bit of a hassle; it's much better when used as just a gauge that can hold two measurements.

They're all as well made as you'd expect and do the basic job just about perfectly, but the bells and whistles just aren't worth it IMO.
 
Thanks chaps. It seems that the Veritas gauge and versions thereof appear to be in pole position and by a remarkable co-incidence, I've just snuk a micro adjust version onto an Ax consumables order (Abranet, bandsaw blades etc) that SWIMBO said I could order this morning.

Has anyone used or owned the now hideously expensive Tite-Mark gauge? I'm curious to see what makes them so spendy and if they do actually 'cut the mustard' - Rob
 
Of course I didn’t know what one was – nothing new there! Very nice very expensive and do you really need micrometre adjustment? No of course not and the bits of tube with a sharp disc on each end for marking out mortises misses one essential point, not all quarter-inch chisels for example are exactly a quarter of an inch wide which sort of defeats the whole object really.
I think this sort of tool is aimed at people who just like to spend a lot of money and have a fancy tool wall without probably getting stuck in and making anything much at all. Rant over.
Ian
 
:text-goodpost:

What about this one Ian? :text-lol:

IMG-6156.jpg
 
Woodster":3nfxxv0b said:
Does this help Rob? I must admit the Titemark one looks nicer.

[youtubessl]4j5XSPgBwyk[/youtubessl]

It comes out as best overall here.

https://www.finewoodworking.com/2017/12 ... ing-gauges
Click to expand...
Thanks for that; a very interesting FWW article and video from ME; in both the Titemark wins. Looks like a Titemark is going to be on my Christmas pressie 'must have' list :D - Rob
 
I have one of each. There's not much to pick between them. Actually once set, there's nothing to pick. BUT I do find the TM more intuitive to adjust. AND I have accidentally loosened the veritas a couple of times. The TM is overall more solidly built. Both are nice, and neither has poked me in the finger like a pin gauge.
G
 
There is always this one ...

LeeValleyAprilFool.jpg


No micro adjust however.

This is a wheel gauge I built - no, you cannot have it! :)

1.jpg


2.jpg


What is relevant is the stem and wheel - at the end is a micro adjust. This is a replacement available from Veritas to fit all their gauges (and probably other makes). It also comes with a brass version of this stainless Anniversary gauge they sold about a decade ago.

A5-zpsc5c4fd82.jpg


Having mentioned the micro adjust, they are not critical, just nice to have.

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
derekcohen":pazezg5t said:
Having mentioned the micro adjust, they are not critical, just nice to have.

Regards from Perth

Derek
Click to expand...
I think I'd agree with you there Derek; some users like them, others not so much but as ever it's 'orses for wotsits :D I think I'm going to go with the micro adjust and see how I get on; the Glen Drake I use at present doesn't have it so it can be a bit of an exercise to nudge the cutter blade onto the right setting - Rob
 
Having just taken delivery of my parcel from Ax, I've unpacked the Veritas mico-adjust gauge and have been pleasantly surprised by it's build quality. For some odd reason, I thought the rod was a hollow tube, but it's a solid bit of 8mm dia stainless steel, so the whole thing has a very decent 'heft' in the hand when it's picked up. The fine adjustment isn't intuitive so the 'book of words' needs careful perusing once or twice, but it certainly doesn't take too long to get the hang of it. All told, up to the usual Veritas snuff and quite impressive - Rob
 
He makes some good points. It’s handy you can just buy the beam if you want and make your own body.

[youtubessl]4InDz30c-OE[/youtubessl]
 
I bought a Veritas wheel marking gauge from Axi about 10 years ago but almost straight away mislaid/carelessly threw away the instructions on how to use it. Unable to work out what the wheels did I hung it up and continued with my trusty pin models.
Reading this interesting post I'm keen to have another go with this Veritas gauge so anyone that has a spare copy of the instructions I'd be pleased to hear from them.
Thanks in advance.
 
Thanks for the link Malcolm. Thinking about it, the micro adjust maybe isn't necessary for the accuracy that we work to.
 
Blackswanwood":2kdayzu8 said:
https://assets.leevalley.com/Original/10091/49133-veritas-micro-adjust-wheel-marking-gauges-c-02-e.pdf

If it helps here is the user guide for the micro adjust version.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Many thanks for this Robert. No excuse now for not trying out my 10 year old Veritas wheel gauge complete with micro adjust!
 
I have to say that the instructions for the Veritas, compared to the Tite-Mark, the latter looks much more user friendly.


IMG-6199.jpg
 
They both work on the same sort of principle, the TiteMark uses a knurled screw and on the Veritas it's brass knurled nut with a collet to grip the SS stem. The Veritas instructions are really excellent though, as you'd expect - Rob
 
I have a couple of Tite-Mark copies, which, are very useful.

Annoyingly they came with domed & countersunk screws holding the knife wheel in place, but it's a metric thread - I think I flattened one and replaced t'other, so both now have the wheel blade right at the extreme end of the rod, making measurement and setup quite easy. That said, there's a lot of slop on one of the threads (one's normal and one is left-handed), so you have to remember to take up the slack before making micro adjustments.

They cost a fraction of what some of the other brands do, but they're easy to hold and sharpen (touch-up only), and they're my go-to for most frame & M+T work.

I find them much easier to use than the traditional marking & mortice gauges I have, especially when grain is almost (but not quite) parallel to the reference edge of the stock.
 
Not a wheel gauge but this looks really nice.

[youtubessl]65VRCcQKeUI[/youtubessl]
 
Woodster":3ul2vy6e said:
Not a wheel gauge but this looks really nice.

[youtubessl]65VRCcQKeUI[/youtubessl]
Click to expand...

"I'm not interested in a debate 'twixt wheel and pin types or the merits or otherwise of any home brewed, 'shop made things no matter how pleasant, ingenious or quirky, so please, wheel gauges only- Rob"
 
Woodbloke":1sfmfw1y said:
"I'm not interested in a debate 'twixt wheel and pin types or the merits or otherwise of any home brewed, 'shop made things no matter how pleasant, ingenious or quirky, so please, wheel gauges only- Rob"
Click to expand...

I can appreciate that Rob but perhaps others that read this thread may be interested. ;)
 
Woodster":35868ahc said:
Woodbloke":35868ahc said:
"I'm not interested in a debate 'twixt wheel and pin types or the merits or otherwise of any home brewed, 'shop made things no matter how pleasant, ingenious or quirky, so please, wheel gauges only- Rob"
Click to expand...

I can appreciate that Rob but perhaps others that read this thread may be interested. ;)
Click to expand...
Read wot I writ; I you want to discuss other types of gauges, please start a new thread - Rob
 
Cabinetman":pyajn6ko said:
Yes thank you, that was interesting, what was it he used to finish it with do you know? Certainly brought the grain out.
Ian
Click to expand...

I don’t know, but looks like some kind of oil? Lovely piece of wood though. ;)

IMG-6211.jpg
 
As you possibly realise I would have no use for a marking gauge but one on the earlier links in the thread was to a design that had both a rolling wheel and a fixed wheel so I guess this means there are merits for both rolling and fixed cutter type gauges.
From school days I recall "scratching" type gauges we used would tend to follow the grain (we only had softwoods) so a type that will actually cut fibres seem to be preferable and easier to use.

Bob
 
9fingers":1k3ax8h9 said:
As you possibly realise I would have no use for a marking gauge....
Bob
Click to expand...
Not a lot of use for keeping the 'shop door open in the hot weather Bob :lol: - Rob
 
Absolutely Rob. Door firmly shut and aircon on max powered by the solar panels on shop roof!

Cool man! 8-)

Thermal store sitting at 94 C
And available hot water 357 litres

As shown by remote monitor in the kitchen
image.jpg

Must get round to fixing it on the wall sometime!

Bob
 
I have 2 wheel marking gauges and numerouse pine/knife ones.
The Veritas one is excellent and is my go to gauge
The other gauge isnt great. The problem is teh cutting wheel is totally different and ground at a less acute angle. It is much less sharp and doesnt mark well
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top