Project Information
A while back I made a prototype of a kinshiru-style marking gauge out of birch.
Came out pretty well, but there were some things I wanted to improve when I started to make my gauge for the marking gauge swap.
I started with some quarter-sawn wenge.
Astute readers will note that both of my gauges have the more steeply curved section of the body on the opposite side compared to traditional Japanese marking gauges. This was on purpose. To me, it's more natural to keep your wrist straight and let your fingers follow the curve. If the curve is in front, you're bending your wrist when grasping the gauge.
Anyway. After mortising the hole, I drilled a hole at a 45 degree angle for the adjustment screw, and tapped the wood. Wenge is hard enough to just tap the wood, but I also squeezed some thin CA glue to toughen up the threads.
The brass adjustment screw presses onto a piece of threaded rod that is attached to an L-shaped brass pressure plate in the mortise hole. This keeps the brass pressure plate captive in the mortise hole, but allows for movement to lock in the wenge beam.
The 45 degree adjustment screw and pressure plate lock the beam tightly in the corner of the mortise, much tighter than if the beam were tightened into just the bottom of the mortise.
The blade is an old, worn Stanley 45 cutter that I reshaped into a curved edge and sharpened. It's held vertical in a small dado I cut with a chisel, and held tight with a brass screw. I tapped the end of the beam for the screw.
The finish is a mixture of BLO and shellac. It kept the nice chocolate brown grain in the wenge visible.
I used my old Millers Falls stamp set to put my initials on the knurled adjustment screw head. The brass pressure plate also has my initials and the date stamped into it.
My recipient, Marcus, let me know that he's been using it. I'm pretty pleased with the result.
Came out pretty well, but there were some things I wanted to improve when I started to make my gauge for the marking gauge swap.
I started with some quarter-sawn wenge.
Astute readers will note that both of my gauges have the more steeply curved section of the body on the opposite side compared to traditional Japanese marking gauges. This was on purpose. To me, it's more natural to keep your wrist straight and let your fingers follow the curve. If the curve is in front, you're bending your wrist when grasping the gauge.
Anyway. After mortising the hole, I drilled a hole at a 45 degree angle for the adjustment screw, and tapped the wood. Wenge is hard enough to just tap the wood, but I also squeezed some thin CA glue to toughen up the threads.
The brass adjustment screw presses onto a piece of threaded rod that is attached to an L-shaped brass pressure plate in the mortise hole. This keeps the brass pressure plate captive in the mortise hole, but allows for movement to lock in the wenge beam.
The 45 degree adjustment screw and pressure plate lock the beam tightly in the corner of the mortise, much tighter than if the beam were tightened into just the bottom of the mortise.
The blade is an old, worn Stanley 45 cutter that I reshaped into a curved edge and sharpened. It's held vertical in a small dado I cut with a chisel, and held tight with a brass screw. I tapped the end of the beam for the screw.
The finish is a mixture of BLO and shellac. It kept the nice chocolate brown grain in the wenge visible.
I used my old Millers Falls stamp set to put my initials on the knurled adjustment screw head. The brass pressure plate also has my initials and the date stamped into it.
My recipient, Marcus, let me know that he's been using it. I'm pretty pleased with the result.