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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.

Gallery

Comments

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18,702 Posts
excellent!!
 

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7,180 Posts
Ian, that's beautiful! Very clean and finished-looking.

The captive brass at a 45 degree angle is a great design!
 

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903 Posts
Definitely a nice addition to the shop, thanks Ian!

And Ian is selling himself short about the adjustment/lock screw. His method for locking the beam down is pretty ingenious and really makes for a solid tool.
 

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5,968 Posts
Nice tweaks to a classic design. Love that tight grain on the fence section.

Great job, shamp!
 

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2,733 Posts
I love the locking mechanism. Bet it works real well!
 

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12,450 Posts
Ian, can't figure out how you attached the threaded rod to the brass angle? Magic ???
 

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Kevin: I drilled a 45 degree hole in the edge of the pressure plate and tapped it for the threaded rod, which is a size smaller than the adjusting screw hole. I then filed a slot for a screwdriver on both ends of the threaded rod. I used a jeweler's screwdriver through the body hole to thread the rod into the hole and out of the way of the beam.

Like this:


Getting the pressure plate to be captive in the mortise was probably the biggest challenge.
 

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18,702 Posts
wouldn't a flat spot on the corner do about the same?
 

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Don: it wouldn't keep the brass pressure plate in the mortise. The pressure plate could pop out when you're adjusting the length of the beam. So the threaded rod serves two purposes: the contact point for the adjustment screw and to keep the pressure plate captive.
 

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Very sexy gauge, I love that the pressure is applied at 45 degrees, that's key. The brass pressure plate mechanism is brilliant!
 

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18,702 Posts
that makes sense!
 

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See, I told you he wasnt giving himself enough credit about the pressure screw setup. Definitely a little thinking out of the box.
 

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12,450 Posts
Ian, quite masterful. Thanks for disclosing your secret process.
 

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3,498 Posts
@Shamp-Great thinking on the angled pressure screw. And a very sweet marking gauge overall. The first tool made of wenge that I ever owned was made by LJ jap as part of the swap.
 

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3,656 Posts
Incredible work Shamp! +10 to above comments.
 

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Thanks, everyone. Making the Daily Top 3 is quite an honor, considering the kinds of projects that are selected.
 

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193 Posts
Slick!
 

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Thanks for sharing a photo of your 45 degree captive wedge! That's a lot of work, but looks like you pulled it off with fine results.
 
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