Old Woodworking Marking Gauge

Whats a woodworking marking gauge?

I just love this series from David Stanton where is his looking into his great grandfathers woodworking tool box.  I always learn something new about tools from his videos

This video is about Marking Gauges.  When I look at my newer ones, they have really not changed that much over the years.  I have an older one in my grandfathers tool chest and was always curious about it as he was a mechanic and not a woodworker.

It always amazes me that with limited technology around them, the older woodworkers came up with some very ingenious tools.

What I learned from this one is that the beam (long part of the gauge) can either have a sharp point or a knife edge.  The pointed one is for scoring with the grain and the knife is for scoring against the grain.

The newer one that I got from Lee Valley has a very sharp disk on the end for marking with and across the grain.

Take five minutes, grab something to drink and enjoy this little taste of History.

 

Thanks to David and his Great Grandfather for this Video…