# Tite-mark rival



## humanfish (3 Dec 2005)

I recieved my new copy of F&C through this morning, when looking through the adverts in the back i noticed this website

http://www.surelinetools.co.uk/products.htm

similar (identical?) to the tite-mark gauge sold by lie nielsen if im not mistaken, i don't know the price of the tite mark original. Anyone used these types of gauge, are they better than the veritas offerings.


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## Waka (3 Dec 2005)

BH

I think your right, I've just checked mine and it looks very much like the LN. Not sure but I think this one is about £8.00 cheaper than the LN.


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## Alf (3 Dec 2005)

Hmm, I wonder what the legal position is on that... :-k 

For a comparison of wheel marking gauges, guess what, I've done a review... #-o The TiteMark is £67 IIRC, with the new smaller one £48? Something like that.

Cheers, Alf


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## Chris Knight (4 Dec 2005)

I reckon, this just might give rise to some patent litigation! Although it does seem as if the gauge in the link has only one fine adjustment thread. The Titemark is like a bottle screw and two (LH and RH) threads on the adjuster so that the flange on the reference face doesn't turn as you adjust it.


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## Philly (4 Dec 2005)

Ouch! That looks a little too close for comfort! :shock: 
Philly


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## Scott (4 Dec 2005)

Wonder if the wheels are interchangeable?


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## DaveL (4 Dec 2005)

Scott":69e4aaze said:


> Wonder if the wheels are interchangeable?



Mind reader. :shock: :wink:


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## Ian Dalziel (4 Dec 2005)

I dint think they will be interchangeable....LN version is 5/16ths and the other will be 8mm...a very slight difference.
Shouldn’t really be a problem on the copyright as it’s a copy of the old starret dateing back to the 1800’s….patents only run for 50 years……..
Also have done a version of sorts….i once ran my glen drake along a piece of heavy grain ash with the wheel slightly slack…..not something I will do again…..i also find their turnbuckle not accurate enough their rh and lh threads are to coarse for me.

I made this from phosphor bronze….the centre was press broached (10mm) I then used a piece of 10mm ground square bar…..i then milled a flat up the edge to take the locking screws….so it gets locked off the shaft(a la DC) the tips I have a variety…the tip holder is shaped into a teardrop and one of my knife cutters has got a triangular shaft this is then locked in place with an end fitting grub screw….the fine adjustment is a fine adjustment….i used a 42 tpi thread this is as fine as I could get and is superb……. 

It’s a pity no-one makes it…yet


Ian


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## Chris Knight (4 Dec 2005)

Another nice job Ian!


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## MikeW (4 Dec 2005)

At least a trademark on Drake's stuff isn't easy to find on either the web or the tool's original packaging. Funny, his packaging is probably copyrighted in its fixed and final form. But his tool, as Ian says, probably cannot be.

Take care, Mike


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## bugbear (5 Dec 2005)

bad_hypertension":1bkj6bux said:


> I recieved my new copy of F&C through this morning, when looking through the adverts in the back i noticed this website
> 
> http://www.surelinetools.co.uk/products.htm
> 
> similar (identical?) to the tite-mark gauge sold by lie nielsen...



In the pictures the amount of exposed thread is not symmetric. I think the adjuster is running "captive" in the lower fixing.

Alternatively, the design may be more like the veritas, where the upper part rotates w.r.t. the lower. If this is the case it is deceptive (IMHO) to show the 2 lock nuts nicely lined up.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... at=1,42936
http://www.lie-nielsen.com/catalog.php?sku=MARK

BugBear


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## Rob Lee (5 Dec 2005)

waterhead37":1bopcbyc said:


> I reckon, this just might give rise to some patent litigation! <snip>



Hi - 

I'm not sure that the Tite-Mark has a patent, at least, it doesn't appear to be noted on the website...

Product cloning is one case where imitation is not a sincere form of flattery...

Cheers - 

Rob

PS to Ian D.... I think you should build a Holtzapffel lathe next... :shock: :lol: ... nice work!


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## Ian Dalziel (5 Dec 2005)

Rob Lee":8y78d96y said:


> PS to Ian D.... I think you should build a Holtzapffel lathe next... :shock: :lol: ... nice work!



It just so happens...i have just bought some foundry equipement so its something new i want to learn......i also know where there is one of these lathes...a local engineering museum...as by chance i also know one of the museum restorers who might let me take some sizes and possibly some casting templates if i can talk him round....food for thought and my kind of project.....not difficult if theres a machine to copy. the hard part is mastering how to work it. according to museum no-one really knows how it works except the tool rotates instead of the workpiece...who knows i might even manage to do a faberge egg.

I actually looked at doing a lorch lathe a while back.


Ian


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## mudman (5 Dec 2005)

Somehow you don't surprise me Ian.

You may be wanting to get a copy of thisthen. (Jumping in before Alf :twisted: )

Sounds like some amazing stuff can be done with this lathe, was thisreally done from one piece or lots?


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## Alf (5 Dec 2005)

mudman":bfeggvs9 said:


> Jumping in before Alf :twisted:


Pah, foiled! #-o :lol: 

So anyone going to risk the necessary shekels on one and give us a review? Trouble is really you want someone who already has a Tite-Mark - somehow I don't see Axminster lending me one again just so I can compare it to a rival...

Cheers, Alf


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## Ian Dalziel (5 Dec 2005)

Alf":12578mae said:


> somehow I don't see Axminster lending me one again just so I can compare it to a rival...
> 
> Cheers, Alf



you mean they asked for it back  
i can lend you a tite mark if anyone fancies buying the sureline.....i'll send you a square shafted one as well if you fancy it. but it'll be after christmas...
i'm away tomorrow  

the titemark is such an easy one to copy...its a pity sureline didnt come up with something novel....





Ian


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## bugbear (6 Dec 2005)

I think (c.f. Alf's comment on the tite-mark(*)) there's a question here about how nice the engineering and design of a marking gauge _can be_, against how good the (ditto)


> needs to be


 to get good work done.

I this may relate to some of the beautiful trammels you see, often made by pattern maker's, and ornate plumb bobs, and "Ultimatum" braces.

BugBear

(*)



> So to the crux of the matter, the one thing everyone wonders. Is the Tite-Mark worth the extra money over the Veritas micro adjust? It’s very, very easy to get carried away with this gauge and convince yourself you need it. The truth is it doesn’t actually gauge a straighter line than any of the others. After careful study I could argue the line is fractionally sharper than the others, but that advantage lasts only as long as the edge. The micro adjust isn’t really any more necessary - to me, at any rate - just because it’s easier to do. If you want one, then go ahead and enjoy. It’s a fine tool. Do you need one? Well personally I don’t think so. If you absolutely must have the ability to micro adjust your gauge then the Tite-Mark is unquestionably the nicer of the two, but the Veritas works just fine (just forget the graduated scale I reckon). It’s just slightly more of a fiddle to do. Ultimately it’s up to the buyer whether the “ooo, it’s a Tite-Mark” aspect, and that fraction of time saved, is worth the extra £40.


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