A Marples Mystery ….

[AdrianUK]

Anyone offer an opinion on this Marples cutting gauge.

It’s got twin cutters, which I’ve not seen before, nor can I find any reference to a type with twin cutters online. 10” stem.

Even https://williammarplesandsons.com which has a very comprehensive section on marking gauges shows nothing similar.

It looks as if the marking point at one end may have been added by an owner.

Did wonder if a second cutter had been added also a s a modification for specific task?

 

[Tris]

Looks like it could have been modified to cut veneer or inlay?

 

[AdrianUK]

Looks like it could have been modified to cut veneer or inlay?

I’ve never worked with veneers, however, yes, I believe that these cutting gauges were for marking out and cutting veneers.

 

[TRITON]

IU wouldnt think it unusual for a carpenter, who makes one specif thing, say sash wondows to have adapted a gauge to only be used for that, rather than keep fiddling about with an adjustable one.

 

[Jacob]

Yes it's been modified for a particular job, or possibly by a lunatic.

 

[Orraloon]

It's been modified. Not a new idea and I have done it myself by fitting a pencil to the other end of a gauge. As Triton said if you make a lot of the same thing then having something already set is a time saver. Its also tricky to get back to the exact setting you had before. Think I am up to 6 gauges now so I can do a whole project without having to keep changing settings. Not that I have needed all 6 at one go as about 4 would likely be plenty but I also made a couple.
Regards
John

 

[workshopted]

I don't have much to add to this conversation other than to throw in the idea that it could be useful cutting leather?

The main reason I'm making a comment is to thank you for providing that Marples link.

 

[Craig22]

Looks like a preset mortise gauge. I have one in which the spacing is adjustable.

I suspect the pictured one has been modified to do repetitive marking of mortises for door or window making. Looks like there are at least two preset distances, with brass pieces and spacers.

What is the spacing? It is probably imperial measurement.

 

[Argus]

Off the topic very slightly, but I once had a large quantity of very nicely figured quarter-sawn Oak which required lots of grooves with a plough plane and various rebates.

Lovely wood to look at, but the grain was very wavy in every direction. I needed clean cut grooves but it tore out at the sight of a plough groove.

This tool here with two cutters reminded me of one aspect of the solution. I eventually got over the problem by buying another 2nd-hand cutting gauge and arranging the blades so that I could use them to pre-cut the side edges of the grooves before going in with the plane.

The way it was arranged (and why there were two gauges in use), is that the cutter in these is sharpened with a bevel on one side and is flat on the other – the same sort of profile in miniature as a chisel. I arranged each gauge so that the flat sections of the blades were opposed. One gauge cut the left side of the groove tight to the side wall, The other did the right hand side. As it cut, the bevel side of the cutter (and its compression) faced into the waste portion. Pre-cutting the groove sides this way meant that I could keep the tight tolerances I needed and a clean side wall that would otherwise have been torn out.

This one’s obviously (to me, anyway) been modified for a specific purpose…… probably cutting strips.
Leather? Veneer?

We may never know for sure.

Anyway, I still have two cutting gauges on the rack as a memory of that project...........