Gauge Mod......

[woodbloke]

I've long been a fan of the Stanley 5061 marking gauge, I think its just about as good a marking gauge as you're likely to find, it sits very comfortably in the hand and the position of the pin on the diagonal makes the line gauged very easy to see. I do however, have a pair of the more traditional Axminster rosewood and brass gauges, which are pleasant enough but nowhere near as good as the 5061 (which is no longer made, I think ).....so I decided to modify the rosewood ones to make them more user friendly.
Pic one shows the gauges in question:


Pic two shows the stocks have been marked out and rounded on the disc sander:


Pic three shows a cradle machined from some iroko to hold the stem for drilling the new hole, which is a little tricky to ensure that it comes out exactly on the opposite diagonal:


Pic four shows the final finished gauges with a lick of BLO. The rubbing edge of each gauge has been rounded over and the top of the stem has been relieved so that the pin can be adjusted in the vice...each pin has been reshaped to mark as a miniature cutting gauge by grinding and then honing on a fine diamond stone.


The gauges have now improved 100% and the effort was well worth it. I don't posses a LN wheel gauge :-({|= ......yet, so I guess I'll have to slum it with the current gauges....can you mark accurately to a point tho' with a wheel gauge? A recommended and useful mod for all users of gauges ordinaire - Rob

 

[bugbear]

I've long been a fan of the Stanley 5061 marking gauge, I ...each pin has been reshaped to mark as a miniature cutting gauge by grinding and then honing on a fine diamond stone.

You bin' reading Mr C's books?

BugBear

 

[woodbloke]

I've long been a fan of the Stanley 5061 marking gauge, I ...each pin has been reshaped to mark as a miniature cutting gauge by grinding and then honing on a fine diamond stone.

You bin' reading Mr C's books?

BugBear

BB - don't posses any of DC's scribblings or DVDs apart from what's in F&C and I've got all of them, the articles in the mag are always excellent and worth a second or third perusal from time to time - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

You've made a nice job of those, Rob.

....can you mark accurately to a point tho' with a wheel gauge?

I have one of the wheel gauges (a Veritas) which works very nicely - you can roll it when necessary, rather than drag it along. However, probably not quite as precise as a pin if you need to stop it in exactly the right place.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

You've made a nice job of those, Rob.

....can you mark accurately to a point tho' with a wheel gauge?

I have one of the wheel gauges (a Veritas) which works very nicely - you can roll it when necessary, rather than drag it along. However, probably not quite as precise as a pin if you need to stop it in exactly the right place.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

Paul - thought as much...still be a nice toy to aquire, 'slope' notwithstanding :wink: - Rob

 

[Colin C]

Rob

You could always get one ofthese or these , just trying to help :^o :wink:

 

[Paul Chapman]

Rob,

Alf did an excellent review of them here https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4110

Just trying to help you spend your money

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

Colin - the Axminster version looks like a direct clone of the LN one, but the LN version is nearly 4 times as much :shock: , so is it worth it and what do you get for the extra £47 or so? Alf around? - Rob

Edit - Paul, should have known better #-o

 

[Colin C]

Rob

I think Alf has done a review on the copy too but I could be wrong :-k

I am thinking of getting one as well but not just yet :roll:

 

[woodbloke]

Colin - I've just read Alf's review and there is no comparison between the Axminster clone and the LN. I've had a look at the Rutland's site and fwiw they also do a cloned version of the LN :? - Rob

 

[Alf]

Rob, a search for titemark sureline and checking "Search for all terms" should bring up some relevant info. My thoughts on the Axminster Tite-A-Like™ here fwiw. They appeared after the review so I'll tack on a link to that thread right now while I remember.

Cheers, Alf

 

[woodbloke]

Alf - thanks for that, interesting to compare the two...have to save my pennies now - Rob

 

[woodbloke]

....and while we're discussing gauges I thought I'd improve my pencil gauge in a similar way. 7.5mm drill on the diagonal, saw cut down the stem and a small c/s screw to clamp pencil in place. Seems to work better than having the pencil at 90 deg thru' the stem as well - Rob

 

[David C]

Rob,

I thought I was the only fan of the 5061 in the world.

It clearly had one of the only design improvements ever.

i.e. clamping on the diagonal so no head wobble due to changing humidity.

Shame it was made and promoted so badly.

Colen Clenton tip for curing wobble in the imminent F&C,

David Charlesworth

The titemark clone is pretty horrid, and not ergonomic.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, I've got one of those somewhere, make excellent hammers. :lol:

 

[Paul Chapman]

a small c/s screw to clamp pencil in place.

Just a thought, Rob. If that's a woodscrew it might lose its grip over time. If that happens, it might be an idea to cut a small recess in the stem and glue in a nut so that you can use a machine screw.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[woodbloke]

David Charlesworth wrote:

Colen Clenton tip for curing wobble in the imminent F&C,

David Charlesworth

The titemark clone is pretty horrid, and not ergonomic.

David, thanks for that, will look forward to the next copy of F&C for that mod....looks like its the LN gauge when finances permit - Rob

 

[David C]

Rob,

I think you will be pleasantly amused if you check my article in F&C 13.

Despite having several Titemarks which are excellent, I still marginally prefer the modified simple Stanley's most of the time.

It seems easier to control depth of cut, anywhere from a scratch to nice deep 1/2 mm cut.

David

 

[woodbloke]

David C wrote:

I think you will be pleasantly amused if you check my article in F&C 13.

Had to dig that one out from the bottom of the pile ...I had a look at that article a while ago which prompted me to attempt to improve the awful rosewood offerings. They perform much better now tho' there is still some wobble between stock and stem so I look forward to finding out how to cure it in the next edition of F&C - Rob

 

[David C]

Yes,
the rosewood offerings are a snare and a delusion, but people keep on buying them because of the "glamor" appeal of rosewood and brass.

The wobble may be more difficult if not impossible to cure, due to slight differences of design.

David