Marking out stuff

[pollys13]

I got a set of 4 squares from http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/info-150683.html
£24.10 including vat, delivery.

" A set of four Precision Quality Graduated Engineers Squares

All squares are precision ground and the blades are hardened . The beams and blades are ground for parallelism . (BS939 Grade B)

The accuracy is less than 0.001" deviation per inch over the entire length of the blade . Extremely useful for setting up workshop equipment .

Contents 2 - 3 - 4 - 6 "
Graduated on both sides " I have a Swiss Pfeil marking knife see Ebay item number 311069099043

 

[JakeS]

Basically the wooden ones are much nicer to handle, being big and rounded, which is important if you do a lot of marking. Also they can do anything from a fine line to a deep gouge, as required.

I can see that these two points are advantages, but this bit:

much easier to use than a wheel gauge

"I find it easy to use after some practice" is not the same as "it's easy to use". I find a bicycle pretty trivial, but thousands of kids who are sat on one without stabilisers for the first time would argue with me if I said it was easy!

The wheel gauge is absolutely easier to use - there's no "trick" to it at all. It doesn't have the same versatility, perhaps - it more or less either cuts or doesn't cut - and it's certainly more expensive, but I suspect more or less anyone with any degree of manual dexterity can use the wheel gauge well first time without instruction or practice.

Too many folks try to spend their way into shortcuts to skills...... Where is the fun in that.

I can't speak for others, but for me it's mostly a question of focusing on the bits I actually find enjoyable and the bits I find productive. I enjoy stuff like sawing and chiselling dovetails, so I keep my saws and chisels to hand and I've only used a dovetail bit in a router maybe once; on the other hand, my hobby time is limited and if I planed everything square by hand I'd never get anything else done, so I bought a P/T. I don't really enjoy sanding at all, so I own more than one powered device for reducing wood to dust!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Make your lives easier - sharpen the pin on your gauge so it resembles a miniature cold chisel rather than a cone. Sharper than that, obviously, but that's the best I can describe the shape.

 

[woodenstx]

ok, ok, I watched a few combi square vids on youtube and I'm convinced enough to go back, although some of the "benefits" over a fixed are already covered by my use of a vernier caliper anyway

 

[Jacob]

.......
The wheel gauge is absolutely easier to use - there's no "trick" to it at all. It doesn't have the same versatility, perhaps - it more or less either cuts or doesn't cut - and it's certainly more expensive, but I suspect more or less anyone with any degree of manual dexterity can use the wheel gauge well first time without instruction or practice......

They aren't as easy to grip or as comfortable in the hand - which is important if you have a lot of marking up to do; I used to be at it for days when I had a lot of joinery on.
For the extra cost they offer no advantage over the pin gauge - they both can be slightly problematic for a very new user.
You need a few - say 4 or 5 - which makes the cost a bigger issue.
They aren't as versatile - no fine line to deep channel like a pin, and not adaptable - you can file the pin to suit.
They aren't as easy to adjust - you get fine adjustment with a wooden pin gauge by just tapping it on the bench gently and then tighten up.
The digital one is even more pointless; very expensive, needs batteries, will presumably fail in a year or so, or when it's dropped.

 

[AndyT]

I don't think wheel gauges are particularly new. I've no idea how old this one is, maybe Andy knows?

I've put a bit of an answer in a new thread, so as not to distract too far from the advice the OP wanted.