Veritas Dual Marking Gauge – Getting Started

Thank you for purchasing a Veritas Dual Marking Gauge.

A dual marking gauge makes it easy to add accuracy and efficiency to the work of laying out mortises, tenons and half-blind dovetails. It’s an important addition to any woodworker’s hand tool collection.

Please feel welcome to get in touch if you have questions or if you encounter difficulty – we’re here to support you every step of the way.

What can I expect from my dual marking gauge?

Veritas wheel marking gauges are ready to go out of the box. Marking gauges do two important jobs. First, they consistently scribe a fine line parallel to an edge. Second, they enable the direct transfer of a measurement from one workpiece to another. Both of these tasks can be done more accurately than with a pencil and more consistently than with a ruler.

How do I use my gauge?

The best grip is firm but gentle, scribing a fine line. If you would like a deeper line, go back and repeat.

Push the fence firmly against the work. Be mindful of the grain direction.

Don’t overtighten the adjustment knobs.

Keep the gauge set for the duration of the work rather than resetting it frequently.

If you build complex pieces, multiple gauges may be helpful.

Retract the wheels into the recesses in the fence to protect them when not in use.

Gauges can be pushed or pulled as you prefer.

Be gentle with the gauge after you have locked in your settings. A bump could affect the settings.

Is Sharpening the Gauge Difficult?

It’s actually easy. Place a cutter wheel on a medium-grit stone or 320x sandpaper. Use the eraser end of a pencil to twirl the wheel around on the stone.

Be sure to reinstall the cutter wheels with one bevel facing the fence and the other facing away from the fence.