Wood Marking Gauge

This tool is truly a triumph of hope over experience. Back in 2015, we wrote the following about it:

Not everything we've had made for us has turned out the way we intended, and this gauge is a good example of that. Make no mistake – this is an effective and useful tool made from high-quality materials: solid rosewood fence and beam, brass locking mechanisms for the beam and pencil, and a stainless-steel scale.

The beam is 8 1/2" long and almost 1" square. The 3/4" wide fence is just shy of 5" long. In use, the gauge is designed to trail the pencil point to reduce lead breakage and grain following. You'll immediately appreciate how well it works.

We did not, however, request errant glue drops, fingerprints, tarnish spots on the brass or minor tear-out on any of the surfaces. Not all the gauges come complete with extra “character,” but most do. We don't want to unpack them all and sort them, which is why they have an excellent price. We'd like them to disappear quickly and have every confidence they will.

A real steal – our loss can be your gain. Limited stock.

Earlier this year, the same vendor approached us, saying they had leftover parts, and could we please try again? Normally, the answer would have been no, but the tools in the first batch just worked so well, warts and all, that we reluctantly said yes. We switched the wood to sapele (rosewood is now listed with CITES as an at-risk species) and placed the order.

The good news is that these work as well as the first batch. The bad news is that they have retained much of the “character” of the first ones. We did spot some new variations, though, including what looked like teeth marks on one of the pencils.

So, for what really is the last time, we are offering a tool that may require a minor adjustment, cleaning, or nothing at all. It is still good value and will work well – it's just not quite what we'd hoped for (again).