MARKING AND MEASURING TOOLS FOR WOODWORKERS

The Marking and Measuring Tools Every Woodworker Needs

Guest Post By David Savage
I have spoken elsewhere about overcomplicated marking and cutting gauges and marking knives that don't work as well as others. I now want to look at a very important area of squares and other measuring tools. Firstly I would like to council against buying all those lovely brass gauges that tool catalogues tell us we need. We don't need them usually, and if we do need them, you will find out and buy them.
Please don't follow "the tool catalogue guide to woodworking" that would suggest that you need every brass and ebony whim wham in the book in order to call yourself a woodworker. Most professional woodworkers are reducing the amount of tools immediately to hand rather than adding to their collections. This isn't a popular statement amongst the tool collecting class but it's the truth. Professional makers gain speed by using the tool to hand not searching for some special side rebate whatsit. Sure you do need special gauges and special planes for different jobs, but the job will tell you that when you get there. Buy the special tool ONLY when you need it.

 Squares however are personal bench tools. Get a bad square and it can act as a traitor in your camp. Accuracy of squares is one of the key things to maintaining accuracy in the cabinetmaking workshop. We have one square that all others are checked against and we make sure that that square is not used or dropped. Engineers squares are the norm in our workshop, all metal with a guaranteed performance. A 6 inch square is common to most of our students, some will also have a small 2 inch square that will sit in the apron pocket and go everywhere with them. In this way when you go out to the machine shop you have a square with you to check the job and the setup of the machine. Don't allow any of your squares to have wooden stocks even if these are faced with brass they inevitably become inaccurate.

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Straight edges are another important tool for measuring accuracy. If the surface is not straight or flat it can be difficult to fit another surface to it. To measure that you need a straight edge. These tools can be extremely expensive. Starrett the American manufacturer has been a reliable supplier of expensive straight edges for as long as I been a woodworker. Most others have a straightedge about 2 feet in length and that does a good job. A 3 foot or metre straightedge would be even better. We have got around the cost issue by buying much cheaper straight edges from a local tool supplier, Axminster Power tools, that inevitably are not straight. We then set about straightening them. We do this very carefully by attaching 180 grit abrasive to a sheet of dead flat heavy glass with spray adhesive. Because you will only be rubbing the absolute fine edge of the straightedge you will not need to remove a lot of metal so one setup can be used to 3 students straight edges. Be warned it is the setup that takes the time get that wrong and you are in the pooh.

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David Savage is an Internationally recognized professional Furniture Maker and Designer with over 30 years experience. David runs a furniture making workshop in Shebbear in the beautiful county of Devon, England.
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