RayburnGuy Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 I've been using a drafting compass to mark center lines on my baits and think a wood marking gauge would be much easier and probably more accurate. Not having a woodworking background I'd like to know which marking gauge you guys prefer and the reasons you prefer either the "wheel" gauge or the "pin" gauge? thanks guys, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleriver Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 Ben Not sure if this is what your looking for but I got this from Dave aka Vodkaman and it works like charm. Simply place square lure blank and pencil cube on flat surface and spin blank drawing a line all the way around. Then flip blank and draw another line. The area between the lines is your center. The block can be flipped to accomidate a variety of sizes. I have even added extra holes for more variety. I like my two lines close together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benton B Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 I love the wheeled marking guage I have and would never try to build a lure without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassguy Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) Being a carpenter, this is one of the tools we carried in the box when doing mortise joints and door butts (hinges) for lay out. You can use a pin type or pencil type. Me personally I use my middle finger as a guide and while holding the pencil between my thumb and index finger, I scribe around both sides that gives me a very accurate center line. Ben if you would like to build your own here is a tutorial in a pdf format. Jerry Edited September 9, 2013 by bassguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 Thanks guys. I knew I could count on ya'll. thanks again, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbf Posted September 9, 2013 Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 I love the wheeled marking guage I have and would never try to build a lure without it. X2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don-Art Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I have both. They each have there places. I favor the wheeled version for building Crank baits. Its smaller and follows contours better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I found an old pin type marking gauge that my dad had. It's the one where you scratch a mark on the wood. Scratching a line around a 1/2" thick flat side wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done. Not accurately anyway. So now I've been looking at some of the wheeled type and from what I've been reading good ones aren't cheap. The Veritas wheeled gauge seems to be a fairly popular one with good reviews. It costs around $50 to the door. Any ideas or opinions? thanks everyone, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don-Art Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I picked mine up at Rocker. I believe that it was $20.00 or less. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdentAngler Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I just picked one up at a garage sale for $3 with the pin or nail in it. Kinda wobble, not sure how accurate it really is? The one I have doesn't seem too user friendly I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 If you go with the old school mortise type harbor freight has it for $10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benton B Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I got mine from Lee Valley Tools but I don't remember how much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I think a friend of mine here in town may have one or two so I'm going to check with him so I can have a "hands on" look. The Veritas I was looking at was from Lee Valley tools and they had the best price on it. Thanks for everyone's help. You've made my decision much easier. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I have the Veritas marking gauge and really like it but for cranks I really find it easiest just to have square set set to the proper depth and mark the mid point or alignment guides. This way I can set the drill press once and run through a small batch with less individual marking of each bait. It depends on the crank design but this is how I overall approach it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted September 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Been studying about this for a while and think I have come up with a solution that will be adjustable and can be mounted in such a way that the top of the workbench can be used as the fence. If this idea pans out I will post back with results. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 I finally got around to making a marking gauge that uses the top of my workbench for a sort of fence. Using a piece of 3/8" all thread for the post I mounted it in an upright position through a hole drilled in the workbench. This was then secured with nuts and flat washers. A 3/8" hole was drilled through a block of wood so that it could be moved vertically on the upright all thread. Another hole was drilled lengthwise into the end of the wooden block so that a round pencil would slip snugly into it. Another hole was drilled at 90 degrees to the pencil hole so a wood screw could be used to secure the pencil. It takes a little fiddling with the height adjustment to find the exact center of the lure blank, but once set it marks a perfect circle around the circumference of the blank. One thing I really like is that with the "marking gauge" secured to the table your not having to try and hold everything in your hands. The nuts and washers won't allow the pencil block to be moved low enough, but placing a smooth block of wood under the lure blank raises it up enough that makes marking possible. This rig isn't shiny nor does it have any bells and whistles, but being made from stuff laying around you can't beat the price. Dirt cheap! As the old adage goes "One picture is worth a thousand words" so hopefully the attached photo will explain everything better than I can. Ben 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleriver Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Looks good Ben. I would still flip my piece of wood and mark it twice just to be sure the wood piece your working with is square. If not, that line will go apart and come back together again. I am often working with bits that are not square and for this reason I really like my little block. The pencil rarely hits the middle but the space between the lines I know is always the middle. And really, that is all I am after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Looks good Ben. I would still flip my piece of wood and mark it twice just to be sure the wood piece your working with is square. If not, that line will go apart and come back together again. I am often working with bits that are not square and for this reason I really like my little block. The pencil rarely hits the middle but the space between the lines I know is always the middle. And really, that is all I am after. Didn't think to mention that Vic, but I do exactly as you described. Forty years of pipe and steel fabrication made sort of a perfectionist out of me when it comes to layout work. Very rarely do I get anything completely perfect, but it doesn't keep me from trying. It's sort of like the quote from the movie The Patriot where he says to "aim small..........miss small". You wouldn't think a piece of 3/8" all thread would allow for small adjustments, but you can easily make adjustments of 1/64" or less. I know several times I would move the two nuts holding the pencil block maybe a quarter of a turn and couldn't tell I'd moved the pencil at all. So far I'm more than satisfied with this project. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don-Art Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Ben, Good to see that you got it to work.I bet that it works really good in the morning. Before you had your second cup of Coffee. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) Ben, Good to see that you got it to work.I bet that it works really good in the morning. Before you had your second cup of Coffee. Don I'm really happy with it Don. If you take your time and get the initial setup right it draws a truly accurate center line. It's actually pretty easy to use once it's adjusted properly. Just a matter of spinning the lure blank in a circle while keeping it in contact with the pencil. Very rarely drink coffee and I haven't been chasing after any wild women so I can't blame the shaky hands on either of those. It could be age creeping up on me. Sure hasn't done my eye sight and memory any good. Somebody told me long ago that getting old wasn't for sissies and I'm starting to understand what they meant. Ben Edited October 16, 2013 by RayburnGuy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Clever tool. Do you shape your lures with machines or by hand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 I do the roughing in with a bandsaw and a disc/belt sander. All the final shaping is done by hand Mark. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 That is pretty slick Ben!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks Nate. For some reason the gray matter started firing the other day and that's what I came up with. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don-Art Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 Ben, I like the one handed operation of your marking guage. I like my coffee in the morning. One of my friends would actually get the shakes and would have a hard time positioning things until he had his coffee. I think that he consumed a large amount of coffee just to stay awake. He was finally diagnosed with sleep apnea and is much better. Your tool would have been the only way that he could have performed the task of marking a straight line. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
