Simple marking gauge, and simple marking question

[Bill_Houghton]

I use card stock - 3x5 or 5x8 cards, both of which I picked up free (but which aren't expensive, and available anywhere).  Printer paper can work, too, although it tends to squirm around more.  Or the cereal box in the kitchen cabinet with the thinnest plywood, and a knife and straightedge to give you a good straight line.  Or a soda can, cut, rolled out, and an edge cut against a straightedge with a knife (haven't tried this, but it should oughta work).

Clever marking gauge solution on your part.

[Arlin Eastman]

I have ideas but I expect they are wrong because I'm pretty sure I'm not understanding what it is you are making or how it is supposed to look.

You are talking above my head but sure would like to see what is made and what for. 

[Aram]

I use card stock - 3x5 or 5x8 cards, both of which I picked up free (but which aren't expensive, and available anywhere).  Printer paper can work, too, although it tends to squirm around more.  Or the cereal box in the kitchen cabinet with the thinnest plywood, and a knife and straightedge to give you a good straight line.  Or a soda can, cut, rolled out, and an edge cut against a straightedge with a knife (haven't tried this, but it should oughta work).

Clever marking gauge solution on your part.

Thanks for the suggestion. That might be the easiest way to go. Plus, I've been eating a lot of Cheerios lately!

[Bill_Houghton]

Thanks for the suggestion. That might be the easiest way to go. Plus, I've been eating a lot of Cheerios lately!

I meant to say, cereal box with the thinnest cardboard.  It's been years since I got my cereal in wooden boxes.

[tablesawtom]

That could work. It still seems easier to wrap something around the top, mark with a pencil, and move on. A stack of blue tape might be the easiest answer. This is not joinery, just aesthetics. Slightly uneven marking here or there won't matter.

Can you stand the leg vertical and do the block thing with a marking knife?

Tom

[Aram]

Can you stand the leg vertical and do the block thing with a marking knife?

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your suggestion. I'm not sure what the "block thing" refers to. Could you clarify?

[mike4244]

I'm making poplar models for my next piece. I have these legs with rounded profiles, where the upper part is smaller than the lower part. They are rounded, might be hard to tell in the picture. Cutting the ledge, and rounding the top and bottom, are not terribly difficult. 



But I wanted an angled bevel at the transition, not a ledge. How to mark a parallel line to define the bottom of the bevel? The world's simplest marking gauge. Scrap wood, a few seconds at the router table, and an Xacto blade with a little epoxy on it. Works perfectly. See scribed line (darkened with pencil) above.



Now the question. Looking at the top pic, pretend I have rounded the top, but the bottom is still square. I need to mark on the ledge, evenly, 1/8" (or thereabouts, but must be consistent all the way around) away from the rounded top part. That defines the bottom profile I will plane down to.

If I had a 1/8" thick flexible.... thing... that I could wrap around and trace with a pencil, boom. Done. Probably some ordinary household object, but I'm out of ideas. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

I can think of several ways to mark the leg. Wrap paper around the leg,  odd leg calipers, set the table saw  fence up for the distance wanted and raise the blade til 1/16" is above the insert. This will score the leg. If you have a wood lathe you can score the leg with  a skew chisel.
mike

[Aram]

I use card stock - 3x5 or 5x8 cards, both of which I picked up free (but which aren't expensive, and available anywhere).  Printer paper can work, too, although it tends to squirm around more.  Or the cereal box in the kitchen cabinet with the thinnest plywood, and a knife and straightedge to give you a good straight line.  Or a soda can, cut, rolled out, and an edge cut against a straightedge with a knife (haven't tried this, but it should oughta work).

Clever marking gauge solution on your part.

I tried using slices of cereal box on my latest poplar model. Three layers of the stuff was perfect. Cheerios box, mind you, so no guarantee that your box of Trix or whatever will work. 


Thanks for the idea.