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Captive Wedge Gauge
This type of gauge uses a wedge
with two little noggins on either end to keep it from falling
out of the fence block. Most old gauges I have seen are made of
rosewood or beech. From my experience anything fairly hard will
do just fine. This gauge is made of some scraps of white oak.
I made the beam first, most gauges
the beam is 8 to 10 inches in length and 5/8 to ¾ in. square.
Some gauges have a rounded face on one side to facilitate the
rocking of the gauge in the direction it is being pushed or
pulled. This is a little harder to make or you can leave it
square and set the cutter or pin a little deeper and accomplish
the same thing. The beam needs to be square and even thickness
down it’s length so the fence will not bind while moving back
and forth.
With the beam made, next you need a
fence. This one is 2in wide and 2in tall and a little over an
inch thick. If your piece of wood is big enough leave it long,
this makes it much easier to hold while cutting the mortise, or
if you are making more than one leave them all together until
the mortises are done then saw them apart.
Bore a 5/8in hole thru the center
of the block halfway from each side and carefully square it up
with a chisel. Take your time here, you want a good fit with as
little slop as possible, but still slide up and down the beam
easily.
One you have the fence and beam
fitted you need to cut the slot for the wedge. The slot needs to
be cut parallel with the grain of the fence to prevent it from
splitting it. The slot for the wedge tapers slightly thru the
fence. I cut this one a ¼ in wide.
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