Homemade Marking Gauge Homemade Woodworking Tools

Sure, you can buy a marking gauge, but why not make one yourself? This one is easy to make, uses parts that you might already have, and looks great.
I made a video showing how I made it:

To get started, a 3/16″ washer is mounted on a short piece of 1/2″ dowel, chucked in the drill press and sharpened with a file:

Make a marking gauge

The aim is to make a disk with a sharp edge, like this:

Make a marking gauge
Make a marking gauge

It’s then screwed to the end of a 1/2″ hardwood dowel, about 10″ long. You can buy the dowel, or use my dowel maker, like I did.

The body can be made from any hardwood, and here I’ve drilled a 1/2″ hole through to receive the shaft:

Make a marking gauge
Make a marking gauge

Using the band saw, I cut a slit through.

The body was cut to length, then slotted on the end for splines at the table saw:

Make a marking gauge
Make a marking gauge

Splines are cut from maple and sized for a snug fit in the slot. These will keep the solid wood block from splitting.

A 3/8″ counterbore is drilled for the head of the clamping bolt:

Make a marking gauge
Make a marking gauge

Then a 3/16″ through hole is drilled.

The splines are glued in:

Make a marking gauge
Make a marking gauge

The clamping bolt is glued in with polyurethane construction adhesive to keep it from turning.

Make a marking gauge

The assembly is left to dry overnight.

The next day, the splines are cut flush and the body is sanded smooth. I then applied two coats of linseed oil and left the part to dry overnight.

Finished and ready to use:

Make a marking gauge

A neat project that was fun to build and will definitely come in handy around the shop. It’s a good idea to make more than one of these, to set up at different measurements during an layout operation, or to give away to deserving friends.