Marking and Measuring Tool
Basics
|
 If
you're like most woodworkers, you've spent a lot of time
picking out the best woodworking machinery, hand planes,
chisels, scrapers, rasps, clamps and all manner of
specialized jigs, tools and accessories that help make your
work more accurate and go more smoothly. In the process,
have you given much thought to the most fundamental tools in
your shop - your marking and measuring tools?
It's worth taking stock of your marking and measuring
tool kit. Most of the common problems in woodworking -
joints that fit badly, out of square frames and casework,
etc.- can be traced back to marking and measuring errors.
And the majority of marking and measuring errors are rooted
in a simple matter of using the wrong marking and measuring
tools. In short, a tape measure just wasn't designed for
making the close-tolerance measurements that many
woodworking projects require. In this article we'll take a
look at a few of the most common marking and measuring tasks
in woodworking and at some of the tools that make the
process easy, intuitive and accurate. Then, to help you get
set up with a basic kit, we'll pick out a few essentials
from Rockler's broad selection of
marking and
measuring tools.
Measuring and Marking Linear Dimensions
 In
most woodworking projects, measuring and marking linear
dimensions is the first crucial step, and depending on the
project, it can make for some exacting work. In projects
that involve intricate joinery and small, close-fitting
parts, measuring and marking errors as small as a few 100ths
of an inch can turn up later as gaps in joints, misaligned
parts and a host of other less-than-appealing results.
Measuring from point "A" to point "B" is a simple
process, but your results still depend on how accurately you
are able to translate a measurement into a physical mark on
a piece of wood. If you've ever tried to hold a tape measure
flat on a board while you accurately mark off a measurement,
you know that just getting a clearly defined mark in exactly
the right spot can be a surprising challenge. For precise
measuring and marking, the tool you use needs to be readable
and, of course, accurately calibrated. Going beyond that,
the best distance measuring tools offer a little help in
getting the mark in the right place.
Incra Precision Marking Rules are famous for their
accuracy, lay flat, and have an easy-to-read scale. But what
makes them the tool of choice for linear measuring is that
they make it virtually impossible to put a mark in the wrong
place. Incra rules are made with micro fine guide holes
positioned at 1/32'' increments so that, used in conjunction
with a mechanical pencil or a metal scribe, you'd really
have to try hard to put a measurement mark anywhere other
than exactly where it's supposed to be.
 Special
features of some tools further simplify one of the most
common measuring tasks in woodworking - measuring and
marking a distance from an edge. Tools like the
Incra Precision T-Rule and
Precision Bend Rule take care of positioning "point A"
in the "point A to B" measuring formula while still offering
the famous Incra accuracy and easy-to-use design. All that's
left for the woodworker to make a perfectly positioned mark
at a precise distance from an edge is to get the scribe or
mechanical pencil in the right guide hole and make a mark.
 Measuring
Squareness
When you put a square on the end of a board to
check a cut, you're trusting the "known" 90 degree angle of
the square to tell you something about the piece of wood.
But how square is a square? Some manufacturers tell you.
Crown Hand Tools' rosewood and brass
Try-Miter Square is manufactured in accordance with
British Standard 3322, which means that it is accurate
within a tolerance range of .01 mm/cm, or a little over 2
thousandths of an inch over its 6'' blade. Part of the
benefit of knowing the tight tolerance range of the square
you are using is knowing that it is manufactured in
accordance with a standard. A good many squares on the
market don't boast a manufacturing standard at all.
Do fractions of a degree really matter? Often,
inaccuracies in angle measurements that you are not even
aware of multiply in accordance with the number of slightly
off-square marks and cuts you make over the course of a
project. When you are joining a large number of parts a
tenth of a degree here and a tenth of a degree there really
starts to add up. Remember, too, that you'll use a square to
check the angle of your table saw blade and miter saw fence
alignment. Slightly off-square angle settings on these tools
are multiplied by two every time you make a joint or join
two boards and can noticeably affect the flatness of edge
glue-ups and miter joints.
 The Crown
try-miter square is especially handy because it also allows
you to check and mark the second most common angle in
woodworking - 45 degrees. A
combination square takes that versatility and adds to it
with a graduated scale and a blade that can be adjusted and
locked into position to gauge depth or distance relative to
the edge of a material. The combination square was borrowed
from the machinist's tool chest years ago, and because of
its all-around usefulness, it remains the "workhorse" square
in most woodworking shops.
 Angles
Other than 90 and 45 Degrees
90 and 45 degree angles may be the most common in
woodworking, but they're not the only ones that come up. For
marking angles other than 90 and 45 degrees, most
woodworkers use a
sliding bevel, or "T-bevel." The T-bevel's sliding blade
is infinitely positionable and has the added benefit of
giving you four possible handle-to-blade angle orientations
when the tool is set up in the "T" shape (with some of the
blade on either side of the handle).
If you're shopping for a T-bevel, it's important to look
for one that has a good lock down mechanism so that you
don't run the risk of accidentally moving the angle setting
while you're using the tool. This classic example by Crown
with a rosewood body and steel blade cinches down more than
well enough to hold a setting for as long as you need it to.
 Measuring
Angles
A T-bevel is strictly an angle marking tool; it doesn't'
tell you anything about the measurement of the angle. For
that you need an angle measuring tool, and there you have a
few choices. But to simplify matters, we can divide angle
measurement into two basic tasks. In general, you'll either
want to set a tool or make a mark at a known angle, or
you'll want to know the angle measurement of an existing
angle, like the angle of a corner where two walls meet.
Angle measurement tools are usually designed to work best
for one task or the other.
For cases where you need to set up a marking tool - like
a T-bevel - with a known angle, the
Mastergage Universal Angle Guide is about as good as it
gets. The guide is laid out with a computer-guided laser
etched angle scale in 1/2 degree increments on heavy gauge
aluminum and makes it easy to transfer angle measurements to
a T-bevel with dead-on accuracy. A tool that gives you
accurate angle settings quickly and easily, like the
Universal Angle Guide, is indispensable in working with the
odd angles that turn up in complicated joinery projects or
in any project where corners meet at other than the "usual"
angles.
 On
the other hand, if you need an accurate measurement of an
existing angle, you won't do better than the
Starrett Protractor / Angle Finder. The tool is
calibrated to read both inside and outside corners and
quickly gives you not only the angle of the corner, but also
offers the correct miter setting for your saw. Starrett is
one of the most trusted names in calibration and measurement
tools, so you can be confident that the Protractor / Angle
Finder's precision matches its speed. A tool like the
Starrett angle finder is an essential angle measurement tool
for fitting your work into the real world, which, as anyone
who's ever installed cabinets, crown molding or any kind of
trim will tell you, isn't always laid out in perfect 90
degree angles.
Measuring Depth, Gap and Thickness
Often, woodworking projects require that you measure a short
distance with extreme accuracy. Fine tuning the depth of a
rabbet, checking the width of a dado and measuring the
thickness of veneer or stock all call for a tool that will
give you extremely precise short distance readings. For
these necessarily finicky measuring tasks, you really can't
go wrong with a
digital caliper.
 The
digital caliper is the latest advancement in a precision
measuring tool that migrated from the machinist's tool kit
into the wood shop years ago. They're equipped with sets of
jaws that measure inside and outside dimensions with
accuracy in the 1000ths of an inch range, and a probe that
slides down from the bottom of the tool to gauge depth with
equal precision. Calipers are also available in models that
have a dial readout and a standard calibrated scale, but the
modern digital variety is so easy to use and read that most
woodworkers find the slight upcharge for the feature well
worth the price.
 Putting
Together a Basic Measuring and Marking Kit
At this point, we've just scratched the surface of marking
and measuring. There are many other truly useful marking and
measuring tools, many of which are extremely helpful in
specialized measuring tasks. Wood turners will want to take
a look at the
J-Square Center Finder and a
Wood Turner's Caliper Set. If your projects have you
marking off a lot of curved shapes, then you might want to
add a set of
French Curves or a
Flexible Curve to your marking tool collection. And we'd
also like to point out that tools that help you get the most
accurate results from your woodworking machinery, like
calibration tools and
precision fences and miter gauges, are in essence
measuring tools.
But our purpose is to help you get set up with the
marking and measuring tools that we think are "standard
equipment" for any woodworking operation. Here are the eight
tools that will cover the most common and important marking
and measuring tasks in woodworking:
 1.
Tape Measure. Did we give you the impression that we
don't like tape measures? A tape measure will always be an
irreplaceable woodworking tool.
2.
Incra Precision Marking Rule. As we've pointed out, you
can't beat this tool for precision measuring and marking.
3.
Incra Precision T-Rule. Measuring and marking a distance
from an edge is one of the most common tasks in
woodworking. The Incra T-Rule is the tool
for measurements up to twelve inches.
4.
Cabinetmaker's Pencil Set. A quality graphite pencil
that sharpens to a micro-fine point for accurate marking.
5.
Try -Miter Square or Engineer
Square. Judging squareness is so central to woodworking
that we think every shop should have a tool that does it
accurately.
6.
Combination Square. One of the most versatile marking
and measuring tools ever introduced into woodworking.
7.
T-Bevel. For years and years the T-bevel has been the
tool for marking angles other than 90 degrees.
8.
Mastergage Universal Angle Guide or
Incra Precision Protractor. Either tool will give you
the angle measurement precision you need for complex
projects.
9.
Starrett Protractor / Angle Finder. The best tool for
dead-on accurate angle readings.
10.
Digital Caliper. There really isn't any other way to get
precise measurements of the depth of your rabbets, the width
of your dadoes or the thickness of your stock. |
