This miniature gauge is excellent for small or delicate work where a full sized standard tool would be too cumbersome or unwieldy. The stem and stock are laminated bamboo, all the fittings are brass and the pins are hardened steel. The stem is 155mm long and the head is approximately 45mm square. This combined mortice and marking gauge features a pull slide running in a T-slot for setting the width of a mortice or tenon. A single pin at the back of the stem will scribe a line along the grain and parallel to an edge, giving you two quality tools in one.
The use of laminated bamboo for the stock and stem is an important step forward in the manufacture of this traditional tool. Made from compressed and glued layers of individual sections, laminated bamboo is extremely durable and stable. As an alternative to rosewood and other increasingly scarce tropical timbers, laminated bamboo is perfect. Bamboo stems mature at 4 to 5 years old. After harvesting, new shoots emerge from the ground making it one the most natural and sustainable materials ever!