Marking, mortise, and combination gauges come in myriad styles and prices. What differentiates them from one another is the number and type of cutters each employs. Marking gauges have a single cutter for scribing one line at a time. Mortise gauges have two cutters and are used mostly for marking parallel lines to establish the width of a mortise. Combination gauges typically have three cutters: a single cutter on one side of the beam for use as a marking gauge and an additional pair on the other side of the beam for laying out mortises.

The Tite-Mark wheel-style marking gauge has an easy-to-see cutter that sliced cleanly, regardless of the grain direction, and the cutting wheel can be honed easily without removing it from the tool. This was one of my favorites.

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Veritas Micro-Adjust Wheel Marking Gauge

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