Tool type

Vintage marking tools

Marking gauges scribe a line parallel to an edge, mortise gauges scribe two at once, and combination squares mark and check 90° and 45° angles. A pin works best along the grain and a knife or roller across it. Stanley's catalogs offered wooden gauges in beech, boxwood and rosewood, like the boxwood No. 65, plus nickel-plated metal gauges with roller cutters, like the No. 98, and combination squares such as the No. 21. Goodell-Pratt sold metal roller gauges with up to three beams. On any gauge, the small parts make it work, so check for the point or roller, the thumbscrew and the stop screw.

4 models we cover.