Drawing center lines

[Stuntflyer]

Rather than using a compass, is there a small tool which can be purchased online to draw a center line down the length on 1/4"-1/2" wood strip?

 

Thanks, Mike

Edited March 3 by Stuntflyer

[Bob Cleek]

Fine Woodworking magazine's review and ratings of best marking gauges: Tool Test: Marking Gauges - FineWoodworking

 

Marking gauges are one of those elusive "better mousetrap" sort of tools. They are very simple in concept, but there's a huge range of prices and styles and the fancy polished bronze ones often don't work any better than the hardware store rack specials.  One of these should do the trick for you. You can search for "marking gauges" in your browser "images" setting and pick from a wide variety of marking gauges.

 

If by "to draw a center line" you meant "drawing" with some sort of writing instrument like a pencil, I don't believe that there are marking gauges which are designed to hold common pencils as there compasses which are designed to do that. I once saw a manufactured marking gauge that had a hole and a set-screw to hold a common pencil, but I couldn't find one online now. That would not be a good design because the average pencil lead would not stand up well to being run down the length of a ten foot plank, for example. Most traditional wood marking tools are forms of scribers or knives which actually cut a fine line in the wood, rather than a pencil mark. If you wish, however, you can mount a compass lead (or section of 2mm drafting "lead clutch" mechanical pencil lead) in the scribing point hole of any marking gauge that features a collet-style clutch for holding a similarly sized scribing point, such as, I expect, the "3-in-1" Veritas model below does. 

 

For your purposes, none of these marking gauges will automatically find the exact center of anything for you, although it is a very easy matter to adjust a marking gauge to the dead center of a piece by trial and error, starting by eye and making a small mark, then turning the gauge to set against the opposite side of the workpiece and making another small mark adjacent to the first one. The halfway point between the two small marks is your centerline. It is then easy enough to "creep up on it" in the same fashion until, by progressively "eyeballing" the center between the marks made progressively, you reach a point where there's nothing left to divide, and you know you've reached the center setting on your gauge. 

 

When marking (or cutting) thin wood strips with any marking gauge I can think of off hand, you will have to use a straight edged "riser block" of wood, or the edge of the workbench, to provide clearance for the bottom of the gauge's fence (or "wheel") when scoring your mark. That's a bit of an inconvenience, perhaps, but it goes with the territory. The Lee Valley miniature marking gauges are advertised to work like the full-size tools they represent (besides being "collectables" or "toy's," depending how one feels about such high-priced things,) but I don't see any particular advantage to them in modeling, and certainly not where their tiny size makes setting and use possibly more tedious and likely to slip than a full-sized model.  Perhaps a formumite who has a set of the Veritas miniatures can elaborate on this point. 

 

I thought this first "3-in-1" model below from Lee Valley was the best for modeling purposes because it will also hold a cutting blade!  How cool is that for cutting strip wood to width? I've seen cutters alone that work on the same principle, but never a wheeled-style marking gauge with interchangeable marking scribers and a knife. If you aren't familiar with the wheeled-style marking gauges, they usually have a round shaped cutter with a sloped cutting edge which when in use naturally pulls the tool fence close against the face of the wood piece being marked.  I like them a lot better than the old fashioned "block of wood with a stick through it" models.

 

From Lee Valley. Marking gauge with two different interchangeable scribers and a cutting blade. $35.50

3-in-1 Brass Marking Gauge - Lee Valley Tools

 

 

 

From Lee Valley: Pocket marking gauge. $29.50

Pocket Marking Gauge - Lee Valley Tools

 

 

Veritas miniature marking gauges. (Set of two: single line and double line for tenon marking.) Lee Valley catalogue. $42.50.

Veritas Miniature Marking Gauges - Lee Valley Tools

 

 

 

Rockler digital wheel marking gauge. $39.99

Digital Wheel Marking Gauge - Rockler Woodworking Tools

 

OTHER WHEEL GAUGES:

 

Rockler wheel marking gauge. $19.99.  

Rockler Wheel Marking Gauge | Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

 

Temu wheel marking gauge plus dovetail marker. $11.51

1/2pcs Wheel Marking Gauge Dovetail Jig Guide Marker Aluminium Alloy Scribing Tool - Wood Marking For Woodworking 1:5 1:8 , Bearing Wheel Cutter For Soft Wood ,inch & Mm Scale Ruler,temu

 

 

Edited March 4 by Bob Cleek

[Kauz]

You could easily make one yourself: Take a strip of wood, say about 5" long for the dimensions you are talking of, drill a hole for a pencil into the middle of it (length- and widthwise). Drill 2 more holes with exactly the same distance ( about 1/2") from the middle hole for 2 pins that protrude on one side of the wood strip farther than the pencil tip. 

To use, put the gauge over the wood strip you want to mark so the pencil tip touches the wood, let the pins slide along the edges of the strip and draw along the strip. There will be a short length at each end that is not marked as there is nothing the foremost pin can contact there.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DpXG2vYt_0Vk&ved=2ahUKEwjWqYuP-NiEAxU9gv0HHV4JAb44FBC3AnoECBAQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3Ek9IhL7iSkQCpkaSGAWFe

https://www.bosch-diy.com/de/de/all-about-diy/community/4015448

Deluxe version: Centre line gadget

 

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks, Kauz. I've seen that before. I was just wondering if there was a manufactured center line marker available online.

[Gregory]

Not sure if the smallest in this set would work for you, but it should be easy to make something that uses the same principle.

 

EZ Center Finder

 

Edit:  I see Kauz' tool works on the same principle.

Edited March 3 by Gregory

[Stuntflyer]

Gregory, I like the tool. I'm also wondering if the smallest one would work. I'll wait a bit to see if there is a smaller version out there.

[Kauz]

2 hours ago, Gregory said:

Edit:  I see Kauz' tool works on the same principle.

Not mine, I just gave links 😉. Others did the work.

[GGibson]

Ooooooohh!!  A new tool for the shipyard!  Seems to me like the Rockler one with the digital readout would be better than the Lee Valley ones, as you would have to measure and adjust the setting on the Lee Valley's Veritas gauge using a separate scale/device, whereas the Rockler has the gauge built-in like a digital caliper, correct?  

[Gregory]

7 hours ago, Stuntflyer said:

to draw a center line down the length on 1/4"-1/2" wood strip?

Do you want to 'draw' or will scribing work.   How long is the strip?  Which dimension do you want to draw on?

There are several things to consider if I were trying to do this.

 

What are the shortcomings of the tools you have been shown so far?   I can understand that the larger tools would not work well for small thin strips.

 

Obviously, the rotary type markers will not determine the center automatically.  

 

If it were me, I would use my proportional dividers to mark the center.

[Stuntflyer]

My apologies for not at first seeing Bob Cleek's post above and only those below his. My objective was to find the tool that would pencil mark the center at any width and be able to draw a center line over the length of wood. It appears that the Lee valley one, although not auto centering, would be the type I was looking for. It has the ability to mark and draw a center line even if the wood has a curve to it.

[Bob Cleek]

1 hour ago, GGibson said:

Ooooooohh!!  A new tool for the shipyard!  Seems to me like the Rockler one with the digital readout would be better than the Lee Valley ones, as you would have to measure and adjust the setting on the Lee Valley's Veritas gauge using a separate scale/device, whereas the Rockler has the gauge built-in like a digital caliper, correct?  

I thought the Rockler digital model was cute, too, so I threw it in for grins and giggles, but the Luddite in me thinks its overkill. Some of the "analog" gauges have a scale on the shaft for setting measurements, but the Fine Woodworking article on marking gauges panned the scaled shaft marking gauges. Setting the center of a strip narrow enough to accommodate the length of the gauge's shaft makes eyeballing the centerline as I described a piece of cake. If the piece to be marked is too wide to permit that technique and the gauge must be set by measurement from a single side of the workpiece, it's easily set by a rule, a dimension bar, or a "fit piece" of the proper width. Alternately, if one has a caliper, the calipers can be set to indicate a "inside" diameter equivalent to the desired width of the marking gauge's mark and then the marking gauge can be set by physically comparing the outside jaw faces of the calipers to the fence and marking point (or "wheel") of the analog marking gauge. If one already has a digital caliper, the result will be every bit as accurate as the digital marking gauge at a lower price and without the issues attendant to the batteries and electronics of the digital model. An analog marking gauge promises to be a tool that will endure rough use for several lifetimes. The digital stuff... not so much. Everybody's mileage differs, of course. 

 

1 hour ago, Gregory said:

 I can understand that the larger tools would not work well for small thin strips.

Obviously, the rotary type markers will not determine the center automatically. 

If it were me, I would use my proportional dividers to mark the center.

Yes, I agree that the larger marking gauges will be more cumbersome in use on small stuff. The smaller marking gauges I listed were chosen with that in mind. 

 

Without manually setting to the desired placement of the marked line using a rule or comparison "fit stick," none of the marking gauges I've ever seen will automatically center the resulting marked line.

 

 The "EZ Center Finder" you linked is a plastic version of the age-old method of finding a center boatbuilders make with a stick with a hole in it and a couple of nails driven equidistant from the center of the hole. They work fine on larger pieces of stock, but the results are dependent upon the user's ability to simultaneously hold the pencil in the hole, keep both guide posts firmly against the sides of the plank, and slide it down the workpiece, which is akin to patting your head, rubbing your stomach, and chewing gum at the same time. Both sides of the workpiece must be straight and equidistant from each other at any point on the line or the line won't be straight. They're great for working with round stock like full-size spars when boatbuilding because the "guide posts" can be extended down to run on the widest part of the rounded spar and even if the spar is tapered, as they often are, you will still get a straight midline mark, which is when the gadget really comes into its own.  If one were to try to turn quarter-inch wide strip wood into eighth-inch wide strip wood, these widgets work a lot better in theory than in practice! Been there, done that, got the tee shirt.  

 

A set of proportional dividers would be great for determining the center point as well.  That said, if the reason Stuntflyer wants "to draw center lines down half-inch to quarter-inch strip wood," is to cut strips in half, I think I'd avoid the trouble of marking the workpiece at all and just use the micrometer to set the fence on my Byrnes saw and just "let'er rip!"  

Edited March 4 by Bob Cleek

[Bob Cleek]

28 minutes ago, Stuntflyer said:

My apologies for not at first seeing Bob Cleek's post above and only those below his. My objective was to find the tool that would pencil mark the center at any width and be able to draw a center line over the length of wood. It appears that the Lee valley one, although not auto centering, would be the type I was looking for. It has the ability to mark and draw a center line even if the wood has a curve to it.

No apologies needed. There was a lag between my posting and it being "reviewed by a moderator," before appearing. 

 

Your assesment is correct. I'm happy to have been able to offer the option that may work for you. I do want to clarify that the marking gauge will work on curved surfaces, but only to the degree that the user can control the tool so that the center of the flat, right angled "fence" remains in contact with the curved workpiece its referencing and the outer ends of the "fence" remain equidistant from the curved face of the workpiece. This tedious requirement is easily eliminated by fashioning a "shoe" for the fence that will do the job automatically.  Such as shoe should be accurately rectangular in general shape and exactly as long as the greatest width of the fence. This rectangular "shoe" should have its face which will bear on the curved edge of the workpiece cut away to clear the closest edge of the curved workpiece edge so that the extreme ends of the shoe remain to present two "points" at the shoe's end which will bear on the curved surface of the workpiece. By preventing the fence from bearing only on the closest point on the curve, these points will keep the extended bar of the marking gauge at a right angle to the center of the curved piece without the fence "wobbling." The "shoe" can be temporarily secured to the face of the gauge with a dab of hot melt glue gun glue or a piece of tape... whatever works to suit the situation. 

[HumphreyG]

There are center funding rulers. They are fairly inexpensive (around $10-15). Basically the rules just extend out in opposite directions from the center.  You just check both sides read the same. Saves you from doing the math in you head.

 

That would help you quickly find the center and then set the marking gauge off that.

 

 

[MikeR]

Mike

I use a digital caliper.  Measure the width of the strip, say .250  divide it in half and set the caliper to .125 and lock it in place.  Then scribe the line, to be super accurate scribe from both sides. You could also use the caliper to just center punch the piece and drill a hole.  I use this method to find the center of 1/16 brass strips.

Mike R

[Gregory]

Just so everyone remembers what Mike is looking for:

 

20 hours ago, Stuntflyer said:

My objective was to find the tool that would pencil mark the center at any width and be able to draw a center line over the length of wood.

 

[Jaager]

This is the old style marking gauge:

 

 

 

Replace the steel scribing point with a section of a 2mm  HB mechanical pencil lead

Using scrap wood stock and a chisel a miniature version is easy to fabricate.

 

 

[Stuntflyer]

Thanks everyone, Issue solved! I can make a miniature version of the Pioneer marking gauge.