Woodpeckers’ dovetail marking gauges are designed for quick and easy dovetail layout across the edges of a board without needing any additional tools.
Please note that these are one-time tools with a pre-order cutoff of January 17th, 2011. Orders are expected to ship out the week of February 14th, and there is no telling whether or not Woodpeckers will offer these gauges for sale ever again.
First Impression
Seeing these dovetail marking gauges in person confirmed what I thought after first spotting them on the Woodpeckers website - the markers are well designed and well made, and should last a lifetime and then some.
I particular like the beveled edges, but this might be more for looks than function. The machining is perfect, and the tools are anodized red with crisp and clear angle and ratio labels.
Design, Usability & Performance
The dovetail angles and right angles checked to be 100% spot-on and edges were completely straight. The markers proved to be extremely easy to use, and although the 1/2″ center leg is a bit short when used on 3/4″ stock, the marker has a 1-inch extension that functions as a saddle square.
Recommendation
While my hand-cut dovetails could use some (a lot of) practice, I am absolutely impressed with the performance of these dovetail marking gauges. Woodpeckers offers these markers in 1:6, 1:7, and 1:8 ratios, corresponding to the rule of thumb recommendations for use on softwoods, general purpose use, and hardwoods.
These markers are made in the USA and are priced at $21.99 each, which is actually quite reasonable compared to the other dovetail markers on the market. Don’t forget that the deadline to place a pre-order for these gauges is 1/17/11.
Bottom line, I highly recommend these dovetail marking gauges! If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask – I will try to post additional photos and maybe even a video between now and the pre-order cutoff.
Dovetail Marking Gauges via Woodpeckers, also available via Incremental Tools
If you ask 10 different woodworkers about which dovetail angle/ratio to use, make sure to bring some popcorn. 1:6 is traditionally used for softwood, 1:8 for hardwood, and 1:7 is a great compromise between the two. Personally, I prefer to use 1:7 and 1:8 ratios, but others find 1:6 to be more aesthetically pleasing.
These markers aren’t due to ship out until after the order deadline, but I was able to get my hands on this set of prototypes for review. Thank you to Woodpeckers for providing the samples!
Nice review. Do you have some pictures of the joints you made?
Thanks! I do have a few photos… but since my technique is a bit rusty, the sample joints came out pretty bad. I’m heading out later today to pick up some poplar for a few more tries.
Very cool. Looking forward to seeing your work on this (and I wouldn’t even mind seeing the ‘bad technique’ first tries and then what you did to get better at the joints.
Fred, it may take a little longer than anticipated to get those samples done. Haste + chisel = a thumb that’s out of commission.
The upside to this is that due to frustration with my hand saws, I ordered a set of Veritas dovetail saws last night. My thumb/left hand should be partially healed by the time they arrive.
Still, while my dovetail joinery needs practice, the Woodpeckers markers are exceptionally easy to use and provide great results.
Edit: I managed to finish the dovetail, pics will go up later. It’s still pretty bad. I tried using oak for the first time, and it proved to be more of a challenge to work on than I’m used to. I see more practice in the future…
I would like to purchase 12, 1:6 dove tail gauges and 2 1:8 gauges. I need them for a practical test i am give to my students on the 9th of may. I am based in Ireland, could you give me costing for the order asap and ill get back to you. I am very impressed by the quality of the product
Barry,
These marking gauges are no longer for sale from Woodpeckers, making them impossible to order at this time. If you’d like I can recommend alternatives that may suit your purposes.