Why Use a Cutting Gauge?

When you want to precisely mark out your woodworking projects, it’s hard to beat a cutting gauge. A cutting gauge has a knife-like wheel that makes it the perfect tool for incising crisp lines cross-grain in wood.

Marking gauge vs cutting gauge

Marking gauges and cutting gauges are two very different things and, honestly, you need one of each. Use a marking gauge to mark out lines parallel to the grain and a cutting gauge to go across the grain.

The marking part of a marking gauge is kind of like a pointed nail. Because of its shape it tends to bounce and tear when used cross-grain. The knife-edge on a cutting gauge can sometimes follow the grain when used parallel to the grain. So, understand the differences and get one of each.

Why not a pencil?

Pencils are OK for marking out your projects, but not great. The problem with a pencil line is its ambiguity. Even with a freshly sharpened pencil there’s some width to a pencil line and you have to decide which part of the line you want to use. That can work a lot of the time, but won’t work all the time. You’ll get way more precision from a cutting gauge (cross-grain) and a marking gauge (parallel to the grain).