Material: Steel, Brass
Units (mm)

This is the 5th and final project contributed by Ken. This Joinery Marking Gage closely resembles the traditional woodworking tool used to scribe a line parallel to the edge of a workpiece.

Here’s what Ken has to say about his final project:

“This project is similar to the last, but greatly simplified, and is more for use with joinery.

No doubt you already have a timber one in your tool box, but I’ll bet it’s beginning to split.

This one will last for ever, and can be knocked up in a few hours.

The polished brass and steel make a good visual combination.

Manufacture is straight forward, except if you opt for the grooves around the body. For this, you will need access to a dividing head.

My Unimat 3 mini lathe/mill, comes with one, so I was lucky.”

- Ken

Ken originally posted these plans back in 2007 (along with 4 others) on the Metalworking section of Woodworking Australia’s Woodwork Forums. Here’s a link to Ken’s original Joinery Marking Gage post in the Metalworking section of the forum.

Here’s a complete list of all 5 of Ken’s projects:

1. Slitting Saw Arbor
2. Fly Cutter
3. Knurling Tool
4. Marking Gage
5. Joinery Marking Gage

Thanks for all your contributions Ken!

  Joinery_Marking_Gage_Asssembly.pdf (39.5 KiB, 1,456 hits)
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Material: Steel or Aluminum
Units: (in)

Here’s a set of plans for a nifty little two stroke engine submitted by Shane W., a sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Here’s what Shane had to say about his project:

“This is a two stroke internal combustion engine that I designed for a design class. Though the design is unique and engineered by me, much inspiration was taken from an engine from the 50′s called “The Little Dragon.”

Engines are not exactly simple to make or design, but this one is designed to be as easy as possible to construct, using standard size stock to minimize machining. In fact I was able to build it and get it running with the experience from building a simple air engine and nothing else.

Most of the tolerances are a little tighter than necessary, particularly the bore of the cylinder. You can get away with it being a couple thousandths off.

It runs on 30% nitromethane fuel mixed with castor oil. The plans don’t exactly follow any standard, though they lean toward ansi. In the drawings for the cylinder, con-rod, and piston I used hidden lines to represent tool paths. I don’t have drawings for the needle valve, though many are easily obtainable online, or a pre-made one can be purchased.

- Shane”

Thanks for submitting your plans Shane! Be sure to visit Shane’s site to check out his other projects and to see a video of this little engine in action!

Would you like to have your project featured on this site? If so, do what Shane did and click the “Submit Your Plans” tab at the top of the page.

  Shanes_Two_Stroke_IC_Engine.pdf (156.0 KiB, 3,813 hits)
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Material: Brass
Units (mm)

This Brass Marking Gage is the 4th of 5 great projects from Ken.

Here’s what Ken has to say about this latest project:

“This next little project was a real test of my newly learned skills, and involves turning, milling, drilling, tapping, threading and knurling. All these operations were done on my Unimat 3 mini lathe/mill. Being a novice, if I can do it, so can you.

I chose brass for the body, mainly because of what material I had on hand, and when polished, would look the part.

The body and adjusting block were drilled out 10 dia in one piece, then parted off with a slitting saw. See earlier Slitting saw project.

I use this item to scribe lines a certain distance in from the edge of the work, or down the centre line. The scribed lines are used to locate hole centres, etc.

The thumb screws and adjustment wheel were knurled with my knurling tool, see earlier Knurling tool project. The diamond pattern was achieved by swinging the knurling around on the saddle.

I use my digital vernier to set the distance, then transfer this to the marking gauge. Fine adjustment is achieved by using the adjustment wheel.

I find this little gadget very handy, it’s almost too good to use. Might even be a usefull item for wood workers.”

- Ken

Ken originally posted these plans back in 2007 (along with 4 others) on the Metalworking section of Woodworking Australia’s Woodwork Forums. Here’s a link to Ken’s original Marking Gage post in the Metalworking section of the forum. Check back next week for Ken’s final project, a slightly different Joinery Marking Gage.

Thanks for sharing Ken!

If anyone has any questions about this, or any other project, please leave a comment. And as always, if you have any plans you’d like to share with the site, please submit your plans using the tab at the top of the page.

Thanks!

  Marking_Gage_Assembly.pdf (54.8 KiB, 1,388 hits)
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  Marking_Gage_Details.pdf (50.0 KiB, 1,256 hits)
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