Panel Gauge
Learn how to work with brass and make an indispensable tool for hand work.
If you rip your stock on a table saw, your uses for a panel gauge are limited. If you make your rip cuts with a band saw or hand saw, however, a panel gauge is an indispensable tool. Its usefulness really shines when you need to mark out multiple wide panels to the same width such as the sides of a carcass or the shelves of a bookcase. You can use a ruler and straightedge to perform this task, but the panel gauge is more efficient and precise. I built a simple panel gauge 10 years ago. But after years of use, my old, poorly designed gauge is starting to get a bit worn and loose, affecting its precision and usability. I considered buying a new one, but there are few commercial options available and each has at least one shortcoming that I wasn’t willing to accept. So I decided to build the one you see here.
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What You Get:
- 4 pages of step-by-step instructions
- 13 full-color photos, illustrations and exploded view
- Retail sources for hardware and supplies
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.