workshop · 08 · marking gauge · beech · brass pin
a fence that rides along the edge of a board, and a short pin that scratches a line parallel to it. for telling the wood, before you cut, where it is allowed to leave. it is, in a way, a promise — written on the board, by the board itself.
the brass pin keeps half a century of resin in its tip. set it once and lock the screw, and the line will run truer than any compass. its scratch — the colour of summer when fresh, dark when old — appears down the centre of every mortice in the place.
field-note · pull the gauge toward you, never push. it learns nothing from being shoved.