I finished turning the knob for this yesterday, so now I feel ok about posting the project. I found plans for this gauge in an old issue of Woodworker's Journal. The wood is all from a dead oak tree that I cut down last month, except for the bar, because I wanted to ensure stability, and two thin walnut strips in the knob. The guide base is finished with 6 coats of Minwax Wipe on Poly and the knob was finished on the lathe with Shellawax Cream.
I'll use the extra block of wood on the table with the dado cut to zero the blade. Uses for the gauge will be to ensure the table is square to the blade, the fence is parallel and as a stop if I need to cut multiple thin strips and want to move the fence after every cut.
I used the band saw to mill the logs, table saw, dado blade, jig saw, drum sander, disk sander, drill press and lathe. The only non-SS tools I used are a bow saw and chain saw for the initial cutting and to make one flat side for the bandsaw.
The wild grain on the main body of the gauge came from a crotch area. The camera didn't catch any of the highlights.
