Gage Blocks

[trainguytom]

Here is a link from Woodcraft. The brass set up gauges are for setting up precise distances and depths for router, tablesaws, etc. I have a set and have used them a couple of times.
There is a good explanation better than mine in this link from Woodcraft. I am sure many other sites carry them as well.
Tim.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/200485 ... ges-4.aspx

Oh, for Pete's sake...is that all they are??? I guess I just didn't realize that they had a real name & that you could actually buy them.
I made a set years ago from wood scraps.

[holsgo]

I think you guys covered it. Not really a woodworking necessity though but really handy for metal setup on a milling machine.

[curiousgeorge]

You can buy set up bars at your local big box or local hardware stores. It's called "Key Stock" and comes in various sizes and lengths.

[JPG]

For woodworking setup brass bars are preferable as they will not dull cutters as a harder steel bar would.

[keakap]

I found this amazingly useful gage block that has been in my shop (used on every project but never as a gage block) for many years.
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...like the high quality 6" rule and a good set of twist drill bits.

And Dusty I doubt that I'm sticking my neck out too far in betting that you also have a set of precision arc templates and circle gages (provided by U.S. taxpayers and come with unconditional guaranty- in God we trust, doncha know).

As for the other gages, I whimmed my way to a Veritas (Way different than the one shown) set (on sale big time) a year or two ago and they've become almost a benchtop fixture. Great for the router table especially. So nice to just grab something that says what you're looking for right on it, and is absolutely accurate and dependable, regardless heat or humdidity. Funny thing- I just remembered this set comes with a gauge block that I've never used.
Dang. Now I have to go look at that thing to figure out why...

later...(pics frothcoming)
Aha! Turns out the big ol' block in the kit is a 1-2-3 block, full o holes (assume to get weight down) which have no setup usage that I can see).

[videobear]

I think there is some misunderstanding of what gauge blocks really are.
You can call any block sized to provide a reference measurement of some sort a "gauge block", but real gauge blocks are very precisely machined steel pieces. The faces are so smooth and flat that you can press two of them together and they will adhere to one another simply due to attraction between the steel molecules.

They usually come in sets, and are stuck together in just this fashion to make up the desired measurement.

They are also called "Johannsen blocks" or "Jo blocks" after their inventor.

Here's a link to a Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_block

Those who mentioned that they are more important to metalworkers than woodworkers are absolutely correct...but even woodworkers working to close tolerances may find them useful for machine setup and alignment.

[jimthej]

I made myself a 1-2-3 block out of glued up MDF and sanded it very carefully to size and square, and 4 coats of spar varnish. It lives in my apron pocket. Most frequent use: adjusting the Rip Fence Scale to "0" with the blade when the upper blade guard is installed.
Slap it on the table, slide it up to the blade teeth, bring the rip fence gently up to the block, (don't flex the blade), lightly lock the fence, adjust the Rip Scale to the correct mark(I usually use 3"), put block in pocket. Voilá,

[bffulgham]

Here is the set of gauge blocks that I use extensively:
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The blade on my ancient Starrett is 1" wide.
I bought the brass bars from Speedy Metals several years ago. At the time, the set of 12" stock was about the same price I could have bought the 'standard' short set from someplace like Rockler or Woodcraft.....before the price of brass went stupid-high. My original intent was to cut the 12" bars into 3 sets @ 4".....Keep one set and give the other 2 sets as Christmas gifts. But, I used the full length bars to set the rip fence on my 510 once, and immediately decided to be selfish and keep the set intact. The 12" length of the bars made them very stable. They are a little cumbersome to set up bit depth on the router, but I can suffer thru it
I have not checked, but it may be cost effective to go with aluminum stock....maybe more so than brass.

This is a little chart I put together so I could grab the correct bars to set up from 1/8" to 1" using just the brass bars. Between 1" and 2", I add the rule from the Starrett.
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It is on my Round-2-It list to get a set of key stock to use for router setup as mentioned by CuriousGeorge:

You can buy set up bars at your local big box or local hardware stores. It's called "Key Stock" and comes in various sizes and lengths.

Bud