What do I use to make a height gage scriber?

I fully understand your position however an import scribe tool is one of the least expensive tools that you will buy. You can buy one in a Red Box for $43.20 and you then have a Red Box tool to show off to friends and visitors (-:
Many feel that this is worth the money.

Whilst I understand where you are coming from, I don't find the need to brag to my friends about what I've got !
I get far more interest in the things that I make.
 
If I interpret the Patterson design mentioned in post 1 correctly, the idea is to use a calliper temporarily as a height gauge, keeping it intact for regular duty after that.
 
If I interpret the Patterson design mentioned in post 1 correctly, the idea is to use a calliper temporarily as a height gauge, keeping it intact for regular duty after that.

He uses a dial caliper in the same way as I used the digital one !

The reason I made mine as I did was because of the difficulty of setting a precise value using the thumb wheel. Also being able to go from one value to another from a zero reference, or being able to zero at any point and then move to a new measurement.
For instance from a center line and moving to an accurate value above or below it.
 
The Patterson design does not call for cutting a jaw off the caliper nor removing the depth probe. The caliper, whether analog or digital, remains intact.....or am I missing something???
 
Last edited:
Thank you all for your posts, very interesting comments and opinions.
BaronJ, I appreciate the answers and pics, your height gauge design is unique/ obviously very functional and accurate.

Mikey, thank you for your post and also for your advice, the Patterson design does not call for that type clamp though , the idea of buying the scriber has already been brought up but I happen to enjoy salvaging through my part bins and also re-shaping or repurposing stuff so last night I actually found a nice rectangular 1/4" hss bit that would be perfect for the scriber.
The Paterson design does not call for cutting a jaw off the caliber nor removing the depth probe. The caliber, whether analog or digital, remains intact.....or am I missing something???
you're right , the reason I am following the Patterson design is so the caliper could perform the two functions as, A= a caliper and B= a DRO. just like you said :
the idea is to use a caliper temporarily as a height gauge, keeping it intact for regular duty after that.
We are talking about two totally different designs, the one Baron made has a dedicated DRO and it is not removeable as I understand.

I'm all set for now, I have all the parts that I need to complete the task.
Again I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and opinions, . definitely enjoyed reading your posts, learned a few thing in the process.
 
Last edited:
Given that your scribe needs to be able to extend down to the reference surface, I would buy the scribe and focus on making the rectangular clamp to bind it to the movable foot. Here is a stainless steel scribe with a carbide tip for cheap: https://www.amazon.ca/scriber-Heigh...40963748&sr=8-21&keywords=height+gauge+scribe

This is what you would need to make, fit specifically to your needs: https://www.amazon.ca/HHIP-4300-015...540963948&sr=1-10&keywords=height+gauge+clamp

I can understand wanting to make everything from scratch, believe me, but sometimes you also need to be practical. A carbide scriber will likely last the rest of your life, for under $15 Canadian.
The sizes of those components are not really given, the scribe has no sizing, the clamp says it is 15 cm in each direction, perhaps a bit large... :eek 2: It would be easier to start with raw stock than a component that is not of a useful size.
 
I agree, Bob, but what I meant was that it would be easier to buy the scribe and make the clamp. Starrett made some thin scribes for their height gauges that were based on their dial calipers; they would be perfect for this project.
 
Back
Top