Drawing a centered line along the edge of a board can be a bit of a guessing game unless your tape measure or the rule of your combination square is centered exactly on the board’s thickness. For under $10, Rockler’s new Center/Offset Marking Tool takes manual measuring out of the process: a pair of guide posts straddle the workpiece so you can mark a perfectly centered line along the edge of material up to 1-1/2-in. wide or thick. Just insert your pencil into the center hole, rotate the tool so the guideposts contact the wood, and then scribe. Or, you can hold a pencil against eight different notches to mark lines from 1/16- to 1/2-in. from the edge of a workpiece in precise 1/16-in. increments (1/16-, 1/8-, 3/16-, 1/4-, 5/16-, 3/8-, 7/16- and 1/2-in. notches).
Use the tool for marking out mortises and rabbets, or for making reference lines for drilling holes and centering fasteners. Formed from durable polymer, the tool accepts standard wooden pencils and has an onboard pencil storage slot. An embedded rare-earth magnet lets you store it on any ferrous metal surface, such as a stationary tool or tool chest.
Rockler’s new Center/Offset Marking Tool (item 56094) is available now and sells for $9.99.
