Caliper Gauge Block

Since most of my woodworking involves the lathe, I was constantly setting up my calipers to different dimensions using a ruler. This was always time-consuming and it was easy to make mistakes. To speed the process, I made this simple gauge from a piece of 3/4" scrap hardwood with incremental steps matching my most commonly used dimensions. Mounted to one of the support legs of my lathe, it takes only a moment to set the calipers perfectly every time.

You can make your gauge any size you want, with as many steps and dimensions as you need. Depending on how you mount it, mark the steps either vertically or horizontally to make the measurements easy to read. Initially, you’ll need to measure very carefully when making the gauge to give you the highest accuracy possible, but you’ll only need to make those measurements once. 
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