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Is there a difference between how the LMI Gramil functions versus a Wheel Marking Guage?

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Aoibeann

function as in how you pull it? Not too much. Function as in what it does? Yes a lot. The gramil cuts a channel based in the width of the tooled cutter, the Wheel marker only cuts a light line to use as a refferance mark

Thanks for the input Michael and Todd as i was wondering the same thing as Lillian!

the lmi gramil is different from a purfling cutter, which has two blades and will cut the sides for a purfling trough. the lmi gramil with the black aluminum body only has a single blade and cuts a line, akin to what the wheeled marking gauge cuts, but it will cut on straight lines, and both inside and outside curves. a marking gauge will only cut straights and outside curves.

and as todd says, a marking gauge will not serve to mark the binding ledge because of its inabiity to cut uniformly on an inside curve.crazymanmichael39005.5589467593

Lillian, I agree with the rest.... the Wheel Marking Guage is just that, a MARKING tool. Besides it wouldn't be able to take the curvature of the waist and cutaway areas very well either.
StewMac also offer another version that waorks pretty well too!
Sloane Purfling Cutter

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Peter M.
Cornerstone Guitars
http://www.cornerstoneukes.com

Wow, I bet that wheel cutter on the marking gauge is a pain in the wotsit to sharpen!!!

The Gramil is one of the best tools out there. It's simple, and can save some serious heartache when using it prior to cutting with a binding jig like what I use with the rabbet bits. If there was any unknown chance of tearout, the Gramil can eliminate it, and on an expensive set of wood, that's pretty important.

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks everyone. I completely spaced the waist area when I was thinking about maybe using the marking guage instead of investing in the gramil. I kept envisioning using it on the lower bout.

And Sam, I can't think of an easy way to sharpen the blade either. I guess that's why their replacements are so inexpensive.

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Aoibeann

Get a gramil, best luthiery investment you will ever make, it will save the heartache when that very expensive LS redwood top doesn't get tearout when routing the binding. I have both the LMI style and the standard Violin style (SM call it the Sloane, but this style has been around for generations). I use them both but tend to use the Sloane style with one blade removed most of the time, no reason it's just the one I bought first.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Colin, it is now on my Wish List. Thanks.

Todd, thanks. I'll keep that in mind.

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Aoibeann