Exact-90 Miter Gauge

[jbarr]

do you know if a metric version is planned or being considered?

I can't believe that a metric version or a combined metric/imperial fence has not been considered particularly when so many of their tools have metric versions. A deal breaker

 

[Packard]

Incra makes a metric miter gage and it seems similar to the Woodpeckers version.  $200.00 from Amazon.

 

[Claimdude]

Jeff,

The measurements are in the pic below. Full disclosure, I copied this pic created by Dusty in the Shopsmith Forum. Let me know if the 90 degree miter bar will fit please. I have a lot of Woodpecker red in my shop.

Thanks
Jack

Do you know the dimensions of the Shopsmith 520 miter slot? If it is nominally 3/8" x 3/4", it will fit. The springs give it a pretty good range from slightly undersized to considerably oversized.

 

[Cheese]

Jeff, I'm assuming when these are set at the factory, they're set to the same accuracy of your squares, ±.0085º, is that correct?

 

[Dr. P. Venkman]

Incra makes a metric miter gage and it seems similar to the Woodpeckers version.  $200.00 from Amazon.

Incra makes terrific miter gauges. 

But the two largest appeals for me of this particular product are the fact that it's 90 degrees only and the leaf springs.

 

[Packard]

I suspect that the reason no one other than Woodpeckers makes this is that it is so easy to make a highly accurate crosscut sled.

Woodpeckers has built its entire One Time Tool business on the business model that says, "Since we only have programming and no tooling involved, let's try all sorts of ridiculous designs and see if any of them stick."

So I view all their new products with a jaundiced eye.  They will take orders for new items but will not invest in producing them until a fixed number of orders are received.  So if you buy one of their sillier items it could  take six months before they accumulate enough orders to produce the parts. 

I would buy one of their miter bars if you are in love with that and use it for a cross cut sled.

Microjig also makes a zero play miter bar ($35.00 for a set of two). https://www.microjig.com/products/miter-bar-2pk


Incra sells precision miter bars for $16.00 each: https://www.ptreeusa.com/tablesaw_miter_bars.html

 

[Dr. P. Venkman]

I would buy one of their miter bars if you are in love with that and use it for a cross cut sled.

I do like that they sell the bar on its own.  Since none of it will be available until December, I haven't put much effort into thinking about whether I might purchase the entire gauge, just the bar, or neither, (or both!) but it looks like an awfully nice setup.

 

[Packard]

The miter bars from Woodpeckers uses several nylon adjusters.  They will wear, but can be further adjusted when they do.  It should last a while.

The Microjig uses two full-length halves.  With a much larger bearing surface the wear should spread more evenly.  And those bars are adjustable too.

Fine Woodworking has reviewed the Microjig:https://www.finewoodworking.com/2020/09/01/tool-review-microjig-zeroplay-360-sled-kit

It has been in production for a while so there are many online reviews too. Mostly positive.  It won't fit Ryobi saws and some others, so read the reviews. 
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=microjig+miter+bar+reviews

 

[jeffinsgf]

Jeff, I'm assuming when these are set at the factory, they're set to the same accuracy of your squares, ±.0085º, is that correct?

That is correct.

 

[jbarr]

Incra makes a metric miter gage and it seems similar to the Woodpeckers version.  $200.00 from Amazon.

Incra makes terrific miter gauges. 

But the two largest appeals for me of this particular product are the fact that it's 90 degrees only and the leaf springs.

The Incra's have a slide-in tape measure so its easy to have imperial or metric but the Woodpeckers is laser engraved. I can't see why Woodpecker can't incorporate a similar system to the Incra's or have two optional fences.

I also like the idea of having a 90 deg only gauge that will reliably stay at 90 but the other appeal of the Woodpecker's is the length of the miter bar which allows for 24" (600mm) crosscuts.

but ......... by the time its shipped actual delivery could be almost 7 months away. That's ridiculous!

 

[Claimdude]

[attachimg=1]

Do you know the dimensions of the Shopsmith 520 miter slot? If it is nominally 3/8" x 3/4", it will fit. The springs give it a pretty good range from slightly undersized to considerably oversized.

 

[ILoveTools]

Hmmmm, maybe I'm naive, but this gizmo seems to solve a lot of miter gauge problems. It's on my shopping list.  [wink]
=146s
=21s

 

[jeffinsgf]

[attachimg=1]

Sorry.  The bar itself measures .740.

 

[Packard]

Hmmmm, maybe I'm naive, but this gizmo seems to solve a lot of miter gauge problems. It's on my shopping list.  [wink]

If all you want to do is 45 and 90 degree cuts like the Woodpecker's device, you can accomplish that with your regular miter gage and a good combination square, which most of us already own.  No investment required.  No space taken up in your shop either.

 

[ILoveTools]

Thanks Packard. I am aware of what you suggested. I'm sure it would work just fine for the 45's and 90's. But I have an upcoming project that requires a a 39 degree cut. Plus, my combination square sucks, and I would rather apply the cost of a better one on the MiterSet device. Finally, there's gonna be a lot of other projects in the future that undoubtedly will have "non-standard" angle cuts in their plans. 

 

[Packard]

This is just a discussion.  I'm not trying to sell you anything.

I did notice that Kreg's miter gage has a vernier scale for accurate setting of the angles.  The vernier scale does not guarantee that the miter gage was produced accurately though.  I have not read anything on this unit.

It got a good review. https://www.woodmagazine.com/review...s/miter-gauges-sleds/kreg-kms7102-miter-gauge

I personally have no need for that precision.  I have a radial arm saw that I use for cutoffs and a DeWalt chop saw for chops.  And a  sliding table miter saw for 45 degree only cuts (leftover from my picture framing business, this is a dedicated picture framing saw and perfectly accurate with glass smooth cuts.)  This saw gets the smoothest cuts of any saw I own.

 

[ChuckM]

Hmmmm, maybe I'm naive, but this gizmo seems to solve a lot of miter gauge problems. It's on my shopping list.  [wink]

I got one of the sets last year (frankly because it was on clearance sale; 30% off or more?), but I have yet to use it (too busy with other regular furniture projects...may be until now).

I don't know if it'd an issue as there's some play in slot on the miterset with the SawStop miter gauge bar. The spring bearings on the bar are not in contact with the slot. I suppose I have to hold the bar against one edge of the slot when setting the angle.

 

[ILoveTools]

"I suppose I have to hold the bar against one edge of the slot when setting the angle."

Would a couple of layers of blue tape fix that problem?

 

[jbarr]

I bought the Miterset a few years ago and ended up selling it as it has one major flaw, as mentioned above it has to be a perfect snug fit or you have to hold it against one edge. In my case I was using an Incra 1000SE gauge and the expansion wheels on the miter bar led to inconsistencies. Even as much as 0.4 deg out between two separate measurements. They even added a warning on their web site (soon after I complained) to do with miter bars that had expansion discs or pins like the Kreg's and Incra's. Their customer service was great, they even sent me another one but it had the same problem. So it seems to work with "older" gauges.

 

[ChuckM]

"I suppose I have to hold the bar against one edge of the slot when setting the angle."

Would a couple of layers of blue tape fix that problem?

Not sure about the blue tape, but just holding the bar (flat side that doesn't have the spring bearings) against the slot should do the trick. If a bar (like the Incra bars I use for jigs) has expansion wheels, that can be problematic.

There's another way to set your miter gauge to any odd angle without spending $ on the miterset (as I said, I wouldn't have got it at its regular retail price).

Get an inclinometerhttps://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...al-inclinometer-for-tool-setting?item=88N9050 (Cdn price shown).

Zero out the digital meter on the bar, then set the angle on the fence with the meter.

The tilt box, which has many uses, is a must-have in any shop that handles angled joinery. I tried other brands, but found the tilt box the best.