Kapex angle finder vs. digital angle finder

[SoonerFan]

I did a crown molding job recently where I decided cutting miters would better than coping. In hindsight maybe this was a mistake. Anyway, I used the Kapex angle finder and the results were ok but not great. I had to cut each side of the corners a couple times to get tight miter. I think part of the challenge was drywall mud in the corners causing differences compared to the wall out further. I am curious if others have used the Kapex angle finder for mitered crown corners and if so how were the results? Did you cut once and have tight miters or did it need a little tuning like mine did? Any secrets to use the Kapex angle gauge mitered crown? Or would I simply be better served buying a longer digital angle gauge like the one from Bosch I have started to research.

 

[smorgasbord]

Check the specs carefully: almost every digital angle thingie is accurate to only +/- 0.2 degrees, sometimes 0.1

Matching to your saw’s gauge is probably the hard part anyway.

 

[Packard]

Check the specs carefully: almost every digital angle thingie is accurate to only +/- 0.2 degrees, sometimes 0.1

Matching to your saw’s gauge is probably the hard part anyway.

A vernier (mechanical) protractor will hold +/- 0.0833 degrees. (But expensive, and tighter accuracy than a saw.). A simple machinist’s protractor (mechanical) is capable of matching or bettering the accuracy of its digital counterpart, depending upon the skill of the operator.

Here is a Starrett protractor. General makes a serviceable version for less money. Wood putty, sandpaper and paint should cure any deviation less than 1 degree.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Check the specs carefully: almost every digital angle thingie is accurate to only +/- 0.2 degrees, sometimes 0.1

Matching to your saw’s gauge is probably the hard part anyway.

I have the Bosch digital angle finder (or whatever they call it) and I find accuracy to 1/10th degree an little inadequate for fine work.
But it gets me I the ballpark and it seldom takes more than 2 cuts get it right. To preserve the good miter the other end will be butted to the wall and the adjacent stick will be coped.

 

[Packard]

Picture framers, who have to work to closer tolerances than most wood workers because they are primarily using pre-finished molding, rely on various miter trimming devices.

The two basic methods are:

1. A guillotine-style miter trimmer, made famous by LION. Which works great on wood, but metal moldings defeat it.

2. Angle disc sander. Many are electric powered, but many are manual. Typically only a few tenths of a thousandth inches are removed, and manually driven provides better control.

Angles are adjustable for both, and hand fitting is often the method-of-the-day.

When I was using hand gold leafed mouldings, I would saw the pieces 1/8” to 1/16” over size and hand sand. This to avoid damaging the gold leafing at the miters.

I don’t have my sander anymore, but I do have a LION miter trimmer. Here is what the sander looks like.

NOTE: This looks like a low budget sander. Mine was a very precise piece of equipment. There are also sanding discs take mount on table saws and are used in conjunction with the miter gage, in much the same way. (Though it will remove material too fast for my skill levels with the device.)

 

[nclemmons]

Picture framers, who have to work to closer tolerances than most wood workers because they are primarily using pre-finished molding, rely on various miter trimming devices.

The two basic methods are:

1. A guillotine-style miter trimmer, made famous by LION. Which works great on wood, but metal moldings defeat it.

2. Angle disc sander. Many are electric powered, but many are manual. Typically only a few tenths of a thousandth inches are removed, and manually driven provides better control.

Angles are adjustable for both, and hand fitting is often the method-of-the-day.

When I was using hand gold leafed mouldings, I would saw the pieces 1/8” to 1/16” over size and hand sand. This to avoid damaging the gold leafing at the miters.

I don’t have my sander anymore, but I do have a LION miter trimmer. Here is what the sander looks like.

NOTE: This looks like a low budget sander. Mine was a very precise piece of equipment. There are also sanding discs take mount on table saws and are used in conjunction with the miter gage, in much the same way. (Though it will remove material too fast for my skill levels with the device.)

I have both. The Lion trimmer is great for cleaning up poor cuts from table or miter saws.

But the disc sander is my preference for quickly fine-tuning when framing pictures where the slightest angle miscalculation shows like a real blemish!

Often I'll use both.

 

[SoonerFan]

Check the specs carefully: almost every digital angle thingie is accurate to only +/- 0.2 degrees, sometimes 0.1

Matching to your saw’s gauge is probably the hard part anyway.

It is a challenge especially right around 45 degrees when the detent kicks in. I have had good luck with the Kapex angle finder in the past but not this time for some reason.

 

[SoonerFan]

I have the Bosch digital angle finder (or whatever they call it) and I find accuracy to 1/10th degree an little inadequate for fine work.
But it gets me I the ballpark and it seldom takes more than 2 cuts get it right. To preserve the good miter the other end will be butted to the wall and the adjacent stick will be coped.

You like the Bosch? Do you ever use the Kapex angle finder since you have the Bosch? Looking back, I probably should have just coped.

 

[Michael Kellough]

You like the Bosch? Do you ever use the Kapex angle finder since you have the Bosch? Looking back, I probably should have just coped.

I do use the Bosch for various things but I don’t have the Kapex or the angle finder.