Woodpeckers Protractor (ruler)

[pijol]

Recently Woodpeckers released the protractor for the t-square as a onetime tool. This month, they released the same type of protractor but then for the rulers. I decided to buy one of those, hoping it could fulfill the following:

• Repeatable angles
• Easy measuring the length of an angled corner from the start of the wood till point X

To start with the good things, it came well packaged and fits like a charm on my existing rulers. There is a slight height difference between the ruler and the part of the ruler that is connected to the protractor, but that is not really important. Just as Woodpeckers claimed, the protractor arrived calibrated in exactly 90 degrees. Changing the angle is easy by loosening the 2 knots on the back. Woodpeckers made it so that when flipping the protractor, the angle stays the same.

As far as the cons go, I wasn't able to make repeatable angles. For me it was very difficult to place the indicator exactly on the line. Even a hair of, results in a different angle. In the end, I ended up sawing some pieces of wood using my TSO MTR that has the option to pin different angles. Using those pieces of wood, I set the right angle for the protractor, but this beats the purpose of the protractor.

All in all, it is not what I hoped it would be.

 

[Cheese]

That's unfortunate... [sad] ...but getting good repeatable results without using positive stops is always problematic. I used a Vemco drafting machine for years and that was repeatable ONLY because of the extra vernier scale next to the head and even then you still had to be very careful.

Those reasons are exactly why I purchased the Woodpeckers Posi-Lock T-square with positive detents every 5º. It may not be as versatile as the one you purchased but it is repeatable and fits my needs.

If that also works for you, consider talking with Woodpeckers to work something out, it's worth a try.  [smile]
https://www.woodpeck.com/posi-locktm-t-square.html

[attachimg=1]

 

[thudchkr]

Appreciate the review.  I am currently in need of a protractor that I can lay flat atop my boards and was almost ready to place the order for the Woodpeckers head.  I also looked for other options and instead, settled on the Starrett protractor head to use with my Starrett rules which I have in 12", 18" and 24" lengths.  The head may not be as large as the Woodpeckers offering, but it's tough to beat Starrett precision and quality.  I doubt that it would be any more repeatable than the Woodpecker head, but the ability to set the angle as well as the distance the ruler protrudes from the head will be a plus for the Starrett. 

 

[Packard]

I don’t have an immediate need for a protractor, but I did some research a while back.

The Shinwa sliding bevel seemed to meet my woodworking needs.  They will lock positively with a thumb nut.

Ships free with Prime from Amazo.com at just $49.00.  It is designed for woodworkers and made in Japan when I checked a couple of years ago.
https://thewoodworking.club/shop/shinwa-aluminium-sliding-bevel-30cm

 

[amandawil]

Hey, thanks for sharing your experience with the Woodpeckers protractor. It's always helpful to hear real-world feedback. It's a shame it didn't work out as expected for repeatable angles, but it's great that you found a workaround with your TSO MTR. Don't be discouraged, though! Keep experimenting with different tools and techniques until you find what works best for you.  Good luck!

 

[Packard]

Lee Valley also makes a viable alternative, with 9” and 20” rulers.

I’ve made it no secret that I find the “One Time Tool” concept ridiculous.  It is “let’s see if this sticks to the wall” engineering.  I feel that a manufacturer should have enough faith in their design to make a production run, advertise it and sell it. 

The One Time Tool concept has them make a prototype.  Advertise it.  Wait until they get enough orders to produce it, and then ship. 

It is a business model turned upside down because CNC machining and online advertising do not require much investment. 

In any case, Lee Valley appears to have a viable alternative for less than $30.00.  It has a 9” and 20” ruler and a built in mechanical protractor.  I have not tested it so I cannot make any recommendation.  But the components that go into this have (mechanical protractor, rulers) have been in use for generations and should work.

The protractor has fixed stops at 45 degrees and 90 degrees.  The rest are set on an analog scale.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...PqSzaY1Vkl67_m-52wFb86pEPIp7luSYaAoYGEALw_wcB

 

[smorgasbord]

I still use one of these. Has the largest scale I’ve seen in any such woodworking tool, which for me is the key to accuracy.

[attachimg=1]
https://books.google.com/books?id=EZJzG4ZVq3AC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=anglewright+protractor&source=bl&ots=6RgnvgUmVh&sig=ACfU3U0eQiMXe94aZZwBSgUnmPbQES8GoA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2g8WFoZeFAxXMLUQIHUxgDic4ChDoAXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=anglewright%20protractor&f=false

 

[woodferret]

CNC pallets take time and storage.  Along with the testing and calibration rigs.  If you want a CNC slap it on the bed and run blind, you can always shop at temu.

 

[smorgasbord]

BTW, the Digital Angle Finders that are available between $10 and $50 are almost all spec'd to an:
• Accuracy of +/- 0.2º
• Repeatability of +/- 0.1º
• Resolution of 0.01º

Accuracy is the one that matters for things like picture frames, repeatability can be useful, but having a higher resolution just introduces noise into the system. I'm sure we have engineers here who can better explain the differences.

 

[woodferret]

As engineers, we were mostly taught only precision vs accuracy.  They've kinda split precision into display units (resolution) and repeatability.  I blame marketing.  Engineers will take 'repeatability' as what we understand as precision.

Say the actual real world number is 1.245  Accuracy means it will always return a value between 1.045-1.445 (think table saw tilt gauge marks being stamped slightly off, but good enough) Precision would mean we'd get a reliable reading of 1.0-1.4  Display resolution means diddly squat and is just a random number in the 0.0X decimal place.

 

[Packard]

For me, repeatability is more important than accuracy.

Let’s say I want to build a wall of cabinets that are 43” tall.  If it turns out that the cabinets are 43-1/4” or 42-7/8” they will fit on the wall just fine.

But whichever dimension I end up with, it is essential that they all have side panels that are identical in length.  Otherwise the mounted cabinets will make a jagged line on the wall.

So I measure 43” and clamp a stop block so that all the pieces are identical in length.  I make a stack of the side panels and I can see that they ar identical in length.  Repeatability.

And the top panel has to be identical in size to the bottom panel.  Repeatability.

While my precision only requires that I work to the nearest 1/8”, my repeatability has to be much more precise than that.

I have a dovetail jig.  I have no idea what the dimensions of the pins and tails are.  But they fit together.  Reliably.  Repeatable.

With precise measurements you can end up with repeatable results, but you can end up there with imprecise measurements too.

 

[MikeGE]

Not to distract from the conversation, but I think it's strange that a thread created by a one-post member is resurrected nearly a year later by what might be another one-post member.  What is the possible motive?

 

[squall_line]

Not to distract from the conversation, but I think it's strange that a thread created by a one-post member is resurrected nearly a year later by what might be another one-post member.  What is the possible motive?

The original post was probably a legitimate review from a long-time lurker who decided not to continue to participate on the boards.  The necro-bump (resurrection of the thread from the grave) was likely a spam bot that was/is supposed to return at a later date to edit their post with a spam link.

 

[Cheese]

The original post was probably a legitimate review from a long-time lurker who decided not to continue to participate on the boards.  The necro-bump (resurrection of the thread from the grave) was likely a spam bot that was/is supposed to return at a later date to edit their post with a spam link.

Well that'll be interesting... [popcorn] [popcorn] [popcorn]

 

[Packard]

The original post was probably a legitimate review from a long-time lurker who decided not to continue to participate on the boards.  The necro-bump (resurrection of the thread from the grave) was likely a spam bot that was/is supposed to return at a later date to edit their post with a spam link.

Well that'll be interesting... [popcorn] [popcorn] [popcorn]

You mean that after the post was up for a while, come back and edit the post and add a spam link?  It sounds like it would work.  Maybe there is some sort of fail-safe to prevent that from happening.

 

[squall_line]

The original post was probably a legitimate review from a long-time lurker who decided not to continue to participate on the boards.  The necro-bump (resurrection of the thread from the grave) was likely a spam bot that was/is supposed to return at a later date to edit their post with a spam link.

Well that'll be interesting... [popcorn] [popcorn] [popcorn]

You mean that after the post was up for a while, come back and edit the post and add a spam link?  It sounds like it would work.  Maybe there is some sort of fail-safe to prevent that from happening.

The bots do that all the time.  The original post probably won't see that edit, but the newer post is the type that I eventually report as post-hoc edit spam almost weekly.

 

[Cheese]

You mean that after the post was up for a while, come back and edit the post and add a spam link?  It sounds like it would work.  Maybe there is some sort of fail-safe to prevent that from happening.

Exactly...

With the amount of traffic/viewers on the FOG, new spam posts don't last long. I'd guess they're all caught & removed within 30 minutes or less. I've reported spam at least 20 times.

The only way to spam the FOG that will provide more than a 30 minute life, is to come back and modify a post. The spam will be added but the message will not go to the top of the list and thus will not be noticed.

 

[Packard]

The amount of traffic on FOG seems way down from a couple of years ago.  I can make a post and 3 hours later come back and see that my post was still the most recent.

That would not have happened in the past.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I still use one of these. Has the largest scale I’ve seen in any such woodworking tool, which for me is the key to accuracy.

[attachimg=1]
https://books.google.com/books?id=EZJzG4ZVq3AC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=anglewright+protractor&source=bl&ots=6RgnvgUmVh&sig=ACfU3U0eQiMXe94aZZwBSgUnmPbQES8GoA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2g8WFoZeFAxXMLUQIHUxgDic4ChDoAXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=anglewright%20protractor&f=false

I took a far more simple approach to this. I built a wooden version that is permanently fixed at 45 degrees. Then I compensate for that angle in the angle I actually need.
This is how I got the 65 degree cuts on those aluminum frame parts, from the last job.
Set the saw for a 20 degree cut, clamp the fixture in place and you get a 65 degree cut, without making a moveable jig. The saw already has one.

The only way to spam the FOG that will provide more than a 30 minute life, is to come back and modify a post. The spam will be added but the message will not go to the top of the list and thus will not be noticed.

I can see that working, but doesn't it also work against itself? Sure, the spam post is there, but if it is buried in the past, it sees no traffic either? If someone does find it through a search and bumps it up, the same smack-down comes pretty quickly.

 

[smorgasbord]

I took a far more simple approach to this. I built a wooden version that is permanently fixed at 45 degrees. Then I compensate for that angle in the angle I actually need.
This is how I got the 65 degree cuts on those aluminum frame parts, from the last job.
Set the saw for a 20 degree cut, clamp the fixture in place and you get a 65 degree cut, without making a moveable jig. The saw already has one.

I'm on a quest for accurate angle measuring. The digital ones are typically +/- 0.2º, which isn't close to accurate enough. Better ones, like $300 Mitutoyo's are +/-0.1º, but only near 0º and near 90º.

My AngleWright is accurate to +/-0.083º, which is the best I've found so far, but its angle range is, as you can see, only 45º to 90º. So you have to jig up with fixed 45º angle blocks or 90º squares to get the 0-45.

Cutting a 150mm hexagon on my tablesaw sled a while back took a bit of trial and error before I got them perfect. I've now got a swing arm on that sled, but haven't yet got something calibrate-able to be able to mark the sled's bottom. I do have a stop that I can adjust for 5-cut dead-on square, but that's as far as I've gone.