Incra Miter1000SE, Problems ????

[Bill Huber]

I am not sure its the miter gauge or the user.

I set it up right by the manual, space from the blade to gauge was 1/8" and I got the scale for the stop set spot on. I have the gauge on the left side of the blade.

Tonight I went to cut a 45° angle on a 3" board and wow, I had to move the gauge to the left about 1 1/2" to keep from cutting off part of the gauge. This is rotating the head clockwise so to have as much as the board on the table as I can.

So now when I go back to a 90° angel my stop has to be reset all over again.

What have I done wrong or is this normal?

If its normal that sucks.

[joe milana]

Bill, this is normal for the incra gauge and sad to say, me and my tunnel vision didn't notice (cutting some jack miters) and sawed into the gauge...TWICE in one day.....with my sawstop! Two blades and two brakes down the drain! I have moved the fence away from the blade so it clears at any angle, but I'm afraid I am going to move it closer some day to cut something intricate and forget to move it back out!!!

[Dave Lehnert]

Thats the way it works.

Before the Incra I was use to using a miter gauge to the right of the blade.
Was I the only one to do it that way?

[Bill Huber]

Bill, this is normal for the incra gauge and sad to say, me and my tunnel vision didn't notice (cutting some jack miters) and sawed into the gauge...TWICE in one day.....with my sawstop! Two blades and two brakes down the drain! I have moved the fence away from the blade so it clears at any angle, but I'm afraid I am going to move it closer some day to cut something intricate and forget to move it back out!!!


Thanks, that makes me feel better that I was not screwed up, well I am just not on this.

That really sucks, I was not to happy with it to start and I just don't know if I am going to keep it or not. It has some really nice features but this angle thing is a joke.

[Tom Hintz]

Having to adjust the fence for angled cuts is normal on all miter gauges that do not have the pivot directly below the fence itself. I have a little nick in my 1000SE that reminds me about when I discovered the need for the fence adjustment when making miters but fortunately, this is one of those things that I seem to remember so I have not done it again. Yet anyway - I am 60 now....

[Ed Sallee]

Bill.... I had the same problem, only I didn't almost cut in to the gauge.

I've pretty much scrapped the incra fence and just screw on a piece of maple as the sacraficial fence. Works great for me. Once I cut my kerf, I have a point of reference for all my measurements - and I do use incra rulers. That and a stop block do the trick just fine.... plus - the sacraficial fence helps to prevent tear out.

[Matt Meiser]

Ed, you can add a sacrificial fence to the Incra fence. It even comes with hardware to do so. The nice thing about attaching it their way is that you can slide it a little when the kerf gets worn or to readjust when the angle.

I've set my scale up a couple times. I never use it. I measure as Ed says, mark my piece, line up with the kerf and cut. If I'm doing repeated cuts, I mark the first piece that way, set the stop, and make the cuts.

In order to solve the problem originally mentioned, You'd have to have the pivot precisely centered and if you added a sacrificial fence it wouldn't work anyway.

[Zach England]

I just found the closest point to the blade that still allowed full rotation of the fence and made corresponding scribe marks on the fence and gauge, then cut the ruler off accordingly. I still find that the ruler is only useful for rough measurements (within 1/8").

[glenn bradley]

As stated, this is normal. I just have a V-27 that I added a section of telescoping fence to. I bought the fence direct from Incra without the stops and such. I have chosen to pretty much ignore the tape. I move the fence quite a bit and re-calibrating takes longer than the time I would save by having it calibrated.

The fence itself could be better but the gauge is everything I could want for what I do. I flipped my fence and added sandpaper for grip. Certainly not the originally intended configuration but works for how I use it.

[Bill Huber]

Thanks for all the replies, it is really nice to get the information you need when you need it.

So I guess its going, watch the classifieds if you know of someone that wants one.

I just can't see having to readjust it to make a bevel and then readjusting it when you make a miter, for me I will just stick with my EB-3, the stop is not as good on it but I can do everything with it and not have to stop and readjust it.

I really don't care about the rule that much because I measure it to make sure it what I want, but it is still a pain to have to move the thing back and forth every time you want to make a different type cut.

I have a V-27 that I use for my move around gauge from the band saw to the sander to the router table and the table saw and it is great great for that use.

[Myk Rian]

Any miter gauge will do it.

[John Thompson]

I've got two V-27's Bill.. one I use with an Incra 49" fence that I have zero clearance to the blade with and one that has a sacrificial as Ed uses for miters. Not a lot invested as I see it because I use both almost daily.

Good luck however you decide to ride and you should not have any trouble selling it if that is what you want to do.

[Bill Huber]

Any miter gauge will do it.

I am not sure what you mean.

I never have to change my EB-3 for a miter or a bevel cut.

The 1000 is a nice miter gauge but I just don't like having make all the changes for different cuts. Everyone has their likes and dislikes and I guess this is one of my dislikes.

I guess I am just to picky, I want it all.....:D:D

[george wilson]

I had so much trouble with the slippery aluminum fence letting the wood slide sideways a little bit when I was cutting it,I finally added a piece of wood to the front edge. That stopped the wood from slipping. So far I haven't sawed the fence on my Incra,though.

Has anyone else had trouble with the wood slipping while sawing"

[Bill Huber]

I had so much trouble with the slippery aluminum fence letting the wood slide sideways a little bit when I was cutting it,I finally added a piece of wood to the front edge. That stopped the wood from slipping. So far I haven't sawed the fence on my Incra,though.

Has anyone else had trouble with the wood slipping while sawing"

I added some MDF to the front with some sticky back sandpaper and that took care of that.

Now when you do that you kill the indents that they talk about on the stop so board can not get behind the stop.

[Tom Hintz]

I added some MDF to the front with some sticky back sandpaper and that took care of that.


I have added the wood/sandpaper on all of my miter gauges since an old cabinetmaker showed me why I was having so much trouble. It's easy to do and makes a bunch of difference.