Best After Market Miter Guage(s)

[Kent Wagner]

I have the original miter guage that came with my PM 66 about 17 yrs ago. I've always considered it less than stellar, but back then there weren't many options for an after market guage like there is now. Plus it was a step up compared to the guages on my prior owned tablesaws. In looking at purchasing one now, I've considered Kreg, Incra, Osborne as well as making making various guage slot sleds. What is everyone using and what are your opinions? Thanks.

[Neil Brooks]

Love my Incra 1000SE, but have also heard nothing but praise for the Osborne.

HTH.

[Andrew Hughes]

Hey Kent,I have a kreg i also use plywood sleds.I still use the miter gauge that came with the saw just have to dimple the metal bar occasionally with a pointy punch to fit the saws miter slots.I also like the five cut method to square them up.hope this helps.Andrew

[Kent A Bathurst]

Love my Incra 1000SE.

+1

1010101010

[Tony Zaffuto]

I've had a Woodhaven for years (probably ten years) that is great. Earlier this year I bought an Incra for my bandsaw. I find myself using the Incra more than the Woodhaven.

[Aaron Berk]

The only aftermarket gauge I've used is my Incra 1000SE

AND I LOVE IT

I've had a total of 6 table saws through the yrs, and only one Incra that I bought used when I got my 2nd TS


Plus One on the 1000SE

[Cary Falk]

I have the Incra 1000se along with the Miter Express and love it. The ones that always come up in these threads are in no particluar order:
Incra 1000se(the V27 is a cheap alternative.)
Osborne EB-3
JessEm Mite-R-excel
Woodhaven Deluxe
Kreg Precision

Each have their haters as well.

[scott spencer]

I've owned an Incra V27, Osborne EB-3, and a Woodhaven Deluxe. All are good gauges with different strengths. The Incra is well made, goes to 60°, and is easy and accurate...the V27 needs a fence, but the 1000 provides it. The EB-3 is well made, accurate, and easy to use, and comes with a great fence with an extension on it....it's a little bigger and more cumbersome than the V27 but is my go to miter gauge. The Woodhaven is built like a tank...extremely well machined, rugged, and precise, but is the most difficult to change angles on because you need to completely remove the brass thumb screw every time you change angles. Pick the one you like...hard to go wrong with any of them.

[Jerome Hanby]

+1 on the Incra miter 1000se. I use mine practically every time I work in the shop. Wish it had a big brother would be nice if it's base length was about double along with the telescoping part!

[Bill Huber]

Here is a thread you may want to go read.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?117924-Incra-Miter1000SE-Problems&highlight=miter+gauge

I have the Osborne EB-3 and a V-27, love them both. The EB-3 is the one I use the most but I do use the V-27 for quick angle cuts and I also use it on the Band saw, Router table and my Ridgid sander.

The EB-3 is large but you don't even notice it after you use it for awhile. I don't have to change anything on it to make a bevel cut, which I really like.
The only thing I could say about the EB-3 that I didn't like was the stop, but then I found a fix for that it works just fine now.

If you do a search on miter gauge you will find a few pages of threads on the subject, some really good reading.

[Prashun Patel]

I use the Incra 1000SE. After about 2 years, I have no complaints. It's extremely accurate, and easy to adjust and to calibrate. The flip stop works great. People complain about the adjustment knob/nuts, but I really like them: using the screwdriver to tighten after adjustment instead of fat fingers allows you to snug things up very well with minimal risk of movement.

Do be advised, though, that the Incra is polarizing. People either love it like me or hate it. It goes on sale frequently on AMZN and is usually easily resold for good value around here.

[Chuong Nguyen]

I bought the Incra 1000HD about 6 months ago and am very happy with it. It's basically the 1000SE, but with more angle stop points.

[Lee Schierer]

Hey Kent,I have a kreg i also use plywood sleds.I still use the miter gauge that came with the saw just have to dimple the metal bar occasionally with a pointy punch to fit the saws miter slots.I also like the five cut method to square them up.hope this helps.Andrew

I also have a Kreg miter gauge and really like it. It switches easily from left to right and is highly accurate. As far as fitting the miter slot, it comes with side set screws that get rid of the slop.

I found with my old miter gauge that the center punch trick on the sides only lasted a short while. I located some .003 thick UHMW tap and attached that to the sides and it lasts for years and gets rid of the slop much better than the dimples ever did.

[Terry Beadle]

I have the Kreg and it's dead accurate. I also have a sled for small pieces. I've used the Kreg for picture frames and mitered corners on boxes. Works well for me and the price was very competitive.

Enjoy the process !

[glenn bradley]

You are fortunate in that there are a lot of good gauges out there now to choose from. Your level of satisfaction will directly correlate to the gauge you select, what you are planning to do with it and the saw you use it on. I have a couple Incra V-27's which are an early 'upper-end' miter gauge that is still offered. With the addition of an Incra extruded fence they are very serviceable, reliable and repeatable (one on the tablesaw and one on the router table). I bought the first one at the retail price of about $35 so that was awhile ago. The other one I got about a year ago, on sale, online somewhere for $49. I got the second one based on a few years experience with the first.

As I said, the "simple" V-27 may not meet your needs but, there are many steps up in the Incra line. Kreg, Osborne, Woodhaven, JDS and others offer very nice units. I would take the type of work done by those giving an opinion into account, including mine, when making your decision. I do mostly Greene and Greene styled tables, dressers and so forth although I also do a fair amount of small gift box and picture frame work. As such, my miter gauge demands are fairly basic; I need it to cut the angle I set it at and do it again when I return to that setting next week. ;-)

[Jerome Hanby]

I think when all is said and done you have to ask yourself, which one comes in cool Iron Man colors? :D

Then the choice is obvious!

[Matt Kestenbaum]

I have not owned any other than the Kreg...I like a lot and feel I have gotten every penny's worth from it. I have found it very easy to dial-in to dead accurate. That said I always thought the models will the angled locking arms looked very sensible (the osbourne and Dewalt made one too, i think.)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

At the advice of some here, I bought the V-27 and the Osborne EB-3.

I just came in from the shop. I am building a oak entertainment center. I can't tell you how well the V-27 works as I haven't gotten past using the Obsorne. After you use it for a while, it doesn't feel cumbersome, it feels like an old friend you can count on.

[Doug Colombo]

+4 (I think-I lost count) for the Incra 1000SE - I have one and love it. I have not used any of the others listed above but I am sure that any of these will work well for you.

[Jim Colombo]

Check out this thread www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?165943-Oops-!!!!!&highlight=

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

The HMR special.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz35/HarveyMelvinRichards/P4221461Large.jpg

[Aaron Berk]

Now this is sweet. Nice one Harvy


The HMR special.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz35/HarveyMelvinRichards/P4221461Large.jpg

[Kent Wagner]

Thanks to all who replied. I really appreciate the info and opinions. It sounds like any of the "major brands will do the job I'm asking for, so I think my search will now be aimed toward the best deal or deals I can find. Thanks again! Btw, the HMR Special is definitely cool and does raise the option of a custom rig!

[glenn bradley]

The HMR is sweet! You could also go commercial on that style from JDS:

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

When I made my HMR special 15 years ago, the JDS was one of the few decent aftermarket miter gauges available, so mine is based on it. The clamping mechanism is from JDS.

Most of the decent aftermarket gauges will perform better than the OP's original Powermatic.

[glenn bradley]

If it were up to me, I'd prefer the HMR special. That is one sweet build Harvey.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

This is a new one that I've designed. They are about 3/4 made, and a much easier design to machine.

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/zz35/HarveyMelvinRichards/MiterGauge.jpg

[Mark Engel]

I had the JDS Accumiter for quite a few years. It was a good solid(heavy) and accurate miter gauge.

I recently got a (barely)used Incra 1000SE. I find the Incra to be much more 'user friendly' than the JDS. Much easier to set and re-set angles, better scale, and infinitely better stop. I liked the Incra so much that I spent a good deal of time retrofitting it to work on my new Grizzly sliding table saw.204207

[Doug Colombo]

Amazon has the Incra 1000SE for $119 with freee shipping: http://www.amazon.com/Incra-MITER1000SE-Miter-Special-Telescoping/dp/B0007UQ2EQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1312831742&sr=1-1

[Jim Facteau]

LOve my Osborne EB3, deadly accurate

[Alan Lightstone]

Incra 1000HD. Just finished using it repetitively for a few days. Very accurate.