pro grade angle calibration gauge for table saw blade tilt

[scott vroom]

I'm looking for an accurate gauge to set my table saw tilt angle. Accuracy is relative, of course; I'm willing to pay more to get the highest accuracy possible. Wixey sells a WR300 for about $35 but it looks cheap to me. Can I find a better gauge for more $?

[Dick Mahany]

I've got the first gen Beall Tilt Box and have used it a lot with excellent results. Quick and accurate squaring and angle setting on the table saw, bandsaw, drill press and more. I've also used it to set angles on my crosscut/miter sled. It's about 4 years old, never failed me and still has the original batteries. I believe the newer Tilt Box II has a third magnetic surface which would be nice. I can't comment on the Wixey as I have no experience with it.

[Bruce Page]

I have the Beall Tilt Box that has a claimed accuracy of +/- .1 Degree. I don’t use it often but it has worked well when I needed it. There’s also the Pro-Tronic Digital Level but I didn’t want to spend that kind of money. The Pro-Tronic also claims an accuracy of +/- .1 Degree. I could be wrong but I think the Beall is about the best you can do for the money unless you want to go with a true machine shop type digital inclinometer.

[glenn bradley]

I have the Wixey and a Beall. The newer Beall has magnets on more surfaces IIRC which would be the only improvement I could look for. The Wixey works fine but, the Beall has an extra decimal position for greater accuracy if required. I have used both to set blade angles for sharpening and can get very usable repetition. This is a bit more accuracy than I require from even exposed miter joints on picture frames.

[Lee Schierer]

I have the Beall Tilt Box and just made some hexagonal boxes and the angles for the joints came out perfect the first time I tilted the blade. I highly recommend it. I zeroed the gauge on my saw table then stuck it on the side of the blade and tilted the blade until it read 30.00 degrees and made the cuts. I had no gaps in any to the six corners.

[scott vroom]

I've read several Beall reviews that claim a dropoff in accuracy at lower ambient temperatures. My shop is not heated and usually 60 degree range half the year. I've also read reviews claiming the Beall is not as accurate as a square for setting the blade to 90 degrees. Still, many others swear by these inexpensive gauges.

[Brian Backner]

How accurate do you want/have to be?

For the ultimate, get a Starrett 5" inspection grade sine bar along with a set of Starrett Grade AA gauge blocks - should allow you to get within a hundredth of a second of arc - assuming that both your table saw top and blade were absolutely DEAD flat (to within 0.0001" or better). Would probably cost several grand today - I got mine 30+ years ago for around $800.

I never even consider using my high precision metrology equipment for woodworking - even if you make the cut to that level of accuracy, the absorption of moisture from the air by the freshly cut surface will cause the wood to move, so why bother in the first place?

Brian

[scott vroom]

Good point.

[scott vroom]

I've continued reading Amazon reviews for both the Beall and Wixey......a comment common to both devices is that, when flipped around, the readings are off by as much as 1.5 degrees. I guess you just live with it, just like you live with inaccurate kitchen scales that claim to be accurate (I've returned 2 Ohause digital scales that were a joke).

[Myk Rian]

This is wood working. Isn't .1deg enough?

[scott vroom]

Myk, the reviews I read reported as much as 1.5 degree inaccuracy.....not 1/10th of a degree. 1.5 degrees off will leave a noticible gap on miter cuts.

[Myk Rian]

Well then, do what I did. Get a vintage DeWalt MBF RAS.
If not that, a Lion trimmer is meant for the job.
http://www.lionmitertrimmer.com
And another choice, a shooting board.

[scott vroom]

Myk, most of my miters are face frame rips not crosscut. I'm trying to get dead-on 22.5 & 45 degree. That lion trimmer does look cool for crosscut, though.

[Larry Edgerton]

My next tablesaw is going to have electric controls for angle and height. All of my work is weird stuuf with a ton of angle changes and I am tired of crouching down. The cranks hurt my mangled hand as well

I would like to add electric angle/height to my old Minimax. Actually, if someone came out with a decent kit I would put it on all my saws. My planer has it and it is awesome.

I have thought about trying a conversion on one with a small gear motor. I'd need a readout for angle, but height not so much.

Good luck in your quest Scott. I have not seen anything that I would want to use yet, so I will be watching what you come up with.

Larry

[Bruce Page]

Myk, the reviews I read reported as much as 1.5 degree inaccuracy.....not 1/10th of a degree. 1.5 degrees off will leave a noticible gap on miter cuts.

I have not experienced that and I played around with it a lot when I first got it including checking it with my 5" sine bar at several different angles.

Keep in mind that there are people out there that can mess up just about anything.

[Myk Rian]

I suppose a description of what you're attempting to do would help.
Otherwise, we're just passing gas into the wind.



I have not experienced that and I played around with it a lot when I first got it including checking it with my 5" sine bar at several different angles.
Same with my Wixey.

How about router bits? 22.5 and 45deg are very common angles.

[Dave Zellers]

I have not experienced that and I played around with it a lot when I first got it including checking it with my 5" sine bar at several different angles.

Keep in mind that there are people out there that can mess up just about anything.

And sometimes on purpose.

[Alan Schaffter]

Mine's not motorized (yet :D ), but once the blade and Wixey are calibrated and in sync (takes about 10 seconds) setting the bevel angle on my TS is a snap! It is easier to read and much more accurate than the pointer:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2161/medium/IMG_3756.JPG

It just sits on a metal bracket mounted to an arm so I can easily remove it to use on some other machine, like my mitersaw- I added a piece of steel flat bar to the top of my mitersaw so now have digital tilt there too. Much nicer and easier on my old eyes than trying to read the scale at the back of the saw!

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2161/medium/IMG_3759.JPG

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2161/medium/IMG_37711.JPG

Oh, if you are considering a new or a second tilt box- get the newer, just slightly larger, Wixey WR365- It still provides relative angle but has some nice new features- tilting display, absolute level (center of the earth) with both digital and graphic bubble displays, makes it great for hanging pictures, etc., and best of all it runs on two AA batteries which will last two years or more!

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2161/medium/IMG_3600.JPG

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/2161/Wixey_Display.jpg

[Chris Fournier]

I'm looking for an accurate gauge to set my table saw tilt angle. Accuracy is relative, of course; I'm willing to pay more to get the highest accuracy possible. Wixey sells a WR300 for about $35 but it looks cheap to me. Can I find a better gauge for more $?

Well first off, not matter how accurate your measuring device is you shoud be putting together test joints and tweaking for the perfect outcome, this is basic old school woodworking.

For an accurate gauge there are great iphone, iPod and Playbook apps that are FREE. Download one and try them out, sure you can make a fixture to hold the device of your choice, or you could just hold it to the blade.

An accurate gauge is no guarantee that you are doing accurrate work - test samples always!

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have one of the older style Wixey's.
Other than having to remove the battery from it for storing it any length of time (more than a few days), it's been great.
I crosscheck it against a digital protractor just to be sure.

I also check the test cuts with the digital protractor - again - just to be sure.

[Lee Schierer]

I've continued reading Amazon reviews for both the Beall and Wixey......a comment common to both devices is that, when flipped around, the readings are off by as much as 1.5 degrees.

Can you explain what "flipped around" means? I turn mine on and let it stabilize on a solid surface for about 15 seconds before attempting to use it. I also zero it to the table saw top so that any tilt in the saw table is not figured in to the angle I'm trying to set.

[Clint Baxter]

You can use a TS-Aligner Jr to set blade tilt as well. Can be very accurate and the price, though higher than the tilt boxes, is not exorbitant. You also then have the TS-Aligner to use for all its other functions as well.

Clint

[Aaron Berk]

My GO605X has built in digital read out, and I tested it against my wixey with perfect results :D


So if your willing to spend more than the $35 for the wixey...... how about a Grizzly lol?

[Randy Henry]

I guess I'm old school. I keep my Incra 1000 miter guage tuned (5 cut method), and when I want a tilt on my blade, I just cut a piece of scrap to that angle, and use that to set the blade. I haven't tried the electronic gizmos, but with batteries, setting to zero, etc, I think I will just save the $$ and keep using this method.

[John Gregory]

I am just about done with a highchair. lots of angles and compound angles. I used my Wixley box and my Incra 1000SE, and got great joints. I think expecting really tight tolerances when working with wood it just not in the nature of the medium. Maybe more so the the advent of CNC, but in a home shop...not so much.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Am I the only one who bought an iGaging digital angle guage? They claim the same .1 accuracy, but they have 3 magnets. I'm pretty happy. 41 bucks or so, just checked.

I use my miter saw for gap free miters though.

[Bill White]

OK! Call me a dino, but if my TS is set to a good 90 and 45 degree angle gauged by my Staedtler drafting square, why would I want to spend a gazzilion bucks to identify smaller angles? Won't my saw give me the angularity I need? Dang! It is WOOD! Not rockets!
BTW...my miters are pretty good with my years-old science.
Not tryin' to be a nay-sayer, but how much is enough? Ya must have more money................
Now, I'll go set the hand clutch on my tiller ( a REAL Troy Built) to +- .00005". Wanna watch?
I wish I had spent lots of bucks designing WWing measuring tooling.
If it fits, it fits.
Bill

[Larry Edgerton]

OK! Call me a dino,Bill

Ok, you are a dino.

[Curt Harms]

OK! Call me a dino, but if my TS is set to a good 90 and 45 degree angle gauged by my Staedtler drafting square, why would I want to spend a gazzilion bucks to identify smaller angles? Won't my saw give me the angularity I need? Dang! It is WOOD! Not rockets!
BTW...my miters are pretty good with my years-old science.
Not tryin' to be a nay-sayer, but how much is enough? Ya must have more money................
Now, I'll go set the hand clutch on my tiller ( a REAL Troy Built) to +- .00005". Wanna watch?
I wish I had spent lots of bucks designing WWing measuring tooling.
If it fits, it fits.
Bill

To me the benefit would be if you wanted to set the blade tilt to something like 37.5* or 22.5*, something other than 90* or 45*.

[Matt Day]

I haven't tried anything but the HF digital tilt box, but I didn't like it at all. Accuracy was a big problem and there was no way I could rely on it for good miter joints. The box would read 45*, then I'd put a trusty plastic triangle and there would be a noticable difference. I'd much rather stick with plastic triangles for the standard angles (90, 45, 22.5, etc) and trim to perfect from there, or use my 1000SE miter gauge.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I have a Beal Tilt Box which will get me close. After I tilt the blade I always check my cut with something more precision, because ultimately, the final cut is all that matters.

[scott vroom]

I'm not making crosscut miters (e.g., picture framing); I'm ripping 22.5 degree mitered edges onto adjoining face frames for a corner wall cabinet. Accuracy is critical because the outer face frame edge must match perfectly with the 90 degree faceframe edge on an adjoining rectangular wall cabinet. The attached pic tells the story.

[Moses Yoder]

I'm not making crosscut miters (e.g., picture framing); I'm ripping 22.5 degree mitered edges onto adjoining face frames for a corner wall cabinet. Accuracy is critical because the outer face frame edge must match perfectly with the 90 degree faceframe edge on an adjoining rectangular wall cabinet. The attached pic tells the story.

I use a protractor and sliding T-bevel to set my table saw. If I bought a new one today, I would buy this one and the T-bevel from Lee Valley.


http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=52403&cat=1,42936,50298,52403

Just because some digital tool reads .2 doesn't mean it is .2. Plus, it needs batteries, and you don't know how long it will last. The Lee Vally tools will last you a lifetime and then be handed down to the next generation. With a manual T-bevel and protractor, you know your joints are accurate.

Several things are critical in cutting good miter joints. You need a good quality blade, it needs to be sharp, and you need to push the stock through at a rate that the saw can cut it smoothly without burning.

[Myk Rian]

I'm not making crosscut miters (e.g., picture framing); I'm ripping 22.5 degree mitered edges onto adjoining face frames for a corner wall cabinet. Accuracy is critical because the outer face frame edge must match perfectly with the 90 degree faceframe edge on an adjoining rectangular wall cabinet. The attached pic tells the story.
Then you want to do the edges with a 22.5º router bit.

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

Then you want to do the edges with a 22.5º router bit.

+1 - I has something similar to do several weeks ago. I picked up a 22.5* router bit from WC. The pieces fit together perfectly.

I believe this route is much simpler than a TS with less chance for error. Also much safer.

[Larry Edgerton]

Scott

You are missing an opportunity here.

This is a perfectly reasonable excuse to buy a new shaper with a tilting spindle. One straight cutter and whatever angle you please is at you're disposal.

You gotta work the angles......

Larry

[Don Sundberg]

I have the Igaging version ($25 on Amazon a while back). I have been happy enough with it. The only trick I recommend is to use the same face as you zero on the table against the blade. Everything seems to add up better when doing that and it takes any tolerance of the machining of the box out of the equation. I think mine might be machined slightly off by a small amount from one side to the other.

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

I'm not making crosscut miters (e.g., picture framing); I'm ripping 22.5 degree mitered edges onto adjoining face frames for a corner wall cabinet. Accuracy is critical because the outer face frame edge must match perfectly with the 90 degree faceframe edge on an adjoining rectangular wall cabinet. The attached pic tells the story.
In my shop I would do that on my jointer. I would make a 22.5 degree jig out of 3/4" MDF and use it to set the jointer fence.

[Hugh Watling]

Look at companies that sell machinist supplies. Look for digital or vernier protractors or inclinometers.

[Greg Portland]

I guess I'm old school. I keep my Incra 1000 miter guage tuned (5 cut method), and when I want a tilt on my blade, I just cut a piece of scrap to that angle, and use that to set the blade. I haven't tried the electronic gizmos, but with batteries, setting to zero, etc, I think I will just save the $$ and keep using this method.
+1 on the wood block method. I calibrate most of my tools using a screw through a block. If I need the measurement I can use a set of feeler gauges. I find that this feeler gauge method is more accurate than the (consumer priced) digital doo-dads.

Edit: Here's a link (http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/pdf/delta/ds-038free.pdf) showing how to use the screw+block for calibration.

[Mark Burnette]

Am I the only one who bought an iGaging digital angle guage? They claim the same .1 accuracy, but they have 3 magnets. I'm pretty happy. 41 bucks or so, just checked.

I use my miter saw for gap free miters though.
FWIW I'm a metrologist and I calibrate digital angle gauges often, using a 10 inch sine bar & gage blocks. This gives me a reference accuracy of better than .0003° in the 0-45° range I can cal to.
At this level of accuracy the room and gage temperature are major factors.

A few months ago I bought the iGaging unit on sale at Rockler for about $20. I couldn't pass it up for the price. I took it to work to calibrate it. The Wixey and iGaging have the same specs of .05° resolution and .1° accuracy. My iGaging met this spec. I'm impressed with it's build quality for such a low price. Solid cast aluminum body machined square & parallel with strong magnets on 3 sides. Small enough to attach to a saw blade without getting near the teeth (so their thickness doesn't throw off the measurement).

It should be noted that the $320 Mitutoyo Pro360 digital angle gauge has the same specs. That the Wixey & iGaging can build a quality gage that equals this excellent unit for under $40 list is really a marvel. It uses an accelerometer to sense tilt so there aren't any moving parts and no actual adjustments other than the zeroing procedure. I wouldn't expect the calibration to ever go "bad" on this thing unless it gets dropped.

Probably a lot more than you wanted to know... :)

[Alan Schaffter]

. . . . . I wouldn't expect the calibration to ever go "bad" on this thing unless it gets dropped.


Mark, thanks for the info.

I was setting the bevel angle on my miter saw, but got interrupted as I was about to remove it from the blade. After the interruption I proceeded to make my cut. You guessed it . . . the Wixey, which was still on the blade, was launched against the wall! Still works great! At least it still reads the same as my new one.

[Dave Norris]

Hi Scott,
While I realize your question is officially asking for a most accurate gauge, that could be slightly moot to your application. Not trying to minimize your quest for accuracy, and not trying to be offinsive, but if I understand it correctly, and nothing says I do, "perfectly matching" may be trumped by a wall that isn't planar, meaning it might have a hump, twist, bow, depression, etc. which will throw your edges off a bit. I used to go to pretty great lengths to get dead on accurate cuts on things like this, and discovered that hours of working on accuracy were foiled by a wall that had been drywalled in 10 minutes by an 18 year old working on the seams. Also, a slight imperfection in getting the cabinets hung exactly level will be problematic too. Like Myk, I use a Dewalt, and on picture frames etc. I'm right there with the dead on accuracy. On a wall cabinet, I'd go with a slight under cut to maybe maximize my chances of getting a closed joint, but that's just me, others will surely disagree with that. My kitchen cabinets have *exactly* accurate cuts, but small gaps in the joints because the wall is out whack more than +/- .1, and the cabinets aren't hung at *exactly +/-.1 level*.

Just a thought...

[Roger Pozzi]

I have the I-Gage model and am extremely happy with it.
The only thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is to make sure of the location and perpendicularity of the gauge on the blade. I marked the C/L of the arbor on the throat plate and use a try square to make sure it's plumb. That DOES make a difference.

[Alan Schaffter]

Another issue- the floor doesn't need to be level since you are referencing the blade to the table, but the floor should be firm and not flex- can cause a 2 - 3 degree error!!

[Alan Wright]

I have a Wixey and love it. I use it mainly for the TS and chop saw. Takes about 30 seconds to get it right. When I first got it I always double checked with a square, and it always seemed "perfect". I don't bother double checking now. For $30, seemed like a great tool for me. I don't know how much more "accurate" I would need?

[Tom Willoughby]

I also have the Wixey and like it but the batteries don't last forever. I have reverted back to an Incra right angle and a Woodpecker's speed square for setting 90 degree and 45 degree angles respectively, which is >90% of what I use. I'll use the Wixey for non-standard angles.

Tom

[Mark Burnette]

Another issue- the floor doesn't need to be level since you are referencing the blade to the table, but the floor should be firm and not flex- can cause a 2 - 3 degree error!!
And leaning on the TS can account for a few tenths, too. It doesn't change the actual perpendicularity but it affects the gauge reading.