Digital Angle Cubes b-- Which One

[George Bokros]

I am going to get a digital angle cube and am looking for opinions on the various brands -- Wixey, iGaging, etc.

I am pretty sure I want one with a level in so there is a reference start point.

Thanks

George

[Jim Neeley]

+1 on that, George. I have two (can't remember brands) but one requires you to set it on a surface to set the zero angle and the second defaults to gravity for zero with the ability to reset it based on a reference surface.

The latter is more convenient as it can be used for leveling work surfaces where your primary importance is not that it be flat compared to something else but level so things don't roll (or pour) off of them.

[glenn bradley]

The iGaging eats batteries fast. I tried two and finally got a refund. The Beall takes a standard 9volt and has two decimal places and has become my preferred. The newer ones are a smaller form-factor but, have magnets on 3 sides instead of only 2 and both are reliable. My Wixey worked fine but failed the second drop test ;-(

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[Art Mann]

I have a Wixey and use it all the time. I have never seen any need for it to include a level. After all, there are very few machine tops that are dead level. You want to set your blade at an angle referenced to the tool top. You just press the zero button with the Wixey sitting on the tool top and you are ready to set your angle. If you try to reference dead level, you are going to have to do some calculation. I suppose one could use a Wixey as a crude leveling instrument if it included a leveling feature but it is much too small to be anywhere near as useful as an inexpensive plastic spirit level.

Edit: Just thinking - If you want to use one of these things to set the slope on some sort of construction project, I can see how a built in level might be useful. I have a calibrated laser level I use for that purpose and never thought of using the Wixey. I only thought of using it for machine setups.

[Joseph Tarantino]

stated with igaging (removed the batteries to extend their life) and moved to wixey. never looked back, although i might try the beall. seen several really favorable comments.

[Bruce Page]

I've been happy with the Beall. It doesn't have a bubble level to reference from but that could easily be done by zeroing it out using a standard level.

[Curt Harms]

I have what may be an early Wixey and if I leave the battery in it, the battery won't last long so I remove it. What I suspect happens is I keep it in a drawer and when I open or close the drawer, it powers up then times out and goes into sleep mode or whatever. I also found the battery holder fidgety; it took some tinkering to get a solid connection. I don't know about the new Wixeys.

[Paul McGaha]

I've had the Beall and the Wixey. I like the Beall better.

PHM

[John Lifer]

Can you say HF.? Had mine over two years with no problems. No battery change in that time, but it is not used every day either. I can't see needing the level function. Too small of a footprint. Save a few more $ for wood.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Another happy Wixey user here.

I remove the button batteries from all my digital stuff as a matter of course.

[Rick Potter]

I have an early Wixey, it also eats batteries. Someone suggested buying name brand batteries, which helped a bit. I have an I-gage now. It works just fine, but I did prefer the simplicity of the Wixey.

If I were doing it over, I would buy the Beal, because of the 9V batteries, as well as the fact they seem well liked.

Rick Potter