Who makes the best digital angle finder Cube?

[John TenEyck]

Looking to buy a digital cube, Wixey, iGaging, etc. Whose is the best and why? Thanks.

John

[Chris Padilla]

I have and have only used the one made by Beall. It seems to work fine and do the job. I don't know anything about the other two you mention.

[Michael Stein]

I have the Wixey. Works well.

[Stew Hagerty]

I have the Wixey. Works well.


+1 for the Wixey!

[Ben Rivel]

The Wixey is cheap and well loved. Give it a try.

[glenn bradley]

I have both. The second decimal place on the Beall comes in handy now and again.

[Tom Ewell]

Seems like every digital device I use calls for a different sized button battery.

Gets to be a pain in the butt keeping up with the different batteries and hoping I have one in the shop to continue on when one of them dies.

If my Wixey cube gave it up, I'd replace it with the new version that uses AAA batteries which I always have around and are readily available locally.

[Ben Rivel]

Yea I kinda wish I would have gotten the Wixey with the adjustable angle display. That would have been nicer.

[John Lanciani]

Another vote for the Beall TiltBox mostly because it doesn't use a button battery, but rather a standard 9V. (I'm not particularly impressed with anything from Wixey because of all the (dead) battery issues)

[Chris Padilla]

9V battery for the Beall so commonly available...FWIW.

[roger wiegand]

The second decimal place on the Beall comes in handy now and again.

The accuracy of these are +/- 0.2 degrees according to the manufacturer, so reporting the angles to 2 significant digits is just a fantasy.

[Kevin Womer]

I have and have only used the one made by Beall. It seems to work fine and do the job. I don't know anything about the other two you mention.

Have this too, no issues with it and origional battery which I can't believe I haven't had to change yet.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Not sure who made the one I have, because it sits in a drawer and I never use it. Found it hard to get accurate, repeatable measurements.

I'd suggest that you think about what it is you need this tool for, and if something else might work better. For instance, to set table saw bevel to common angles, it might be much easier to just cut some wedges at those angles and use them to adjust the bevel. Your accuracy would be orders-of-magnitude better than what you'd get with the angle cube gizmo. When I'm cutting angles, they often need to be REALLY precise - 0.2 degree error will be easily visible in the finished product. But the human eye can see light through a 0.001" or 0.0001" gap, so a wedge (cut to the right angle) is a super-accurate way of setting bevel.

[Lee Schierer]

Another vote for the Beall TiltBox mostly because it doesn't use a button battery, but rather a standard 9V. (I'm not particularly impressed with anything from Wixey because of all the (dead) battery issues)

I've had my Beall Tilt Box for several years and the original battery is still going strong. It works well and gives repeatable results.

[Frederick Skelly]

Another vote for Wixey. Works well. Batteries are easy (AAA) and last a long time.

[John TenEyck]

No one has an iGaging one? They use a 9V battery, too. Curious.

The Beall must be good? It costs twice as much as most Wixey's and the iGaging unit. And Wixey has several models. Which specific one are you all using?

John

[Rick Johnston]

John I have the igage. Just have never used. Tossed it in the drawer until the need arises.

[Dean Baumgartner2]

Kind of going against the grain here but I have a maybe $12 one from Harbor Freight. Looks just like the name brand items, and guess what, I've checked it against the $400+ digital inclinometers at work and it stays right with them through the full range. It's only rated at 0.2 degree accuracy even though it has 2 decimal digits. It's done everything I've needed so far.

[Dave Lehnert]

No one has an iGaging one? They use a 9V battery, too. Curious.

The Beall must be good? It costs twice as much as most Wixey's and the iGaging unit. And Wixey has several models. Which specific one are you all using?

John

I have the Igaging. It does not stick well to my red coated Freud saw blades. I also have the Wixy and the magnets are stronger.

[Frederick Skelly]

Kind of going against the grain here but I have a maybe $12 one from Harbor Freight. Looks just like the name brand items, and guess what, I've checked it against the $400+ digital inclinometers at work and it stays right with them through the full range. It's only rated at 0.2 degree accuracy even though it has 2 decimal digits. It's done everything I've needed so far.

Good to know. Thanks!

BTW, welcome to The Creek. Glad to have you with us!
Fred

[Bill Sutherland]

I have both but prefer the AAA Wixey.

[Harry Holzke]

I just got a AccuMaster from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0148M7P4O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 and like it very much. Magnet is strong, uses AAA's, readout flips and most importantly, is accurate.

[Jack Lemley]

+1 Wixey

Jack

[Curt Harms]

I have an early Wixey and it'll eat batteries if I leave it in. I take the battery out between uses which is a pain because it's a 2032 and the cover isn't that easy to close. The upside is that I don't use it that often but it seems repeatable and reasonably accurate.

[Rick Potter]

I have an Wixey model WR300, which takes the 2032 button battery. It works well, but eats the battery also. I rarely use it, and plan to get a different one also.

EDIT: Just looked it up on Amazon. Wixey brought out the WR300 in Nov. 2007. In February 2015, they brought out the WR300 Type 2, which takes AAA battery, and costs half as much. Obviously, I have the original.

Hope this helps.

[James White]

I have an older Wixey that does eat batteries but it does its job. I have a Wixey table saw DRO that also eats batteries but it also does its job well when I have fresh batteries on hand. I also have an Igaiging tilt box. The magnets are not strong enough to hold it to a saw blade. Wasted money. I hope they have fixed that problem. They make a great set of digital calipers.

James

[glenn bradley]

The accuracy of these are +/- 0.2 degrees according to the manufacturer, so reporting the angles to 2 significant digits is just a fantasy.


But I feel so much better :D:D:D. I guess watching something go from 89.97, .98, .99 and arrive at 90 is anticlimactic when you know it could really be 89.77, .78, .79 or 90.07, .08, .09, etc.

[Tony Leonard]

I have to agree. I set my TS blade square with the Beal and found my cuts were off a little. Checked it with a Starret square and it was indeed off (could see light). After playing around with it, I found that it was not as accurate as I feel like I can get with a square (a GOOD square!). I use it for getting rough settings or when I am not worried about being super accurate. It uses a 9V and they last a long time. Good strong magnets. Easy to use and calibrate. I don't regret the purchase.

I normally use a square against the blade with a flashlight behind it. Quick and easy.

Tony

[Charles Wiggins]

Not sure who made the one I have, because it sits in a drawer and I never use it. Found it hard to get accurate, repeatable measurements.

I'd suggest that you think about what it is you need this tool for, and if something else might work better. For instance, to set table saw bevel to common angles, it might be much easier to just cut some wedges at those angles and use them to adjust the bevel. Your accuracy would be orders-of-magnitude better than what you'd get with the angle cube gizmo. When I'm cutting angles, they often need to be REALLY precise - 0.2 degree error will be easily visible in the finished product. But the human eye can see light through a 0.001" or 0.0001" gap, so a wedge (cut to the right angle) is a super-accurate way of setting bevel.

I could have written this as well. It's pretty much my experience as well. I do much better with a machine square and eyeball for 90º and test cuts and a protractor for other angles.

[John TenEyck]

Now those are the answers I was looking for. Thanks all. Looks like I should buy the newer model Wixey with AAA batteries. Can't justify 2X for the Beall for ??? benefit. FYI, the HF digital angle cube is $30. $12 must have been a super sale - which they sometimes do have.

Thanks again.

John

[John Lanciani]

Now those are the answers I was looking for. Thanks all. Looks like I should buy the newer model Wixey with AAA batteries. Can't justify 2X for the Beall for ??? benefit. FYI, the HF digital angle cube is $30. $12 must have been a super sale - which they sometimes do have.

Thanks again.

John

Twice the price? The Beall is $34.50 direct from Beall and the Wixey is $29.99 - $39.99 depending on which model direct from Wixey.

http://www.bealltool.com/products/measuring/tiltbox.php

http://www.wixey.com/anglegauge/

[John TenEyck]

Thanks John. I looked somewhere else and never checked Beall's website. Much more attractive option now.

John

[Don Sundberg]

I have the Igaging one also. It works well but I have found that the sides are not all square to one another. IE don't zero it out on the bottom and then use the side to set square. If I use the same face it works great. I've used it multiple times to set miters that have come in tight. Get whichever one you decide on and compare it against the best standards you have (squares, triangles, put it an an angle and flip it to see if it comes up with the same thing). If it repeats then use it.

[Dean Baumgartner2]

Good to know. Thanks!

BTW, welcome to The Creek. Glad to have you with us!
Fred

Thanks Fred,
I was here for quite a while maybe 8-10 years ago. Still have my SMC hat somewhere. Life changes and finally going to have a shop of my own again so the itch came back. Couldn't remember my old password nor the password to what was my email at the time to recover hence the 2 after my name.

Nice to be back, hoping to make some sawdust again soon.

Dean

[Rich Engelhardt]

I have a Wixey. Had it for a number of years. It's still on the original button battery.
I remove the battery from all my button battery devices when I'm not using them.

They last for years that way.

[John Gornall]

I use AcuAngle, Lee Valley catalog - no batteries, good to .2 degrees, works great.

[Tom Ewell]

I use AcuAngle, Lee Valley catalog - no batteries, good to .2 degrees, works great.
Can you zero it out by rotating the dial or something?
Can old farts actually read it?

[John Gornall]

Set on base, rotate dial to zero - I'm an old fart and can read it. I wear +1.5 readers at the bench.

[John TenEyck]

I'm going with the Beall because of the 9V battery, the old style display, hold button, and magnets on the bottom and both sides (and which are supposed to be square to the base). Thanks again for your help.

John

[Sid Matheny]

+1 for the AccuMaster. Much easier to see the readout than my Wixey.

[John Lankers]

I had the original Wixey for 8 years until it died last year, bought the Tilt Box from LV and to be honest I like it much better than My 1st Gen. Wixey.
But for 45 deg or 90 deg setups a precise square is what I use, it's always there and always square.

[John TenEyck]

When you type Tilt Box in LV's website the Beall comes up. And I agree with everyone who said a square is always square (if it truly is square and many aren't) and is more definitive than something that is only accurate to 0.2°. But 0.2° is pretty good when I want to adjust something to 5.7°, for example. The best mechanical system I have is a pure guess beyond 1°. I have other means to get to 0.1°, but they are much slower. What I'm saying is I know the limitations of these things but I still have a need where it should be the best option for fast measurements where those limitations are OK.

John

[John Gornall]

Sometimes I use the Ridgid tools level app in my tablet - it' free. Search the Playstore for " Ridgid Digital Bubble Level app"

[Stew Hagerty]

I have to agree. I set my TS blade square with the Beal and found my cuts were off a little. Checked it with a Starret square and it was indeed off (could see light). After playing around with it, I found that it was not as accurate as I feel like I can get with a square (a GOOD square!). I use it for getting rough settings or when I am not worried about being super accurate. It uses a 9V and they last a long time. Good strong magnets. Easy to use and calibrate. I don't regret the purchase.

I normally use a square against the blade with a flashlight behind it. Quick and easy.

Tony

I have the 2032 style Wixey. I leave my battery in and I only have to change it every 9 months or so.
I use it probably 90% of the time. Lets face it, +/- 0.2° is good enough for most woodworking. When i need to be more accurate, i can rely on my 159 year old Mathieson try square, which STILL dead on 90° to at least +/- 0.01°. Of course i also have several Woodpeckers squares, and Bridge City TS-2V2 that I only bring out for special occasions. For settings other that 90°, (when I'm not using the Wixey) I bring out a bevel gauge and set the desired angle using my Woodpeckers Angle Reference. It has layout lines in 1/4° increments, so its very easy to adjust to the exact setting you desire.