Wixey for your miter gauge ?????

[Bill Huber]

To start I am not wanting to start a thread about the accuracy of the Wixey or the Beall.

I was talking with a friend about the Wixey and was wondering how it would work on the miter guide. I went home from work and gave it a try, it works very well.

I took the miter gauge off the saw and clamped the bar in the vise, then set the Wixey on the bar and hit the zero button. I then placed it on the gauge itself and set it to 90 degrees, I just held it there the magnet would not stick to the wood (when are they going to come out with a wood magnet).
Put it back on the saw and did I five cut test and it was just about right one.
Now I am not saying that every time you change the miter gauge you do it this way but it is a way to check your stops on the gauge or to set the gauge for a funny angle that you do not have a stop for.


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[Chris Fierro]

I have been doing this with my Wixey--but I made a little nesting jig to hold my miter gauge upright. Same difference I guess. Now that I see your vise idea, I'd clamp the gauge in a hanging position so the Wixey could rest against the pushing face of the miter gauge.

[Ken Garlock]

Interesting, but don't you have to do your cutting in your vise?:confused: Setting the miter gauge to itself says nothing about how it is related to your saw blade. However, this process is very workable if you can assure yourself that your blade is parallel to the miter slot. :)

I would rather use my Starrett square to align the miter fence to the blade surface. No middleman involved.;) :)

[Mike Goetzke]

I use mine in a similar way on my SCMS. When it's in the vertical position of my MSUV.

Mike

[Bill Huber]

Interesting, but don't you have to do your cutting in your vise?:confused: Setting the miter gauge to itself says nothing about how it is related to your saw blade. However, this process is very workable if you can assure yourself that your blade is parallel to the miter slot. :)

I would rather use my Starrett square to align the miter fence to the blade surface. No middleman involved.;) :)

You are correct, that is the first thing you should do when you get your saw and then check it every now and then.

[James Phillips]

Interesting, but don't you have to do your cutting in your vise?:confused: Setting the miter gauge to itself says nothing about how it is related to your saw blade. However, this process is very workable if you can assure yourself that your blade is parallel to the miter slot. :)

I would rather use my Starrett square to align the miter fence to the blade surface. No middleman involved.;) :)

If your miter slot is not parallel to your blade you have problems that require immediate attention. This is the first thing to tune up a saw. I use a dial micrometer to do this. I then set the miter gauge at 90 degrees and use the dial micrometer to be sure the face is parallel to the miterslot. If the stops are accurate this will get your miter gauge dead on.

[Bill Huber]

I have been doing this with my Wixey--but I made a little nesting jig to hold my miter gauge upright. Same difference I guess. Now that I see your vise idea, I'd clamp the gauge in a hanging position so the Wixey could rest against the pushing face of the miter gauge.


Now it does make more sense to do it the other way.

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[Bill Huber]

I would rather use my Starrett square to align the miter fence to the blade surface. No middleman involved.;) :)


So how do you set the miter at say 31 degrees with the Starrett.
Do you have a Protractor Head for it?

[Ken Garlock]

So how do you set the miter at say 31 degrees with the Starrett.
Do you have a Protractor Head for it?

OK Bill. I was thinking of my INCRA 3000 miter gauge. Once it is calibrated to 90 deg with the blade, I can set the gauge to any 1/2 deg I might need. Yes, I agree that you need to align your miter slot with the blade when you get the saw.

I am not trying to dis the Wixey. I think it is a good tool. Several years ago I bought a Grizzly protractor (http://www.grizzly.com/products/g9900) that has a dial read-out. I use it for all the odd angles like setting the blade to a 23 deg. tilt.

Enjoy your new 'toy':)

[glenn bradley]

That is sweet. Did you see the light bulb when that one popped into your head? Thanks for the tip.

[Doug Shepard]

I've been putting the square to the blade and using angle blocks like these (tho not as pricey as the B&S) http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=601-1148&PMPXNO=952492&PARTPG=INLMK3 between the square and miter guage head. I like your idea, but dont relish shlepping my big heavy JDS miter gauge back and forth to the vise.

[Phil Thien]

Interesting, but don't you have to do your cutting in your vise?:confused: Setting the miter gauge to itself says nothing about how it is related to your saw blade. However, this process is very workable if you can assure yourself that your blade is parallel to the miter slot. :)

I would rather use my Starrett square to align the miter fence to the blade surface. No middleman involved.;) :)

Technically, the miter fence should be set relative to the miter bar.

[Bruce Wrenn]

That is sweet. Did you see the light bulb when that one popped into your head? Thanks for the tip.Probably right after Woodsmith published this idea in it's tips section earlier this year. I was paid for the rights to this idea. Unfortunately, most often we are simply reinventing the wheel. Once I spent a couple of months developing a jig. Right after I finished, I got some old WW magazines, and there was my jig- published over five years earlier. It is good to see great minds think alike.

[keith jensen]

I know I'm digging up an old thread but I just got my digital angle gauge today and started playing around with it. I was trying to find a way to set my miter gauge to 90. I did something similar to what you guys did but I took it from the other end...

I zero'd out the angle gauge on my table saw top. Then I placed the face of my miter gauge on the saw and let the miter bar hang off the side. I then stuck the angle gauge to the miter bar and adjusted the bar to make the 90 degree angle. I think it is theoretically the same but was really very simple and I never had to walk away from the saw to set it.

I might try the 5 cut method to see if this worked out...

Now I'm checking everything that I can think of for absolutely no reason...my kitchen counter tops are surprisingly level!!

[Myk Rian]

I use a 2 cut method. Piece of 10 or 12" ply against the gauge, cut it.
Flip it over, right to left, cut again. Measure the front and back edges.
Adjust gauge until they are equal.

[Tom Adger]

Wixey also makes a protractor. I have the 8" size. I use it to check angles on my table and miter saws. With it, you can skip the vise thing and get straight to it. It is not too expensive, and accurate.

[jim hedgpeth]

I use a somewhat similar method. I clamp the miter gauges fence flat on the table saw wing (face down) with the bar hanging off, instead of using a vise. Otherwise the same deal, and it works pretty good.

Jim

Sorry, I must have missed Keiths post somehow. Same thing I do.

Jim