T/S Miter gauge......

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Osborne, Incra or Kreg?

I got a belated Christmas gift from a family member. I need an accurate miter gauge for my table saw.


Which of the above mentioned ones should I get and why is it better than the competition?

Your opinions and experiences please!

[Brian Hale]

Hey Ken!

I gave my Kreg away to a friend. The miter slot bar is aluminum and flexed too easily on larger parts. Also the long aluminum fence can flex because it's unsupported beyond the miter head. Otherwise it was quite accurate and fine for small parts.

I use my Incra V27 (?) for all my small parts and it's quite accurate and and very very sturdy. Steel componets throughout.

The Osborne is great for larger parts but not quite as accurate. The problem is in how the angle locating pin fits in the bar. It's spring loaded and naturally needs a bit of slop so the pin will retract easily, but this creates a small amount of slop in setting angles. The solution is to always pull the fence back towards you when setting an angle, then it's very repeatable. The design is very sturdy, once it's set it ain't gonna move or flex.

Brian

[Tony De Masi]

Hey Ken,

Of the three you mentioned I only have experience with the Osborne. I've had it for four years or so and have never seen the need to replace it. In my experience it's very accurate and quite simple to use too.

Tony

[Lee Schierer]

I've not used the others, but I really like my Kreg. It is accurate and easy to use. Once you get it set up the scale on the fence is accurate and you can switch from left to right if you want to easily.

[John Coloccia]

This guy's done a bunch of reviews of miter gauges, including the Osbourne and the Incra:

http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/reviews.htm

I have the Incra crosscut sled and I really like it for what I'm using it for. That said, I don't really like the Incra miter gauge that much and would not be happy using it as a stand alone miter gauge. If I really needed an accurate miter gauge for molding and the like, I'd most likely go with Osbourne or maybe even the Jointech smart miter($$$) or a Dubby.

I'm not sure I like all the detents the Jointech has. I don't know that you can set them to in between settings for really fine tuning a difficult miter. They are on sale now, though.

Nothing against the Incra gauge but I just personally think there's better ways of making miters.

[Larry Norton]

Ken, I've got the Jessem and love it!

[Bill Huber]

I am just like Brian, I have the Osborne and the V27, both are very good.

I use the V27 for the small stuff and anything longer then 6 inches or if I am making multiple cuts the same length I use the Osborne.

I did have a little problem with getting the Osborne to repeat angle cuts. I sent them and email about it and was told how to use it. You just push the little plunger up and leave it, don't fool around, just push it up and tighten the lock, that worked and I have no problems any more.

The V27 I great for small stuff and I also use it on the band saw, the Ridgid sander and the router table.

I had an Incra 1000 for about a week and sold it, it was just to bulky and did not work very well for me. You get it all set up with a fence on it and it just to big for me.

[gary Zimmel]

Ken, I can't say much about the ones you mentioned but I i also have a Jessem and have been real happy with it.

[Dan Karachio]

This is tough. If someone just gave you one of the three, you would be a happy camper. I have actually used all three. Over the standard miter any of the three would be nice. I tend to be very much a gadget sort of guy, so I went with the Incra 1000 HD and later added the sled. This is pricey, but I now have a set up that is super versatile and can do just about anything. I have some pretty darn tight miter joints to prove it! :-)

[John Thompson]

I wouldn't refuse any of the three but.. I have two V 27's with one set up with long fence the other set up with short. I also run a fence forward sled for use with up to 30" panels so with the 2 V 27's and home-made sled it relates to get er done accurately for cheap!

[Paul Ryan]

I have a incra 1000hd. 80% of the time I have the fence removed and use it as a normal miter guage. I use my cross cut sled for large 45 degree miters. The incra doesn't see a lot of use for miters since I use a miter saw when ever possible. I had been doing projects lately that require angled dados and angled tendons and it works great for those cuts.

[Matt Meiser]

I've got an Incra 1000se which I love. So much so, that since I don't have a factory miter gauge for my vintage saw, I went and bought a V27 for a second one when I want to use a sacrificial fence and the like.

[Brian Penning]

Another satisfied Osborne user here.

[David Christopher]

Ken, I have the osborn and the jessem...both are very good miter gages but the jessem is built like a tank....I think you could run over it with a bulldozer and it be OK but it is heavy. the osborn is much lighter

[Sean Nagle]

I really like the miter adjustment on my 1000HD.