It’s time to upgrade my table (delta contractor) saw miter gauge.
I wondered if there was a particular model out there that found favor with knots participants?
Any advice would – as always – be appreciated.
Londonlad
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Replies
What price range are you thinking about, Londonlad? That'll be an important factor in what might be recommended.
I'm not looking to go cheap.I really don't have a clear idea of what these products cost but $200 wouldn't surprise me.Londonlad
Well, you're in a great position if you can spend $250 or more, for sure. I had a serious limit when I bought mine, and got the Incra 1000 for a little over $100. That was before the 1000SE came out. If I were buying now and had a little more jingle in my jeans, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Incra 3000. Not to say that the JessEm wouldn't be just as good, I've never tried one. I like the accuracy and simplicity of the Incra. Nice and solid, repeatable for sure, sits snugly in the miter slots with adjustable nylon washer-thingies to get the fit just right.
No use for the Incra 2000, never have figured out why they designed it the way they did.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Whats wrong with the incra 2000? just wondering . I have theWoodcraft version 1000-se what ever the se means. I like the 1000 a lot.repeatable and easy to use. Chris
I just don't care for the design. Instead of a half-circle, the Incra 2000 is a quarter-circle. If you want to change from one side to the other, you actually have to take the fence off the head and transfer it over, and apparently change the head over too. In other words, instead of having a 180° range, it has 55° left, and transferring the head, 55° right. Maybe there's some other feature that compensates for that inconvenience (tell me, if there is!) but I've not figured it out.
Of course, by taking those extra steps, I'd probably remember to re-adjust the fence so it didn't hit the saw blade, ROFL!!! (Yep, there's a little kerf-sized nick in mine)
View Image
View Image
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 5/11/2007 11:46 pm by forestgirl
I dont believe that i have seen that model . I see what you mean though , Could it be that you could use it as a tapering jig , such as tapering legs??Because it looks like it will turn so that the fence is face is paralllel to blade. Chris
I just bought the Incra 3000SE. Incra had a great deal at the Woodworking show in California last weekend.
http://www.incra.biz/Products/Miter3000SE600px.jpg
In addition I bought one of their Miter Express. It was part of the deal.
http://www.incra.biz/Products/MiterExpressBeauty600.jpg
Both compliment my Incra TS fence system.
Forestgirl,
Have you checked the accuracy on your Incra 1000? I am guessing you have because you posted a very good description of how to check accuracy a few months ago. I bought a 1000SE from Woodcraft two days ago. After setting it up I checked it by cross cutting a 3" wide length of 1/2 inch plywood. When I stood the pieces on edge and flipped one over there was a gap wide enough for a sheet of paper. When I offset the gauge @ 0.1 degree the crosscut was dead on. Since there is no built in adjustment and I didn't want to shim the fence to get it right, I took it back to Woodcraft. They exchanged it with no questions. When I did the same check with the replacement I got a gap wide enough for my thumb nail, plus. I didn't check how many degrees it was off but I would guess at least 0.5. This afternoon I traded up to a JessEm MiterExcel. It does have a built adjustment but it didn't need it. It was dead accurate straight from the box. The JessEm is built like a tank but dang is it heavy. I would have preferred the Incra if it had had the accuracy I wanted.
GeorgeYou don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard<!----><!----><!---->
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"Since there is no built in adjustment and I didn't want to shim the fence to get it right, I took it back to Woodcraft." I'm not understanding this, George. The fence is calibrated by loosening the 3 socket-head screws that hold the fence-mounting bracket to the protractor head, setting the fence/head to 90° and tightening the screws. This is clearly illustrated in the instructions for my 1000, and can be seen in Figure 8 of their on-line manual.
I did this calibration when I bought the Incra several years ago, have not had to adjust it since then. The only time I had trouble with 90° crosscuts was when my table saw was out of adjustment. Sounds like whomever you talked with at Woodcraft didn't know the product very well.
The only Incra tune-up step that might require a shim is squaring the fence 90° to the tabletop. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Dang! Now I got to go back to Woodcraft and double check that. I swear the manual that came with the 1000SE did not have those instructions. If it had I would still have the Incra gauge. The folks at Woodcraft also checked the manual and found no calibration instructions. If it hadn't been the weekend I would have called Incra and gotten instructions. I may wind up with the 1000SE yet because it is a lot lighter and more comfortable to use than the JessEm.
Thanks, GeorgeYou don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard<!----><!----><!---->
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No reason it shouldn't work out, George. Your gauge is the same model as mine, just has that telescoping fence (you rascal, you!).forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Forestgirl,
Well I drove back out to Woodcraft yesterday to check out the gauge I returned. Now I feel even dumber than normal. Yes, the manual with the 1000SE had calibration instructions just like you said. I don't know why I didn't see them the first time. Must have been my "oldtimers" working overtime. I brought it back home, calibrated it per instructions, and the first test cut was right on. I think it is going to be my "go to" guage. It is light and easy to use. The only minor quibble is I don't like using an allen wrench to extend the fence and slide it sideways. The JessEm may be more capable but in addition to being heavy duty, it is heavy. It's sort of like a Mack truck. Definitely overkill for most of what I do.
Thanks again, GeorgeYou don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard<!----><!----><!---->
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Hi, George, glad you were able to get it worked out. I, too, like the Incra's lightness, and it isn't a whimp just because it doesn't weigh a ton. Very solid. I like the notch-type detents.
You can use a rare earth magnet to keep the wrench handy. Have fun!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thumbscrews!
I don't have one, but have seen the dubby in action. It fits your budget, and is very accurate and stable. http://www.in-lineindustries.com/single_dubby.html
if there was a particular model out there that found favor with knots participants........
May the battles begin.
Mine's better 'n yours. Na na na - na na - na.
I have built crosscut and 45-degree sliding boxes. I prefer them over any "miter gauge." The crosscut box is based on Kelly Mehler's from FWW ~issue 101. It cuts anything from 14' boards to 3" boards with ease and safety. I often put in a stop block for repeatability on multiple pieces.
The miter box I use for anything up to a couple of feet, then it gets unwieldy and I use a miter saw (move the saw, not the work).
I can't remember the last time I used a miter gauge, but it must have been some odd angle and my miter saw wasn't handy.
I have the Jessem and really love it. Its a thing of beauty and functions better than any I've used in the past. Pricey, though.
Rick
I recently bought a Kreg for about $150 and am very pleased with it. Much better than the original.
This was from WOOD mag and is the best miter gage in my shop.
Edited 5/12/2007 7:25 am ET by bladeburner
Take a look at the JoinTech. It has features I have not seen anywhere else and is rock solid.
Frosty
i have the accumiter 2000 which i feel is the best on the market. its not a light weight at all, it telescopes out to 40 inches and is very sturdy.
http://www.dominicswoodshop.com/graphics/Accumiter2000.jpg
Dominic, when I clicked on your link, I got a "forbidden" error page.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
hhmmmm.... im not sure why i just checked it and it worked fine; maybe you can copy and paste into your web browser. any one else having problems with it?
I also get a forbidden message:"ForbiddenYou don't have permission to access /graphics/Accumiter2000.jpg on this server.Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request."
Forbidden error here to dominic.
I'm not sure why, perhaps you just fixxed it but when I went to http://www.dominicswoodshop.com/graphics/
I was able to find the image.
After finding it, I was still unable to go to
http://www.dominicswoodshop.com/graphics/Accumiter2000.jpg
???
Edited 5/12/2007 2:05 pm by MikeHoncho
What everone else said. ;-)
PS: I was able to go to your home page. Wow. Like the "branding" on the dust collector bag. Nice tablesaw set-up!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 5/12/2007 3:37 pm by forestgirl
well ill have to look into this, if you go to http://www.dominicswoodshop.com and click on the button that says tools of the shop there is a picture there of the accumiter 2000.
It's only when going directly to the Accumiter link that I get the error. If I navigate via the web site, or parent links (which show a file list), everything is fine. This may be some kind of security thing. I don't know enough about that stuff to know.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
aahhhh! ok thanks for that input ill look into that when i have some time, and also thanks for the compliment on the saw that out feed table was my second woodworking project and is still very functional to this day.
"Anyone else having trouble?"
Yes.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/ToolGuide/ToolGuideProduct.aspx?id=5662
According to FWW the Incra 2000 failed ,at least to say not high marks. chris
I've never had the handle on my Incra 1000 loosen up. Certainly, the fence isn't warped, and of all the people I "know" online who've bought either the 1000 or the 3000, have never seen a warped fence reported.
The most common observation I'm aware of is that the fence might be slightly out-of-square with the table. A thick piece of paper as a shim cured mine.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I think maybe the author had a bad part. I like mine . The main reason i bought it (1000se) was the fact that it uses a taperd locater to set angles. Other miter gages use a pin which is ok as long as it is hardened and a hardened liner..or a tapered pin would be fine also.But a soft pin in a aluminium ,steel or cast iron will wear, probably not to a great extent but zero slop is better.When i bought mine i did not research it much ,needed one in a hurry. Chris
Incra is a super company to work with. They will replace any parts that aren't right. If there was a problem with the fence, the author could have gotten a replacement fence from Incra. I realize that this would possible skew the test results, but it is something that all of us should do with any product we receive that isn't right.
I agree with you 100%.I read something about some people having to shim the fences ..Is this true?Mine has been fine in this respect.
I guess what the writer could have done is buy another miter gauge ,report it as it is good or bad and report the feed back from the company. chris
That would be because you have permission to view those files/folders on your domain...
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /graphics/Accumiter2000.jpg on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request
Mike
I have the Jessem jig and I'm sorry to say that I'm not as happy with it as I'd like to be.
--Whit
Can you elaborate?What are the things that niggle?ll
I have very mixed feelings about the Jessem Mite-R-Excel. Parts of the design and construction are so nice that it is just a pleasure to use. The problem that I have, however, is so basic to the miter gauge that I have trouble believing it is the gauge and not myself that is at fault. The biggest problem I have with the Jessem Mite-R-Excel is that once I have the miter gauge tuned up so that I get a perfect 90 degree cut, their preset for 45 degrees doesn't produce an exact 45 degree cut on my saw. I struggled with this for awhile. I talked to their tech support who sent me a replacement--I got exactly the same amount of error with the new gauge. I went back to the store and the manager spent a good amount of time trying to figure out why I didn't get an exact 45 degree cut (very close, but not exact). The manager couldn't find any fault with what I was doing and offered to give me a refund.I'm surprised at myself that I didn't take the refund. It is, I suppose, a testament to the Jessem that I kept it anyway. I can get a good 45 degree angle by by measuring against the blade instead of using the their preset for 45 degrees. I have a shop-made jig set to 45 degrees that I use for most 45 degree cuts. If I had bought the Jessem mostly to make angled cuts I would return it.There are some things that I really like about the Jessem. The adjustment for the bar that fits in the miter slot is the best I have seen. You can fine tune it so that is slides very nicely in the slot--no resistance, no slop.I mostly use the miter gauge for square cutoff which it does very nicely. It provides much better support than the original miter gauge that came with the saw, and is more convenient that the cut-off jig.I like the adjustable fence and stop (see nit-pick below). The fence is solid and a very good size for me. The grip is nice and big. The end result of all this is that you get a nice smooth pass past the blade. I have a couple of minor nit-picks:1) There is a little play in the presets. If you always push the gauge the same direction while tightening the handle, you get repeatable results so this is fairly minor.2) The indicator used to set the stop on the fence is a little hard to read. It is tall and creates a shadow over the measurement tape. Partly this is a result of where the lights are in my shop. I do wish they had used a clear plastic plate with a hairline on the bottom.--Whit
Whit,Interesting response. I have had the same problems with a Jess'em that I bought. Like you, I got a replacement, although it took numerous phone calls to actually get it shipped. There's enough freeplay in the settings that unless you use the vernier to center the head on the desired angle, repeatability is non-existent. As a result, the engineering & machine work that went into designing & building the supposedly accurate one-degree & half-degree stops was a total waste of time.
Lad, I second Dom's feelings on the JDS ACCUMITER. Solid, adjustable and accurate. I liked it (the shorter fence) so much on my 1½ hp. contractor's saw, I bought the longer model for my newly acquired Unisaw - right tilt 50" unifence with work table and 4' out feed rollers - with no regrets. Paddy
Woodhaven deluxe. Rock solid and accurate.
hey!!! i had the woodhaven/T-track miter gauge and yes it was a rock solid tool; however i traded up for the accumiter. the accumiter just feels better and handles longer stock.
I have the JDS and like it, especially the length stop for repetitive cuts. Got the demo model the last day of a WW show and got a few bucks off.
Johnny
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