Anyone here use an after market miter gauge on their table saw?
I’ll ask this over at Knots also, but thought I would start here first.
Any recommendations or particular ones to avoid.?
BTW my TS is a 10″ Delta Unisaw. The miter gauge that came with it is a POS, and I have seldom used it in the 18 years I have had the saw. Now I am building Japanese lantern lamps and the small pieces and joints involved dictate the use of a miter gauge.
Thanks,
Dave
Replies
It's not cheap, but the accuracy can't be beat. It extends out to 42" for long stock. It's 24" long most of the time. It swings to work right or left of the blade.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&cat=1,41080,51225&p=48305
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Edited 2/14/2006 3:41 pm ET by dustinf
Could you manage with a miter saw?
I made a sled for my table saw. It rides in both grooves so it maintains a very good 90°. If I needed something other than 90°, I could make a "shim" to hold the work piece at the correct angle. Of course, if I needed a lot of different angles, this would get tedious.
-Don
I have a a couple of sleds, but cutting lap joints with a dado blade means I would need to build a sled for each size cut, or make a serious slot in the one I have, and try to deal with the slop.
I am cutting half lap joints in 1/2" square stock and from 1/2 to 2 1/2" dadoes in wider pieces of 1/2 thick stock. I use stop block for repeatable accuracy.
I also use a SCMS and a Lion miter trimmer for cuts at 45 and 90 degrees. Again with stop blocks for accuracy in lengths.
I have even made dadoed hold down blocks for the small square stock, but when I get down to short lengths my hand is still dangerously close to the blade as it plunges through the cut. When I am down to lengths of 6" or less the stop block, hold down, and my hand are all trying to fit in the same area near the cut. Not a good situation.
My POS miter gauge with an auxiliary fence, hold downs and stop block worked,...almost:( The accuracy and time need to set up and make corrections is a PITA.
I have looked at most of the after market miter gauges in the tool catalogs, and wood working magazines.
I am looking for feed back from those that have used any of them.
Dave
Have you considered building a sled? I have been using a sled I built for so long that I'm not sure where I put my miter gauge.
Ha, ha. beat you :-).
-Don
I got the Incra miter gauge from Rockler. It's solid and very accurate.
-- J.S.
I have one of the Incras, and they are pretty good. Incra probably outsells everybody else 2 to 1.
Also have the one from Woodhaven (the old Fastrak). OK too, but I don't like the plugs on the miter bar (intended to take up any slop).
However, just the other day, I had a chance to look at the set-up Jessem has come out with, and it is sweet. They are late into this market, but it looks like they have learned from all the others.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-