Any ideas for using Wixey angle gauge?

[pecker]

While ordering a vise on sale at Hartville tool, I added in the Wixey digital angle gauge to reach the free shipping minimum order...it was also on sale for $29.

It took all of 5 minutes to verify my tablesaw's blade and fence, as well as the jointer and router table fences were at exactly 90 degrees. I'll probably use it one more time when I have to bevel the tablesaw blade to 45 degrees.

But then what? There must be other useful things to do with it. Anybody have some suggestions?

[Powercat80]

Curious about this as well

A couple of weeks ago I was playing around with doing some complex miters where the miter, bevel and slope all had varying degress in order to still make a perfect 90 degree. Needless to say it is pretty difficult to get everything set correctly. Some angles are measured in hundreths. I saw this device on the web and thought that maybe this might be very useful. However it appears to me, and I may be mistaken, that your saw has to be "perfectly" level in order to assure that this is reading the correct angle. Is that correct or does it have a reference from the bed?

[pecker]

A couple of weeks ago I was playing around with doing some complex miters where the miter, bevel and slope all had varying degress in order to still make a perfect 90 degree. Needless to say it is pretty difficult to get everything set correctly. Some angles are measured in hundreths. I saw this device on the web and thought that maybe this might be very useful. However it appears to me, and I may be mistaken, that your saw has to be "perfectly" level in order to assure that this is reading the correct angle. Is that correct or does it have a reference from the bed?

You place it on the tabletop, press the "zero" button, then this becomes your reference. Ther reference needn't be level.

[Powercat80]

Thanks for the clarification

If so, then this may be perfect for measuring obscure bevels. Will it also allow you to measure a horizontal angle as well? For instance the angle on you miter guage. Say you set the m-guage at 90 degrees and use this as a reference for any other angle you set it from the blade.

I can see this also working well for a compound miter saw or checking the fence on a joiner.

[pecker]

Will it also allow you to measure a horizontal angle as well? For instance the angle on you miter guage. Say you set the m-guage at 90 degrees and use this as a reference for any other angle you set it from the blade.

No, it won't do that.

[Knottscott]

I use it on my TS blade every time the angle gets changed. You can also check your jointer fence, DP, BS, and router fence.

You could probably check miter gauge settings if you were able to stabilize your gauge vertically somehow. You just have to be able to maintain a reference.

[ragswl4]

Seems to me it is meant to be a tool for calibration much like a dial indicator. While it may not have a purpose on a daily or even weekly basis, it is critical when one needs to calibrate an angle for a tool.

[Jes Pidlin]

Just today I used mine to set up a piece of wood to drill a 35 degree hole. Locked the Wixley onto the drill bit (in the DP), zeroed it, placed it on the wood and made adjustments until it was at the correct angle.

Also can be used to check your framing square. Place the square in a vice with the legs pointing up (angle dosen't matter), place Wixley on one leg, set zero, place on other leg and read angle. Of course the magnet will not be attracted to aluminium squares, but you can hold the Wixley until it settles before zeroing and reading.

I'm sure there are others.

[mycatisretarded]

next time you go out drinking, duct tape it to your forehead. it may let you know you are about to fall over........or maybe not.

[linear]

See if you can build an icosahedron box. Make 20 equilateral triangles. If I did the math right the bevel angle you need to set for each side is 20.90515745°. Let's call it 20.9°.

If I were doing it, I'd rip one edge of my stock at the bevel angle above, then build a little sled that held the work at 30° off perpendicular to the cut line to make it dead easy to run off 20 identical sides with one setup. But I don't have a digital angle gauge.

Edit: If you want to try it and you don't have a cool digital thingie, make a template by drawing a right triangle. With one angle set to 20.90515745°, the ratio of opposite to adjacent sides is tan(20.90515745&#176 = 0.382.

So you draw a 1000mm line, and a perpendicular 382mm line, then draw the hypotenuse of that triangle on a piece of mat board or something similar that's suitable for templates. you cut that out (although you really just need the end opposite the 20.90515745° angle) and use it as a gauge to set your bevel angle. No protractor required, yet it's more than precise enough.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I use mine all the time. Tilt of bandsaw table, squaring bandsaw table to blade, tilt of miter saw, tilt of TS blade.

Never thought to use it for jointer and RT or other fences. Always just use engineer square for that. Now that I think about it I think the jointer fence set up would be pretty handy with the wixey. It was always kind of tricky holding square with one hand then adjusting fence with other hand, then locking fence with other hand . . . oh thats right I only have two hands. Wixey should work out well there. Thanks.

[eccentrictinkerer]

FWIW, I picked up a Rockler flyer for the sale starting after Thanksgiving (US).

The price on the guage will be $24.95. I'm going to put it on my Christmas list.

[George Cole]

Huh?

Say What?
I"am old and will use all the help I can get..give the the guage with big numbers or in braile

[George Cole]

See if you can build an icosahedron box. Make 20 equilateral triangles. If I did the math right the bevel angle you need to set for each side is 20.90515745°. Let's call it 20.9°.

If I were doing it, I'd rip one edge of my stock at the bevel angle above, then build a little sled that held the work at 30° off perpendicular to the cut line to make it dead easy to run off 20 identical sides with one setup. But I don't have a digital angle gauge.

Edit: If you want to try it and you don't have a cool digital thingie, make a template by drawing a right triangle. With one angle set to 20.90515745°, the ratio of opposite to adjacent sides is tan(20.90515745°) = 0.382.

So you draw a 1000mm line, and a perpendicular 382mm line, then draw the hypotenuse of that triangle on a piece of mat board or something similar that's suitable for templates. you cut that out (although you really just need the end opposite the 20.90515745° angle) and use it as a gauge to set your bevel angle. No protractor required, yet it's more than precise enough.

Say What?

Give me the guage with a digital read out with big numbers or better yet in braile...I'am old and need all the help I can get..

[Duff]

I also use mine for setting the pinion angle for my 2001 Camaro adjustable torque arm. . . . . . -2.5 degrees. . . . . .